Secrets to Superhero Fitness: The Avengers

The Avengers is set to release on May 4th, with a huge cast of big-name actors. The intrigue of this movie is that it intertwines the story lines of four separate superhero movies, combining all these great actors in one place. We love to see and hear about how the actors prepared for their roles, especially when they are playing the parts of characters with superhuman abilities. Even better though, we always try to take something from what we hear and apply it to our lives. Each of the superheroes and villains, brings something to the table and there is much to be learned from their experiences training for The Avengers, like the following:

Time and Stress Management

Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) knows what it means to remain dedicated to his fitness level and eating habits. After Iron Man 2, he began working on The Avengers, and can’t stop because filming for Iron Man 3 is rumored to start in early May. With such a busy schedule, Robert Downey Jr. knows what it must be like to be a superhero. If it wasn’t for his workout regime, involving fire hoses, tires, and sledgehammers, he may drive himself crazy with all the stress, little down-time, and intertwining story-lines.

Simply Bulking up

Chris Evans (Captain America) doesn’t have any fancy techniques to help him bulk up, he explains his workout and eating habits in a few short sentences during an interview with Details Magazine. “What I try to do when I’m working out is take in a lot of heavy protein—clean chicken and clean meats. My workout routine isn’t too fancy either. I don’t have some cool P90X thing that I do. I just pick up heavy stuff and put it back down. It’s really simple stuff. It’s like the stuff I learned in high school, but I always want to do yoga because I’m getting old. Nerves are getting pinched every other day, and I really just gotta get more limber.

Staying limber is good, pushing your body too hard can lead to painful consequences like joint pain and pinched nerves a bit of yoga or just plain stretching might alleviate the risk for such problems.

Fighting For Fitness

Being the only female superhero in this movie, Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) represents well. She has an amazing body, as always, and it’s evident she has put in the training. She was quick to boast about her skills and strength in her interview with Vanity Fair. “For The Avengers, I’ve spent so many months training with our stunt team, and fighting all the other actors, it’s crazy. I do nothing but fight—all the time. I have humongous muscles, by the way.”

It was confirmed in the interview that Scarlett had a rock solid bicep. Learning a fighting style, whether it be a form of martial arts, kick-boxing, or wrestling, is a great way to workout without going to a traditional gym. If you don’t believe her, ask Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) about his training.

According to The Telegraph, Jeremy Renner was training for The Avengers at the same time as his roles in the upcoming Mission Impossible and Bourne movies, which are now being organized. His training for those movies includes Muy Thai, Filipino Stick Fighting, Fast Hands Boxing and knife throwing. These fighting styles are not only great for acting, but they also produce very lean and muscular bodies, where speed and endurance trump strength and size.

Use your Emotions to Fuel your Workout

Fortunately for Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner) we have CGI, and he wasn’t forced to bulk up to look like The Hulk. We all know that when Bruce Banner gets angry he turns into his alter ego, The Hulk. While I wouldn’t suggest going into an adrenaline-induced rampage, sometimes a little extra testosterone fueled by anger or even excitement can give you an explosive workout and huge results. If your angry about something, take that frustration out on a heavy bag or a set of weights! Use time exercising to clear your head and come up with a rational solution to solve your problem. You’ll push yourself harder without even realizing it.

A Recipe for Success

If I could sum up all the research I’ve done on gaining muscle mass with a few simple rules, it would sound a lot like Chris Hemsworth (Thor) in his interview with MovieLine. For his role in Thor and The Avengers, he sticks to a simple game plan. “It’s all got to be lean muscle tissue so that means eating tons of lean protein and vegetables and brown rice and potatoes, but all very basic and simple. Getting into the gym six days a week. Then you’ve got to get the rest in because that’s another part of the equation.”

Get Physical, Play a Sport

In comparison to his role in Thor, Tom Hiddleston (Loki) says The Avengers involved: “More stunts. More training. Day in, day out. Running, jumping, flying, twisting. We worked like athletes. It was really fun.”

A lot of people go to the gym, bulk up, slim down, tone their bodies, but never put them to good use. Find something that you can use your body for: hiking, rock climbing, and playing a sport are clever ways to train while rewarding yourself with a fun experience.