How Henry Cavill Got Ripped To Play Superman

In order to turn himself into the Man of Steel, Henry Cavill turned to the exclusive Gym Jones—an invite-only gym known for training athletes, military personnel, the cast of 300, and Superman.

Gym Jones is not your warm and cozy neighborhood pilates studio. There are no televisions, no machines, no mirrors, and no comfortable places to sit. The gym's official webpage greets browsers by telling you that in order to build a strong body, you must first begin by "unf***ing your head," and the building's walls have seen their fair share of breakdowns, both physical and psychological.

Gym Jones may be intimidating, but Cavill claims working out there has its brief moments of fun. "Mark Twight, the chap from Gym Jones, has been putting me through the ringer big time," he explained. "We all have a bit of fun doing it as well. For example, if Mike Levins, who's the assistant trainer, Mark Twight, and myself are training, we'll just do 10 reps of a weight and then someone drops out, they do 10, someone drops out, they do 10. By the time the third person's finished their set, you come in and do your 10, up to 100."

Of course, fun is a subjective concept.

Getting big is one thing. Staying Superman-sized, however, is an entirely different story.

Henry Cavill's twice-daily, boundary-breaking training sessions may have helped him get jacked, but once filming actually started, that regimen went out the window. Living out of hotels while working on set all day isn't exactly the best way to stay in superhuman shape, but the Man of Steel was able to minimize the detrimental effects of a reduced workout regimen, thanks to the ultra-solid muscle base he'd built.

"Stable fitness requires a wide, solid foundation," trainer Mark Twight explained. "The deeper that foundation, the more stable that condition will be, and the easier it is to maintain."

The exact details of Cavill's personalized workout program are unsurprisingly under lock and key, but that doesn't mean we can't approximate. In order to make the actor look like the Man of Steel, Cavill's trainers took a Crossfit-like approach, utilizing varied, high-intensity workouts centered around functional movement and mass building. As such, HenryCavill.org recommends the following weeklong "Crossfit football program."

Monday's goal is to lift 10,000 lbs as fast as possible using only squats, presses, and deadlifts. Tuesday tasks you with 50-yard sprints, broken up only by one-minute periods of rest. On Wednesday, you can take the day off before an intense Thursday, in which you'll do as many rounds possible of seven dumbbell bent-over rows, seven dumbbell power cleans, and seven dumbbell push presses in ten minutes. Friday tasks you with completing 20 kettlebell swings and a 60-yard sprint in one minute, before taking a two-minute breather and repeating the process five times. On Saturday, you have nine minutes to do as many rounds possible of three back squats, six pull-ups, and nine push-ups, before taking Sunday off.

Utilizing Crossfit-esque workouts like the one outlined above will not only make you more powerful than a locomotive, but able to actually move like one, too.

Everyone knows Superman's powers aren't limited to simply being more powerful than a locomotive. He's also quite the speedster, with a 100m-dash time rivaled only by the Flash. Since Cavill obviously doesn't have wheels like Usain Bolt, strength coach Michael Blevins made sure to incorporate plenty of cardio into the actor's fitness regimen.

Many people looking to bulk up don't get in enough cardio, which serves to do a lot more than simply helping make you faster than a speeding bullet. Stamina exercises also help you bulk up and get those gains. "There's a misconception that cardio will negatively impact muscle," Blevins explained to Men's Fitness. "A larger work capacity can allow you to train harder and longer. Building muscle without conditioning is akin to having an impressive engine without a gas tank—it's worthless."

Sure—having super-strength is great, but if you can't catch the bad guys, it'll be pretty difficult to kick their butts.

While training to become Superman, Cavill would generally eat between 3,500 and 5,000 calories per day, including regular post-workout shakes. "You've got to eat protein first, then a little bit of carbs," he explained. "You've gotta keep your hunger levels going."

Getting 5,000 calories meant roughly six meals per day. For example, Cavill would drink three cups of low-fat milk for breakfast, with two cups of cold cereal, two cups of blueberries, and six tbsp of slivered almonds. He'd follow that up with 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, 56 grams of protein powder, two cups of grapes, three tbsp of barley, and over an ounce of sunflower seeds. For lunch, he'd typically eat 4.5 ounces of chicken breast, four ounces of low or nonfat cheese, four cups of vegetable soup, four crackers, three whole pitas, and 12 peanuts, followed later by 49 grams of protein powder, 1.5 cups of low-fat yogurt, 1.5 tbsp of barley, three tbsp of slivered almonds, one tsp of olive, flax, hemp or salmon oil, and two tangerines.

Cavill would eat a dinner consisting of 11 ounces of lean beef, four cups of cauliflower, two cups of rice, six tbsp of almonds, and 1.3 cups of fruit juice before finishing it all off with a sixth meal, comprised of 11 ounces of skinless turkey breast, two cups of chickpeas, a cup of mushrooms, a fourth of a cup of onions, a head of lettuce, three cups of cherry tomatoes, and six tbsp of almonds.

Anyone can hire some skilled personal trainers and put down a bunch of calories to get ripped, but playing Superman requires more than simply lifting heavy objects and exhibiting lightning-like quickness. Being Superman requires inner strength.

"Fitness is strength and conditioning, but also strength of character," Twight told Muscle & Fitness. "Cheating and shortcuts produce visible insecurity. Genuine accomplishment looks and feels different. It cannot be faked. By doing physically difficult things, by changing his body of his own will, Henry changed his attitude and his bearing. He looked huge. He walked huge. His attitude broadcast his physical capability."

Just like Clark Kent, Cavill learned what it means to be Superman through discovering his own power. 
"I learned my limits go far beyond what my head thinks they are," Cavill said. "Superman isn't just about his strength or his abilities. It's more about determination in the face of a seemingly insurmountable problem."