CHRIS EVAN'S CAPTAIN AMERICA WORKOUT

To look like a superhero on screen, you need to train like a superhero in the gym. These fitness tips from actor Chris Evans will make you stronger, bigger, and better!

Following the worldwide success of "The Avengers," in 2012, Chris Evans took his physique to whole new heights for his third outing as Marvel's comic book hero Captain America in the highly-anticipated blockbuster "The Winter Soldier."

In this exclusive interview for BodyBuilding.com Evans reveals how you too can transform your body into that of a super warrior—without the use of a top-secret serum.

For Evans, the answer was simple: months of hard graft in the gym and a strict high-protein diet were the key to piling on the 30 pounds of size needed to realistically play a character who could stand tall among his fellow Avengers: Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man.

"For this film it was about three months of training, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I've always liked going to the gym, but these weren't normal gym sessions. I was puking at the gym. They were brutal, absolutely brutal."

Supersizing A Superhero

Bulking up to play Steve Rogers, wasn't something new for Evans. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," marked the third time he'd donned the famous red, white, and blue suit. To get the look he desired for the role, the naturally slim Evans spent many arduous months adding size to his frame using a variety of different exercises to ensure he wasn't just muscular, but also agile and fast. Evans explains: "The preparation for Captain America was really about me bulking up looks wise, so it was a lot of weight training so I could get big. The training regimen was based on heavyweight/low-rep sets of the classic compound
lifts. I did stuff like squats, deadlifts, shoulder press, incline bench presses, weighted dips, and chin-ups."

According to Evans, to get the physique of Captain America, a scrawny World War II recruit whose body was transformed by using a government-produced 'super soldier serum,' Evans would work on two muscle groups throughout each vigorous session.

"It's a very balanced workout, hitting every single muscle—I think even my toes got bigger, Evans says with a laugh. "We would take two muscle groups, whether it was chest and back or biceps and triceps and we would just destroy those muscles, literally, destroy them for just over two hours. Then we'd cool down with core and abs. "I'd also work with a lot of different angles and grips. For example, for chest I'd do close-grip incline press, incline bench flyes, and incline press-ups. And then I'd do kneeling shoulder-press sometimes, to incorporate more abs."

He adds: "Monday to Friday we'd hit the different parts of the body. On Saturday, it would be my rest day and then on Sunday, if there was something that needed extra work or wasn't feeling particularly fatigued, I'd hit that too. "We'd also mix up the free weight stuff with bodyweight stuff. I'd do lots of different weighted pull-ups, weighted dips, press-ups with a plate on my back. Simple-but-effective exercises, basically the classic bodyweight and bodybuilding stuff."

However, Evans wasn't willing to keep his training all that simple. He added gymnastics to his workouts.

Captain No Cardio

When you think of action movies, most people would presume there's a lot of fighting, a lot of explosions, and a lot of running away from things. It's simply part of the parcel.

So it was a shock to find out Evans stayed away from too much cardio-specific workouts; it would take away from all the hard work he'd done in terms of building his body up.

Instead, he replaced the cardio exercises with circuits. He explains: "Honestly, for Captain America I don't do a lot of cardio because I'm not trying to lose weight, it's all about putting on the muscle. It's big weights and training to put on the muscle. I mean, we might do a few sprints just to make sure I'm loose and conditioned, but that's about it, to be honest. We'd warm up and do some intervals for 10-15 minutes.

"Really though, the cardio training comes from doing the circuits, which are much more effective because you're working at a much higher heart rate. But you just leave the gym unable to move; it's really intense.

"Ultimately it is about the performance rather than just looking good, having big muscles. In the film I have to sprint a lot, throw the shield, jump over things. But the circuits cover a lot of that. There was no jogging, no rowing, no stationary bike—nothing. If I do cardio I'll disappear (laughs)."

Feeding Frenzy

Anybody who knows anything about putting on size knows that lifting heavy objects and spending hour after hour in the gym is only half battle. There's a lot more to it than just beating your personal best on the bench press. The truth is, you need to put food inside your body to help build lean muscle; and it can't be any type of food.

"The equation is around 2 grams protein per kilogram of bodyweight and that's achieved with a bunch of chicken," he laughs. "But then I'd also consume other sources of lean protein and some protein shakes through the day. But the eating is the thing I like the least (laughs), because I'd feel full all the time.

"I'd eat porridge, walnuts, raisins, low-fat Greek yogurt, a scoop of protein and maybe sliced banana for breakfast, which is generally an hour or two before I work out. Then through the day I'd eat a lot of things with a good protein
source, lots of fish and meat.

He adds: "Then I'd eat salad with the protein source, lots and lots of salad, lots of dark green, leafy vegetables, and then also a handful of almonds here and there. It was basically a high-protein diet, but then balanced with vegetables and fruits and some complex carbs, things like brown rice and porridge."

In terms of supplements to complement his workout, Evans used a diverse range to make sure that he was not only building muscle, but also so his body was able to fully recover from the intense gym sessions he would put himself through.

"Supplement-wise I used a bit of glutamine, whey protein shakes, branched-chain amino acids, then 500mg supplements of Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 fatty acids every single meal to make sure that my joints were functioning well—I needed it because the working out was so intensive, especially with things like the gymnastics.

"The branched-chain amino acids were basically there to fill the chain of repair of protein. The glutamine was used to stop me going catabolic or burning muscle tissue as energy, and was also good for my immune system.

"I think the protein shakes during the day would be normal whey-based shakes containing around 30g protein. But then before going to bed I would gulp down a protein shake that was primarily casein, for slow-release protein overnight."

The Captain America Workout

Fancy having a physique like Captain America himself? Here's a workout schedule that can help you get the superhero physique you so badly want. These sessions are all about packing muscle on to your frame, so you'll be using heavy weights and low reps on two different muscle areas. Start off with something comfortable, yet challenging.

Monday: Leg Day
Tuesday: Back Day
Wednesday: Chest Day
Thursday: Arm Day
Friday: Shoulders/Trap Day
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Rest Day

Leg Day
Back Squats
Lunges
Leg Press
Calf Raise
Seated Hamstring Curls
Squat to Box Jumps

Back Day
Deadlifts
Barbell Rows
Lat Pulldowns
Cable Rows
1-Arm Dumbbell Rows
Wide Grip Pull-Ups (Can be Weighted like Evans)

Chest Day
Incline Bench Press (Can sub for Dumbbells)
Dumbbell Bench Press
Cable Flys
Incline Cable Flyes
Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Dips (Can be weighted)

Arm Day
Preacher Curls
Skull Crushers
Dumbbell Bicep Curls
Hammer Curls
Tricep Overhead Extension
Chin Ups (Can be weighted)

Shoulders/Trap Day
Military Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Shrugs
Barbell Strict Press
Barbell Shrugs
Front Dumbbell Raises
Shoulder Width Push-Ups (Can be weighted)

BONUS TIP:

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Credits to:

• SuperheroJacked
• BodyBuilding.com