Chris Hemsworth is no stranger to serious workouts – see these medicine ball and bodyweight workouts as great examples – and his latest is sure to set your arms and legs on fire.
Taking to Instagram with a two-minute video, Chris uses a single Olympic barbell, which commonly weighs around 20kgs, to complete a brutal HIIT-style workout that will set your entire body aflame.
Chris orders you to complete 10 rounds of his workout, which comprises 7 exercises. He adds that you should go at your own pace, just as long as you complete the goal of 10 rounds.
The 7 exercises are as follows:
- 10 x Bicep curls
- 10 x Overhead press
- 10 x Tricep extension
- 10 x Squat
- 10 x Lunges (10 each side)
- 10 x Bent over row
- 10 x Standing twists (10 each side)
Chris completes one round of the workout himself in 2 minutes, setting a tough benchmark to match, especially when you consider he appears pretty physically exhausted after just one round.
This Chris Hemsworth workout routine is part of a new 6-week program on his Centr app, called Centr Ignite. It has been designed to combine bodyweight and dumbbell exercises to “activate full-body strength, sculpting every muscle and blasting cardio fitness.”
The Centr Ignite program works on 35-minute workouts and has been developed by Chris’ personal trainer Luke Zocchi and Alexz Parvi.
The very fact Chris is using a barbell without any weight added on should be enough to prove this workout is going to be a lot harder than you may think. Any time you recruit your shoulders for extended periods, you can be sure you’re going to suffer from some serious fatigue, so the overhead press in this instance is going to be a serious test of your strength and stamina.
In our opinion, and without wanting to offend Mr Hemsworth, we would say his form for the bent-over row and lunges, in particular, is a little rushed.
It’s not just us, either, as one Instagram account – @jtstrength_and_conditioning, has commented, saying “Love ya Thor, but this is some god awful form.”
By only bending over a little, as opposed to fully hinging at the hips and pushing his bum out, Chris will be engaging more of his shoulders and traps, rather than the upper back and lats, which the bent-over row is meant to target.
Similarly, with his lunges, Chris doesn’t appear to be lunging down completely to the floor with his trailing knee, instead just hoping to smash out the 10 reps in a quick time. Performing these exercises in this way shouldn’t cause any injury, so are fine to imitate, you just might not reap the full benefit.
It’s with this is mind that you’ll need to determine if you want to complete the 10 rounds as quickly as possible, or if you’re going to be happy slowing things down in order to nail the technique and fully stress the muscles.
Either way, a Thor-like summer rig (hopefully) awaits.
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