How To Train, Bulk-Up & Be CAPTAIN AMERICA

With the most hotly anticipated superhero film of the summer Captain America: The First Avenger landing in U.K. theatres this Friday (our two positive reviews HERE and HERE), much has been made of it€™s cinematic leading man Chris Evan€™s bulking up to fill the titular hero€™s shoes. According to the gentleman€™s fitness bible that is Men€™s Health Magazine, Evans was working out for 2 hours a day, every day, and drinking more protein shakes that you could shake a stick at. With this is in mind, we here at WhatCulture! wondered what it would actually be like for the average blogger on the street (me) to undergo one of these said training sessions. Just to put this into context, if you€™ve seen the trailer you€™ll know that Steve Rogers was the epitome of weedy before being given that dose of super serum. Well I kind of look like that, only with a beer belly and a small hint of man boob. Armed with my protein shake and dusty P.E kit, off I went to meet personal trainer Dan Lagimodiere at his fitness studio in London€™s Notting Hill. Joined by a fellow blogger, Dan put us through our paces and gave us an insight into the type of moves that Evans would have been pulling off on a daily basis. All I can say is Jeez was it gruelling! There was no reprieve, a rest wasn€™t a rest, it was simply moving €˜workout station€™ After only a few moments in, when I had done my tenth kettlebell squat, I could easily see why movie stars get paid such high salaries. By the end I was a sweating wreck and I can see that if you were to work out at that intensity for 2 hours a day, every day for 4 months, then you probably would be in pretty tip-top condition. It€™s just a shame that there isn€™t a workout that would give me Chris Evan€™s movie star looks. As I left, I felt relieved but actually pretty good. Fortunately I didn€™t encounter the Red Skull or any damsels in distress in need of rescue on my way home, as otherwise I could hardly lift my arms to put up a fight. If you feel the inclination to turn yourself into a real life Captain America, you can find more information on Dan and his personal training at www.dlptraining.com Should you want to get yourself in Captain America shape then here's a list of the exercises that will get you on well on your way; After a light warm up to get our hearts pumping we were handed a 15kg Kettle Bell and told to swing it between our legs in a squatting motion and then swing it back up until it was level with our shoulders. This works all the muscles in the legs, the core and arms and shoulders. Do 3 sets of 20 reps. Next up is a pure core workout with a 5kg Swiss Ball. With a partner standing about 3 metres away, simply throw the ball to each other explosively from your chest. Do 3 sets of 15 reps. Still with the Swiss Ball, we then did 3 sets of 20 squats holding the ball and then pushing it up above our heads quickly before dropping down into another squat. To get down to 7% body fat like Chris Evans, it's all about interval training in order to burn it off. We then did a circuit that involved switching between 90 second bursts on the treadmill, rowing machine and box steps all with no rest. We did that circuit twice. To get the full Captain America look repeat the above twice and do it 5 times a week for 4 months. No alcohol can be consumed and every meal must contain protein with no carbs in the evening at all. Now that should give you an idea as to why these guys get paid so much! Many gym goers, body builders and athletes may also consider taking dietary supplements in order to boost their performance levels from Maxiraw.com. Captain America: The First Avenger is released in the U.K. from tomorrow!