How Henry Cavill Got Ripped for ‘Superman’ in Man of Steel?

Who can forget Henry Cavill's ripped and shredded physique as Superman in Man of Steel? The actor took the role to another level, not just with his acting but also with his attractive physique, which took him months to build and tone.

The British actor showed off his ripped body in Batman v Superman as well. Those chiseled abs and powerfully built muscles were enough to make us think he was from Krypton.

In this article, we will take a look at the actor's diet and workout routine that he followed to become Superman.

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Henry Cavill's Diet

Before we talk about what Henry Cavill eats, we should point out that he is a pretty big guy. He needs more calories than the average guy because he is over 6 feet tall and weighs about 90 kg.

In fact, he said that when he was getting ready to play Superman, he ate up to 5,000 calories per day. If you are looking to follow his diet, you need to count his calorie intake against his height and weight and adjust the formula for yourself similarly.

Breakfast

• Eggs - Cavill had 5 egg whites and 2 yolks in a single serving
• Steak
• Oatmeal protein shake
• No1 Rosemary Water

Snack #1

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 56g protein powder
• 2 cups grapes
• 3 tbsp barley
• 1 1/5 oz sunflower seeds

Lunch #1

• Chicken curry with jasmine rice
• Apple

Post-Workout

Protein Shake: Cavill is said to have had several shakes throughout the day. This one had peanut butter, coconut milk, maltodextrin, and whey protein in it.

Lunch #2

• Chicken breast with curry sauce
• Roasted potatoes

Snack #2

• 49g protein powder
• 1.5 cups yoghurt
• 1.5 tbsp barley
• 3 tbsp slivered almonds
• 1 tsp of either olive, flax, hemp or salmon oil
• 2 tangerines

Dinner

• Bison Steak: Bison is high in protein and has less fat than other meats. Add to that the fact that it is a natural source of creatine, and you have real "Man of Steel" food.
• Brown Rice Pasta
• After dinner, Cavill had a protein shake. Just when you thought he had had enough protein for the night, he had another shake. It also had greens and water, in addition to protein powder.

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Henry Cavill's Workout Routine

We can't give you Henry Cavill's exact Superman workout, but we can give you a fair idea of what his workout might have looked like.

Henry Cavill used to work out for up to 2.5 hours a day, 4–5 days a week. The actor stuck to this workout to get ready for both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.

Most of Cavill's workouts took place at Mark Twight's private gym (his trainer), also called Gym Jones, so the exact details were kept secret. We can say for sure that it was a Man of Steel workout because the actor said in an interview that he was "breaking boundaries I didn't know I could."

Henry Cavill has said that the workout included doing things with 100 reps and heavyweights, for example, 100 bodyweight front squats.

Trainer Mark Twight has also talked about the tailpipe, which is an important part of the workout near the end. The tailpipe is basically a tag-team routine that is meant to push you to exhaustion, if not past it.

The routine is called a tailpipe because the point is for you to feel like you just sucked on one. It involves the following exercises:

• Row 250m
• Hold two 24-kilogram kettlebells in the "rack" position and focus on your breathing.
• Take a 45-second break.

Cavill is also a big fan of cardio done without eating first. It's basically running or jogging first thing in the morning, before you eat anything. Since you haven't eaten, your body starts to burn the fat that it has stored.

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Takeaway

There is no doubt that Henry Cavill trained super hard to build those Man of Steel muscles. He has himself said that the workouts often required him to push past what he thought was possible—requiring him to call on every ounce of strength (mental and physical) within him.

Following Henry Cavill's diet and routine is not going to be an easy task. You also need to keep in mind that he slept for 9–10 hours every day for the duration of his training, in order to allow his body to repair and restore his muscles.