Here's the One Exercise Chris Hemsworth Refuses to Do

Chris Hemsworth is so insanely chiseled that you can't help but sometimes wonder if he actually is a Norse god. But there's nothing supernatural about his physique, which is the result of a protein and carb-heavy diet and tons of exercise. His training to play Thor consists of intense 90-minute workouts 5 days a week, and includes cardio along with a lot of weight-lifting.

Doing bench presses, bent-over rows, weighted pull-ups, and weighted dips to achieve that bulky chest and back he's known for was new to Hemsworth.

"Most of my training previously was geared more around cardio—mainly boxing and Muay Thai, with some elements of weights. I hadn't experienced kettlebells, but it's a great way to build functional strength," he told Coach UK.

But when the 6'3" actor isn't obligated to weigh 215 pounds (his weight for Thor), he takes things down a notch. A 2017 Quora thread asked how much Hemsworth could bench press, speculating he could probably do "315 lbs for one or two reps when he's training" and "a little less in his off months."

But, last week, Hemsworth himself responded to the thread to admit that he doesn't bench press at all when he doesn't have to.

"I don't bench press at all. I do lots of push-ups. So whatever I weigh—the math is there—but for the first Thor I was bench pressing a lot. But it's a pretty boring exercise and pretty useless unless you have to *bench press shove* bad guys, you know?"

Of course that begs the question of how he stays in such incredible physical shape even when he's not preparing to play a superhero.

Based on his Instagram, it seems likely that he can credit his enviable body to the extremely active lifestyle that he leads.

He's an avid surfer.

He practices Kung Fu by the pool.

Does a lot of swimming.

Some boxing.

Skis.

And even uses his adorable children as weights.

So while you may only need to do short, daily HIIT workouts to reap all the health benefits of exercise, you might want to incorporate more fitness into your leisure routine in order to get to the level of Hemsworth. Not least of all because an increasing body of research indicates that working out outdoors has a ton of additional benefits for your body and mind. And for more great celebrity fitness advice, check out How James McAvoy Got Totally Ripped.

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