If you’ve ever wondered what speedy workouts Chris Hemsworth likes to do in his spare time, we've got the answer. The Thor actor recently shared a bodyweight workout on his social media and like any good fitness editor, I was eager to give it a try.
I previously reviewed Chris’ workout app, Centr, and was pleasantly surprised at how simple, practical and useful it was. So I knew that Chris’ workout would be a good little body blitz to get my teeth stuck into after a day of being sat behind my laptop. You can also read what happened when we tried the exact resistance band workout Chris used on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder here.
Standing on a large floating naval ship in the middle of a beautiful blue ocean, Chris explains on Instagram that he will be sharing more workouts from his app as the weeks go on. He then goes on to demonstrate — to his 55.9 million followers — the seven moves that form his latest bodyweight workout. He then goes on to do these seven moves, ten times. As one of Chris’ followers so aptly put it, “I was sold until I saw it was 10 rounds”.
As a personal trainer, I very much encourage the use of bodyweight movements, as well as resistance-based exercises. Bodyweight workouts can be done anywhere, anytime as they require no equipment. They’re brilliant at home, in the gym or when travelling. Plus, although they require no weights, bodyweight exercises can still be tough and elevate your heart rate for a good workout.
Looking for more workout inspiration? Here’s what happened when we tried Khloe Kardashian’s intense workout when this writer did 30 Good Mornings every day for a week, and when this cyclist swapped his real bike rides for the Peloton for two weeks.
What is Chris Hemsworth’s latest bodyweight workout?
Here's what the workout entails:
Squats — 5 reps
Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes pointing out. Push your hips back and bend at the knees, as if you were going to sit down. Drop down until your thighs are parallel with the ground. Then, push up through your heels to rise up to your starting position
Bear crawl — 5 metres
Starting on all fours, lift both knees so they hover just above the ground, keeping your knee at a right angle. Take your left hand and move it slightly forward, whilst simultaneously moving your right foot forward, staying low to the floor. Then, take your right hand forward and left foot. Keep alternating sides.
Sit through — 10 reps
In your bear crawl position, lift your left arm at the same as your right leg, rotate to the left and pivot the right foot as you take the right leg under the left and extend it out. Then return to bear and repeat on the other side. Complete five reps on each side.
Push-up — 10 reps
In a plank position, bend at the elbows and lower your body down to the ground, then push up through your palms to come back up to your plank position. If this is too difficult, you can modify this exercise by lowering your knees to the ground.
Mountain climbers — 10 reps on each side
In a high plank position, drive the left knee to the right elbow then as you bring the left foot back, bring the right knee to the left elbow. Keep alternating sides until you have completed 10 reps on each side.
Static lunge — 5 reps on each leg
Stand with the left foot in front of the right and take a wide stance. Drop down, bending the knees, until the back right knee hovers above the ground. Push up through the front heel, then repeat. Go for five on one side, before swapping sides.
Ice skater lunge — 5 reps on each side
Take a wide stance with your feet pointing out to the side. Keeping the left leg straight, bend the knee, and drop down into a side lunge. Then, come back to the start position and repeat on the other side.
Rest for 60 seconds before repeating the exercises again until you have completed all ten rounds.
I tried Chris Hemsworth’s bodyweight workout — here’s what happened
I put my gym kit on and cleared some floor space at home for this bodyweight session. The moves themselves are pretty straightforward and it’s easy to sail through them with little fuss. After about five rounds, I was feeling slightly done with bear crawls and sit-throughs, but, in the name of work (and fitness), I carried on. Although the rep counts are low and there are only seven moves, 10 rounds is actually quite a lot and if you are a complete beginner, probably too much. For those new to exercise, or returning to exercise after an injury, I’d aim for five rounds.
Even as a personal trainer, I resorted to dropping down to my knees for the push-ups as my upper body strength isn’t that great, and 100 push-ups (10 rounds of 10 reps) was simply not going to happen unless I made them a little easier.
The whole workout was wrapped up in under 25 minutes and I was pretty sweaty, especially as the UK is in the middle of a heatwave right now. While the warm temperatures and my furnace of an apartment definitely contributed to the sweat, this was an excellent workout when it came to getting my heart rate up quickly.
If you’re looking for a fun full-body workout that’ll target your lower body, your upper body, and your core, look no further than Chris Hemsworth’s Instagram. As I mentioned above, this workout also got my heart rate up and worked my heart and lungs after a long day of being sat behind a desk.
I’ll definitely incorporate sit-throughs in my sessions a little more as I did notice that they challenged my core strength and my balance — two areas I could definitely improve on. Plus, I did it from the comfort of my own living room, and was able to jump straight in the shower the second I’d finished. A time saver for sure!
Next: Lucky for us, Chris Hemsworth's trainer shares many of his workouts. So, I tried Chris Hemsworth’s 250-rep dumbbell workout — and here’s what happened. I also did 50 leg raises a day for 14 days — and here's what happened to my abs. Furthermore, here's what happened when I tried running without music for two weeks.
