FEW HOLLYWOOD TRANSFORMATIONS are more admired than that of Chris Evans’ effort to embody Captain America. Evans’ superhero physique still commands tens of thousands of search engine queries every day, even though the actor seemingly exited the MCU after 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Now, Evans is confirmed to be returning for Avengers: Doomsday. Though his precise role is yet to be determined, seeing as Anthony Mackie has now assumed the Captain America mantle. Nevertheless, Evans has already begun the process of getting back into Captain America-level shape, judging by recent photos.
Here, we’ll be exploring the workouts that Evans is using to re-gain upper-body brawn, ensuring there’s no CGI trickery needed to turn his physique into that of a superhero.
Chris Evans' Avengers workout routine
Evans sought the advice of celebrity trainer Simon Waterson to help him get jacked again. “Ultimately, it is about performance rather than just looking good,” Waterson previously told GQ. “He has to be able to sprint, throw a shield, jump over a wall. The aesthetics are almost like a byproduct of being an athlete.”
Evans’ routine barely features any cardio, as his focus is on putting on mass rather than getting lean. It does, however, include a big focus on building athleticism and explosiveness to prepare for stunt work. See for yourself below.
Chris Evans' shoulder workout
“Chest is exhausting. Triceps always hurt. But I love shoulder exercises,” Evans says of his workout routine, which attacks his upper-body muscle groups. Evans’ shoulder workout looks like this:
- Lateral raises, 3 sets of 15 reps
- Front raises, 3 sets of 15 reps
- Military press, 3 sets of 15 reps
- Reverse shoulder fly, 3 sets of 15 reps
Chris Evans' leg workout
In an interview with Coach, Waterson shared his expertise on building Chris Evans’ body for Captain America: Civil War. “When I first started working with Chris for the original Captain America film, the studio had a very specific idea about how they wanted him to look,” Waterson said. “My brief was to build Chris a strong, big and lean body that was realistic, functional and in proper proportion… Chris had done some weight training before, but as with a lot of guys it had been focused on the vanity muscles – chest, arms and abs. He understood the importance of a balanced physique.”
Building this “balanced physique” involved a lot of lower-body work for Evans. Waterson shared his heavy-lifting lower-body workout:
- Barbell back squats, 3 sets of 8 reps
- Barbell lunges, 3 sets of 8 reps
- Leg press, 3 sets of 8 reps
- Calf raises, 3 sets of 8 reps
- Hamstring curls, 3 sets of 8 reps
Chris Evans' back, arms and chest workout
Evans makes targeting multiple muscle groups in one workout a priority. That means combining exercises that work his back, biceps and chest simultaneously. His upper body workout looks like this:
- Clean and jerk, 3 sets of 10 reps
- Dumbbell thrusters, 3 sets of 20 reps
- Renegade rows, 3 sets of 20 reps
- Dumbbell chest press, 3 sets of 10
- Push-ups, 3 sets of 15 reps
Chris Evans' workout for explosive power and athletic strength
Evans utilises a two-phase workout designed by strength and conditioning expert Jamie Sawyer to build explosiveness and athleticism. Here’s the rundown:
- Plyometric quarter squat and box jumps super set, 4 sets of 5 reps for each exercise
- Barbell front squats, 3 sets of 5 reps
- Good mornings with barbell, 3 sets of 5 reps
- Single-arm dumbbell snatches, 3 sets of 8 reps
Chris Evans' Avengers diet plan
Evans has never been too specific about his exact diet plan, but he has revealed some of his guiding nutrition principles in a number of interviews. “I never count calories,” he admitted in his cover story with Men’s Health. “I wasn’t trying to lose [weight] or tone, I was just looking to gain. The rule of thumb was: if you’re not eating, go get something.”
He also made use of supplements. “I would take a lot of amino acids,” he said. But his primary focus was eating nutritious whole foods with plenty of protein. “I eat lots of chicken, turkey and fish,” he said. “If you’re looking for great value protein, choose free-range turkey. It delivers 25.7 per cent protein per helping, compared to 22.7 per cent for your average T-bone steak.”
