Henry Cavill: 'My Best Advice on Training, Fitness and Nutrition'
Despite playing Superman over five years ago in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Henry Cavill remains in superhero shape year-round. His role as monster hunter Geralt in Netflix's new Witcher franchise has seen the 38-year-old continue to build strength and fitness with the fighting stamina to match.
Working with Hollywood strength mastermind Dave Rienzi — usually associated with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's resolute training schedule — has seen Cavill become a formidable force in the weights room. In a recent Q&A interview with Bodybuilding.com, Cavill shared a few training philosophies that have kept him pushing the boundaries in the gym and on set.
"I have gone through peaks and troughs in my physicality, depending on how hard a job has been, how much physical work I've put into it and having to have time off afterward and not having access to the same facilities to train in," Cavill says in the interview when asked on how his fitness priorities have shifted. "One of the big things now is that I'm investing in making sure I have those facilities always available to me."
If that sounds familiar, it's the same approach that Johnson took up to build his home gym fitness mecca, the "Iron Paradise". For Cavill, the ideal home gym would be a "maximal" set-up, "a large space, with all the necessary equipment." And, as he admits in the interview, he's "better at everything now. It's been 10 years [since Man of Steel], so I think I'm more experienced now and have more in the way of experienced muscle."
So how hard is Cavill going in these workouts, and should you do the same? "It depends on what I'm trying to achieve," he explains. "And what level I'm at with my body and also how much time I have. The deeper I get into a job — if it's a hard job, time-intensive and taxing — I will request to my trainer to programme things differently. I'd be training four times a week instead of six and, on the fourth day, a really simple arm and shoulder workout...I'm not crawling out of the gym and thinking 'I need a nap immediately'".
When asked on his advice for his younger self — and, we assume, anyone else looking to Cavill for his steer on training — "find someone who knows what they're talking about and listen to them. And get good at cooking," he laughs. "It's not supposed to be easy, it's supposed to be hard and so mentally prepare yourself for an hour or two hours of hard work."
The hard work is replicated in Cavill's diet, too. Speaking to GQ, he'll start with "one and a half scoops of a 100% grass-fed whey protein with a cup of oats and some berries and blend that up...The other part is an omelette with a bit of ham in there, and I think it's about six ounces of beef filet. I'll go on to meal two about three hours later, which is chicken and white rice with a side of curry sauce, because I like the flavour."
"Meal three is another three hours later and will be the same, but with brown rice. Then meal four will be, I think about four ounces of beef with sweet potato. I kind of like sweet potato fries because I'm not a huge fan of sweet potatoes...then it's the pre-bed [protein] shake. Ideally, another three hours later but if time is of the essence and I need to get to bed, then it's okay to have it an hour and a half, two hours after."
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