There’s no superhero like a Marvel superhero. Even if you’re not a Marvel fan, you’re familiar with the entertainment franchise’s cast of superheroes. From Dr. Strange and Nick Fury to Ant-Man and Hulk, there’s no shortage of fascinating characters in the MCU – and they’re completely inescapable in pop culture. One of the traits most often associated with a superhero role, though, is the need for actors to get insanely swole to wear their skin-tight superhero costumes.
We’ve seen celebrities like Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, and Kumail Nanjiani take on the intimidating task of getting ripped for their Marvel superhero roles. It takes blood, sweat, tears, and a whole lotta sacrifice to live up to the MCU costume standards, but most of the formerly soft-bodied celebs who have accepted the challenge seem proud of their transformations.
We aren’t exactly the picture of health, and we’re guessing you aren’t, either. (Nerds and powerlifting don’t exactly go together.) So why not stop envying the impressive physiques of movie stars and instead start working toward your own superhero fitness goals? To that end, we’ve worked up a guide to turning your body into a machine just like the Marvel characters you admire. This is the Mandatory Guide to Getting Marvel Superhero Swole.
Cover Photo: Marvel
Superhero Guide Swole
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Try On a Super Suit
Nothing strikes fear in the heart of men like Spandex from head to toe.
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Talk Non-Stop About the Changes You’re Making
Who doesn’t want to hear about what you ate (or didn’t eat) and how much you lifted today?
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Commit to a Mantra
We’re partial to Nanjiani’s “Chase the Pain” refrain.
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Stop Drinking
And we don’t just mean alcohol. Dehydration works wonders for the waistline!
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Subsist On Steamed Chicken Breasts
Nobody said this was going to be fun.
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Put Your Scale in the Kitchen
Every time you want to open the fridge, shame yourself with those three little numbers instead.
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Work Out (Duh) All. The. Time.
Every time you want to put food in your mouth, just pick up a dumbbell instead.
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Jump Rope in Between Sets
We don’t know how these things work, either.
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Push Yourself to the Limit – Then Go Past It
If you’re not smashing through high-rise windows yet, you’re not pushing hard enough.
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Power Nap Between Lifting Sessions
Call it part of your “recovery” strategy. You won’t have energy for anything else anyway.
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Celebrate the Little Victories
What he said.
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Give Up and Give In
A sub sandwich tastes better than muscles will ever feel. (Isn’t that how the saying goes?)
