Batman’s Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway Trained Hard for their Superhero Bodies

Christopher Nolan brought Batman back to the silver screen in 2005 with Batman Begins, and nearly ten years later, his wildly successful trilogy is set to conclude with the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises this Friday. The Dark Knight Rises will feature Catwoman, with Anne Hathaway as the dangerous and beautiful feline fatale, and Christian Bale will reprise his role as Batman. They both trained like … superheroes to prepare for their roles and we imagine you too, with look great in a Bat or Cat suit if you trained like they did as well.

Playing a superhero is a big change from Hathaway’s usual roles in romantic comedies and dramas and getting herself ready to play Catwoman was no easy task. Anne had to look perfect in Catwoman’s famous black spandex suit, but also had to be fit enough to perform the demanding  acrobatic fight scenes required of the role.

As a long time vegetarian Hathaway has always been thin, but for her role in The Dark Knight Rises thin just wouldn’t cut it. “I’ve always thought that skinny was the goal, but with this job, I also have to be strong.”

Her training for the role began nearly 10 months prior to filming and it became her number one priority. Hathaway trained six days a week, focusing on stunt training, plyometrics, strength training, and dancing for extra cardio. Anne admitted that she has never been fond of working out, but the months of intense training pushed her passed her fitness phobia. “There’s a workout hump where you’re so weak that you hate everything, and everything’s painful, and you look like an idiot.”

Christian Bale is well-known for his incredible transformations.  The 6’1″ Bale had dropped down to an emaciated 121 lbs. for his role in 2004’s The Machinist, and was able to add 100 lbs of muscle back to his frame in only a year in order to play Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. Bale has delivered legendary performances in each of the first two Batman movies and he has allegedly outdone even his own high standards in the upcoming series finale.

“With Bruce Wayne and Batman, he feels this is his last chance to really nail the role. He’s pouring over comic books and he’s started the kind of diet and exercise regimen that is more in line with an Olympic athlete than an actor. He’s going to be in the best shape of his life by the time he gets the Bat suit on again.” – Unnamed Source Close to Bale

Bale didn’t need to perform a drastic transformation this time, but he followed a very intense program of strength training and speed work coupled with stunt a fight training.

Here is a sample of Bale’s workout program for the filming of The Dark Knight Rises. 

Day 1: Power

Chin ups/ cable row superset
4 sets of 12 repetitions

Explosive High Pulls
4 sets of 10 repetitions

Power Cleans
4 sets of 10 repetitions

Day 2: Speed and Agility

5 sets of 30 meter sprints
5 sets of 40 meter sprints

Rest for 1 minute between sets.

Squat Jumps
4 sets of 10 repetitions

Lunges
4 sets of 10 repetitions

Day 3: Power and Speed

Dumbbell Flys
3 sets of 12 repetitions

Explosive Bench Press
4 sets of 10 repetitions

Box Jumps
2 minutes exercise, 30 seconds rest, until failure

Day 4: Rest

Rest day

Day 5: Power

Repeat day 1

Day 6: Speed and Agility

Repeat day 2

Day 7: Power and Speed

Repeat day 3

This workout is intense, but Bale has proven over and over that he will go to extremes in order for his role. His performance and the addition of Anne Hathaway make The Dark Knight Rises this summer’s must see.

Learn how Tom Hardy got in shape to play the monstrous super-villain Bane here.