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Henry Cavill’s ‘Justice League’ workout routine

Train like Superman himself and get a body that’s super ripped.

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Henry Cavill's 'Justice League' Workout
Ben Watts
Henry Cavill's 'Justice League' Workout
Ben Watts

Gone are the days when an actor playing Superman—“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!”—could get away with stuffing his spandex suit with scrawny arms and flabby abs. Nowadays, movie superheroes have to appear powerful enough to actually perform those acts—well, as much as is humanly possible, anyway.

Henry Cavill did just that for last spring’s Batman v Superman, and will do it again in 2017’s Justice League, with a body that both looks and performs like it’s from another planet. His trainer, Michael Blevins (gritandteeth.com), gave us a few sample routines that represent the kind of training Cavill used. Try them yourself and see what feats you can accomplish.

How it works

“Our goals are superficial in nature: to appear impossibly lean and muscular,” says Blevins. But, he adds, while most trainers do this with old-fashioned physique training, he works on Cavill’s athleticism, so he can not only look superhuman on-screen, but also run, jump, and apply his strength when a scene calls for it.

This is done mainly with CrossFit-style training—circuits and timed workouts that include gymnastics, Olympic lifting, and plyometrics. Ultimately, the combination builds functional strength and endurance on top of the muscles that fill out the suit and tights.

Directions

Perform each workout once per week, resting a day between each session. 

Day I: Do the exercises in each group (marked A–C) as a circuit, completing one set of each move in sequence. For each circuit, set a timer and complete as many rounds as possible in five minutes, resting as needed. Note that Exercise 3 is a stand-alone, and then sets of 4A and 4B are alternated for 5 minutes.

Day II: Alternate sets of the exercise pairs (A and B). When all sets are complete for one pair, move on to the next. 

Day III: Perform the exercises as straight sets, completing all sets for one move before moving on to the next. Set a timer and try to complete the workout in as little time as possible.

Routine

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Day I

Chest, hamstrings, and total-body burn

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 1 of 6

Rower

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
--
Reps
Row 300m
Rest
--
Exercise 2 of 6

Clean and Jerk

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
--
Reps
12 with 175 lbs
Rest
--
Exercise 3 of 6

Wall Ball

Equipment
Medicine Ball
Sets
--
Reps
As many as possible with 20-pound ball
Rest
3 minutes, then go on to 2A - 2C
Exercise 4 of 6

Explosive Stepup

Equipment
Box
Sets
--
Reps
As many as possible (each side)
Rest
--
Exercise 5 of 6

Clean and Jerk

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
--
Reps
12 with 175 lbs
Rest
--
Exercise 6 of 6

Weighted Burpee

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
--
Reps
As many as possible with 20-lb dumbbells
Rest
3 minutes, then go on to 3
Exercise 7 of 6

Burpee

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
--
Reps
20
Rest
--
Exercise 8 of 6

Push Press

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
--
Reps
10 with 30-lb dumbbells
Rest
--
Exercise 9 of 6

Sumo Deadlift High Pull

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
--
Reps
5 with 30-lb dumbbells
Rest
--

Day II

Core and arms

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 10 of 6

Handstand Hold

Equipment
Wall
Sets
3
Reps
Hold 30 sec.
Rest
60 sec.
Exercise 11 of 6

Wall Walk Up

Equipment
Wall
Sets
3
Reps
5
Rest
60 sec.
Exercise 12 of 6

Ring Dips

Equipment
Dip Station
Sets
5
Reps
5
Rest
60 sec.
Exercise 13 of 6

Dragon Flag

Equipment
Bench
Sets
5
Reps
5
Rest
60 sec.
Exercise 14 of 6

Chinup

Equipment
Pullup Bar
Sets
5
Reps
5
Rest
60 sec.
Exercise 15 of 6

Toes to Bar

Equipment
Pullup Bar
Sets
5
Reps
5
Rest
60 sec.

Day III

Legs, arms, and cardio

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 16 of 6

1,000-Meter Shuttle Run

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
--
Reps
Run and change directions 3 times
Rest
--
Exercise 17 of 6

Kettlebell Snatch

Equipment
Kettlebells
Sets
--
Reps
100 total
Rest
--
Exercise 18 of 6

Toes to Bar

Equipment
Pullup Bar
Sets
--
Reps
50 total
Rest
--
Exercise 19 of 6

Power Clean

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
--
Reps
50 total with 135 pounds
Rest
--
Exercise 20 of 6

Bar Hop

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
--
Reps
100 total
Rest
--
Exercise 21 of 6

Burpee Box Jump-Over

Equipment
Box
Sets
--
Reps
50 total
Rest
--
Exercise 22 of 6

Rower

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
--
Reps
1,000m total
Rest
--
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