Henry Cavill in Man of Steel

For an actor, being cast as a superhero comes with the expectation and pressure of staying in top superhero shape. For Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill, this expectation has surely been met and has led to other roles in which he is absolutely ripped for, even though he wasn’t always exceptionally fit. Now that he is a total hard body, Cavill reveals how he trains on long shoots and preps to be shirtless for a scene.

Henry Cavill recently gave a virtual interview with Bodybuilding.com and explained his different training habits and just what he has done to transform his body into one that embodies Superman and Geralt of Rivia. Cavill explains that his training really fluctuate depending on what he wants to accomplish at the time and how much of his time and energy his job at the time is taking from him, saying:

It depends on what I’m trying to achieve, what level I’m at with my body and how much time I have. Because, the deeper I get into a job, if it’s a hard job and it’s particularly time intensive and taxing, then I will request my trainer to program things slightly differently. So, I’ll be training four times a week rather than six and on the fourth day there may be a really simple arm and shoulder workout. It’s a little bit taxing but it ends up looking better physically, with the pump and everything than me crawling out of the gym and needing a map immediately.

In the same interview, Henry Cavill explains that he uses bodybuilding technics to prepare for shirtless scenes. Apparently the specific workouts give him the aesthetic he is looking for to appear as he’d like on camera. Here’s what the actor says, exactly:

With hypertrophy workout, bodybuilding workout, I will be still working towards an aesthetic, still be able to create that aesthetic required for a shirtless scene later on in the shoot while being able to perform on a daily basis and make sure I’m doing the thing to the best of my ability which I’m actually there to do.

When asked just how his training programs have changed over the years, Henry Cavill reflected back to the beginning, when he first was cast as Superman for Man of Steel. It’s been a quick 10 years since Man of Steel came out, and Cavill says he is just overall more experienced with building muscle. Here it is in his own words:

Man of Steel was what, 2011? So it’s been 10 years. I think I’m just more experienced now and have a bit more in the way of experienced muscle.

Even though he’s pretty familiar with transforming his body in the way that he envisions for the ripped characters he plays, Henry Cavill still has his limits. He recently has been recovering from an injury on the set of The Witcher Season 2 and has had to assimilate his workouts to his new circumstance and recovery. Even so, it doesn’t sound like fans need to worry about him looking any less jacked in his upcoming projects.