Among all the male actors of the MCU, it is safe to say that Thor actor Chris Hemsworth has the most incredible physique. The actor plays a literal God and looks the part, getting better at his bodybuilding with each appearance as the God of Thunder. He was reportedly as good as a professional bodybuilder when he starred in last year’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
However, Hemsworth’s physique has sparked the conversation around male body standards and how it can impact the public negatively. The YouTube bodybuilding channel Buff Dudes recently remarked on the scary impact of such chiseled physiques on men’s mental health.
Chris Hemsworth’s Body Transformation As Thor
Many have admired the shirtless scenes of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in his appearances in the MCU. The actor’s incredible physique is the stuff of dreams for many aspiring bodybuilders. Hemsworth had an incredible body transformation when he was cast as the mighty God of Thunder in the Marvel films.
For the first Thor film, Hemsworth reportedly trained under a former US Navy SEAL and worked on his upper body more as that was required for the film. He has claimed that he focuses more on the parts that are visible in his super suit and plans his workout based on that.
The actor has also questioned the need for his shirtless scenes in the films as he feels that it has to be justified. He reportedly questioned directors Joss Whedon in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Taika Waititi in Thor: Ragnarok. Hemsworth reportedly has a grueling process that he follows before a shirtless scene in the film.
According to his trainer Luke Zocchi, the actor has a dehydration routine before his shirtless scene so that his muscles look better on camera. He told Insider,
“We start with three liters and every day increase by one liter, and then by the end, he drinks seven liters of water. Then around lunchtime before the scene, we cut water completely. This is by no means a healthy thing to do, and I wouldn’t recommend that anyone else do this.”
The actor was last seen in Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder, where one of the highlights was his almost n*de scene.
Bodybuilders Talk About The Scary Impact Of Chris Hemsworth’s Bodybuilding
With Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Hemsworth reportedly was bigger than ever. He mentioned that his training regime for the film was particularly hard as the target weight was that high. He reportedly had such an intense training program that he did not want to do it again. His wife Elsa Pataky was reportedly not a fan of his bulk.
However, the actor’s insane transformation reportedly had a lot of fans among men. His body was said to be on the level of professional bodybuilders. Hemsworth spoke to Insider, talking about how his body was received,
“It came from boredom, sitting in COVID lockdown was like a prison. It was train, eat, train, eat. Nothing else to do. Then I turned up for the film bigger than I’ve ever been…There are a lot of my male friends who are like, ‘Yeah!’ but a lot of female friends and family are like, ‘Yuck’”
Though loved by many, others have criticized Hemsworth’s intense and idealistic body transformation. The bodybuilding YouTube channel Buff Dudes, while talking about the actor’s bulk for Thor: Love and Thunder, spoke about the negative impacts of his insane physique. They said,
“By 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, [Chris Hemsworth] had grown to almost professional bodybuilder levels leaving us to wonder just how much farther actors could push themselves in order to portray their superhero counterparts…the body security and insecurity issues is maybe not talked about enough with men…you do have to remember a lot of times that this is a fictional movie…”
The fitness enthusiasts also spoke about how much pressure the actors themselves as well as the general public would face to look like Hemsworth ideal physique.
