{"id":21652,"date":"2022-06-24T17:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weareactors.com\/?p=21652"},"modified":"2022-06-24T18:13:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T17:13:48","slug":"natalie-portmans-thor-workout-revealed-10-months-of-boxing-dumbbells-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weareactors.com\/natalie-portmans-thor-workout-revealed-10-months-of-boxing-dumbbells-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Natalie Portman\u2019s \u2018Thor\u2019 Workout Revealed: 10 Months of Boxing, Dumbbells and More"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From the moment photos of Natalie Portman in \u201cThor: Love and Thunder\u201d surfaced, the internet was swift to comment on how bulky her arms were.<\/p>\n

In the Marvel film, opening July 8, Portman returns as Jane Foster\/The Mighty Thor. This time around she is wielding Mjolnir, Thor\u2019s Hammer, and she has the newfound power to throw lightning.<\/p>\n

Fitness trainer Naomi Pendergast at Australia\u2019s RPX Fitness was the person responsible for getting the actress ripped, developing Portman\u2019s biceps and giving her abdominal definition.<\/p>\n

What muscle groups did you focus on with Natalie for the film?<\/h4>\n

The goal and initial brief for working with Natalie was to develop arm and abdominal definition. However, to safely get Natalie to this goal without injury we worked to condition her body first for about four months. This meant we could safely up the load to bulk her up without negatively affecting her joints.<\/p>\n

How many weeks did you have to work on this transformation?<\/h4>\n

We started five months before filming and continued to train throughout the filming process to maintain her muscle. The total time we trained for the movie was around 10 months.<\/p>\n

Once you had the goal established, how did you work on helping her bulk up \u2014 particularly the arms?<\/h4>\n

Initially, it was about prepping Natalie\u2019s body for the heavy weights to avoid injury.\u00a0 We worked on building her upper body three times a week, which included arm, back, chest exercises, boxing, skipping and running. The other two days were dedicated to injury prevention work, which included Pilates-based exercises, stretching, release work and balance exercises.<\/p>\n

What was a typical warmup routine?<\/h4>\n

Warming up would usually consist of various body-weight, Swiss ball, or band exercises to fire up the system and get the body connecting well. Stretches are sometimes included in the warmup, but I mostly use exercises that activate weak muscles rather than just stretching the tight muscles. Warming up in this way ensures everything is switching on as it should before we put heavy loads\u00a0 onto her body<\/p>\n

Did Natalie encounter any injuries while training?<\/h4>\n

Natalie\u2019s role was very physical and required her to do quite a bit with her upper body. Overall, she managed to get through everything really well without any major injuries. There were a few days after long stunt sessions where she pulled up a little sore in the wrists and neck, but she was able to overcome this with some release work from massage.<\/p>\n

How many hours would you work together?<\/h4>\n

We worked every day for around 1\u00bd-2 hours, depending on her schedule. Once filming started, Natalie\u2019s schedule was very busy so we would train early, around 4:30 a.m., before she started for the day.<\/p>\n

How did the pandemic impact your routine?<\/h4>\n

Initially, we trained at her house \u2014 as it was in the middle of lockdown \u2014 which meant using mainly free weights to do our training. Once filming started, we were able to work out in a gym, which meant we had access to a lot more for our sessions, which was great.<\/p>\n

Can you break down in detail her nutrition and what went into a typical meal?<\/h4>\n

Natalie is an extremely healthy person with a very wholesome and clean diet, so we did not have to make any major changes to her food. Natalie is a vegan, so for her to get enough protein to bulk up the way she needed we had to increase her daily amount by adding vegan-based protein powders a couple of times a day.<\/p>\n

What went into her workout regime \u2014 squats, lifts equipment?<\/h4>\n

On the days we lifted weights, we would focus on the quality of the reps and the gradual increase in load. On the other days that we trained, we would mix the workout up to keep it fun and interesting. A typical strength session for her upper body would include:<\/p>\n