‘The Thor Workout': How Chris Hemsworth Muscled Up to Thunder God Size

Do you want a strong, muscled, he-man body like the god of thunder, mighty Thor? If you can't find an uru hammer to transform yourself into an Asgardian powerhouse, you need the June 2011 issue of Men's Fitness UK, which spotlights "The Thor Workout."In the illustrated article, Chris Hemsworth shares the muscle-building plan that molded his body into fighting shape to play the Odinson in Thor (opening May 6) and 2012's The Avengers. If you want the physique of a thunder god, however, be prepared to work out hard: Hemsworth's personal trainer devised an intense eight-week body building regime, followed by four weeks of total body work to sculpt his new muscles into the thunder god's frame.

How close does he come to a Jack Kirby or Walt Simonson version of Thor? Various editions of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe list Thor's weight as 640 pounds, so Hemsworth isn't too far off when he said in the article, "In the comic... Thor looks to be around 500 pounds, so obviously that wasn't my goal." The "Thor workout" training actually resulted in a 220-pound Hemsworth -- brawny enough to heft Mjolnir, or at least its movie prop replica.

"I prefer to be training than not," said Hemsworth. It gives me more energy and I just generally feel better about myself. I feel like I've earned that beer at the end of the week." Or a flagon of mead, Chris? Just take it easy on the 7-11 Thor Slurpees.