TAKING OVER FROM Henry Cavill was never going to be easy, but Liam Hemsworth has been up to the task – at least, physically. Season four of The Witcher is now streaming and no one can argue that the star of the series hasn’t met the physical expectations set by his predecessor.
Simply put, Hemsworth looks great in The Witcher – about as great as anyone can look in a bleach blonde wig. In his cover story for Esquire Australia, Hemsworth went deep on the physicality that was required for the role.
“Most of the stuff I’ve done through my career has had some element of stunts and being in decent shape,” he said. “And one of the first parts I try to tackle is what sort of shape a character needs to be in. For this, I felt like I needed to put on a bunch of muscle and be as big as possible. But when I did put on a bunch of weight, I was moving slower. I needed to be functional.”
To become Geralt, Hemsworth did extensive sword work to learn the fast-twitch choreography. That helped his strength become more functional, but then he eventually slimmed down, he picked up some injuries. “I’ve been dealing with so many different injuries throughout this shoot,” he admitted. “It just gets worse and worse, doesn’t it?”
When he started filming Season 4, a long-standing knee issue flared up, but this one was almost welcome. “I had a knee injury, which was funny because at the beginning of my part of the story with Geralt, he has a serious leg injury. It was the same leg that I was dealing with, and I was like, ‘Yeah. Cool, mate. I’m right there with you.’”
To achieve the desired blend of size and functionality, Hemsworth enlisted the help of trainer Mark Humphreys, who detailed the actor’s training routine for Men’s Health. “Liam’s schedule was incredibly demanding with all the stunt training, sword fighting and choreography, topped with hours of hair, makeup and costume,” Humphreys said, “So we would get in, shut up and focus.
“Our training plan would be mainly PPL, when necessary we liked to throw in extra arms and delts, because when you see how he looks in season 5 – you’ll get it.”
Liam Hemsworth's 'The Witcher' workout
Humphreys went into specifics on one aspect of Humewsworth’s routine – his push day. See the full workout below:
1/ Chest Press Machine x 10-12 reps and 1-2 warm-up sets, then 2 working sets
2/ Cable Fly (High to Low) x 10-12 reps and 3 sets
3/ Dumbbell Lateral Raise x 10-15 reps and 2 straight sets, 1 drop set
4/ Lying Cuffed Y Raise x 10-12 slow reps and 2 sets
5/ Tricep Pushdown x 12-15 reps and 3 sets then rest pause set
6/ Overhead Tricep Rope Extension x AMRAP and 2 sets
