Thor and Captain America are two of the founding members of the Avengers squad. They are not only iconic characters, but have iconic looks that fans depend on for every movie. Although these roles do not completely translate from comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the physiques still resemble those that were drawn.
Related: The Real Story Behind Captain America Using Thor's Hammer In 'Avengers: Endgame'
Chris Hemsworth plays the role of a Norse god, and is thus expected to look like one. After months and months of physical training to target specific muscle growth, a change in diet, and essentially a new superhero lifestyle prior to and during shooting, he comes to look like the Thor we all know and love.
Chris Evans, on the other hand, plays a soldier who was injected with serum to make him bigger and better. He needed to develop special muscles and gymnastic abilities to fully step into his character, along with shredding down as much fat as he could. Both heroes had to train hard for their roles, but which Chris trained harder?
8 Chris Hemsworth's Trainer Makes Him Work Out 5 Days A Week
To get the Thor physique, Hemsworth must work out on a regular basis. His personal trainer, Luke Zocchi, has curated a specific plan to get him (and keep him) in shape to play this Asgardian god. To keep up his strength training, his plan was divided up into days of pushing and pulling exercises. Zocchi shared the basic layout, saying: "For this last Thor, we stuck to a regime of push/pull. It would be split into five days."
7 Chris Evans' Trainer Focused On Strength-Building
Our super soldier Chris Evans needed a strong body for his role as well, but his personal trainer took a different approach to get him in shape. He didn’t need as many vanity muscles but aimed for higher flexibility. "Trainer Simon Waterson implemented high-weight/low-rep sets of popular compound lifts… Evans also performed a number of bodyweight moves, plyometrics such as squat-to-box jumps, and gymnastics."
6 Chris Hemsworth Started Training 3 Months Prior
In order to get his vanity muscles prepared, Hemsworth met with Zocchi several months prior to the first shoot for any of the Marvel films he would appear in. "For all those Marvel roles, we start like three months prior. We almost do like a bootcamp," shared Zocchi. Chris is dedicated to fitness all year, but he really goes all-in when preparing for the movies.
Related: Chris Hemsworth Confessed That He Made This Mistake While Playing Thor
5 Chris Evans Drank Several Protein Shakes A Day
Evans is all about body health and wants to do everything he can to ensure he’s taking care of his own. Addressing his 4-5 protein shakes a day, he said: “Supplement-wise I used a bit of glutamine, whey protein shakes, branched-chain amino acids, then 500mg supplements of Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 fatty acids every single meal to make sure that my joints were functioning well—I needed it because the working out was so intensive, especially with things like the gymnastics.”
4 Chris Hemsworth Had To Eat 4,500 Calories A Day
While he is made to look larger than the “earthlings” on screen, Chris Hemsworth is a bigger guy in real life. Standing at 6’3 and heavy with muscles, he needs to make sure he’s getting the nourishment his body needs. The number of calories he eats increases when he’s trying to put on muscle for Thor, and Zocchi shared: "He was eating like 4,500 calories a day. It was crazy."
3 Chris Evans Took A Low-Carb Protein Approach
Evans went a different route regarding food. Rather than eating to bulk up, he just needed to eat enough to help him gain muscle without adding on any layers of fat. His trainer, Waterson, explained: “The biggest challenge for Chris was eating enough to put on muscle but avoid storing any excess energy as fat…We relied on low-carb protein shakes in between meals and snacks such as fruit and nuts,”
Related: How Did Chris Evans Become Captain America?
2 Chris Hemsworth Had To Restrict His Bloodflow
Hemsworth underwent a new (to him) style of training that definitely was not a favorite. He said: "By restricting blood flow and oxygen the muscles are forced to work harder in a shorter period of time and a bunch of other 'sports sciency' stuff happens... Basically it's one of the most uncomfortable training methods I've experienced but part of the puzzle in growing Thor's arms to look like the legs of a racehorse." Different movie roles require different types of training, and thankfully he has only had to do this for the role of Thor.
1 Chris Evans Hated His Training
Speaking to the different personalities of our superhero “Chrises,” Evans did not enjoy his exercise routine for Captain America in the slightest. Hemsworth has gone on to pursue working out in new avenues, even creating an app available for anyone to buy that centers around clean eating and exercising, whereas Evans admitted: "[Training] was gruelling, it was brutal and I’d find any excuse possible not to go... But I had to do it." It may have been difficult, but it sure did pay off.
