COVER MODEL MUSCLE COVER MODEL MUSCLE LIAM HEMSWORTH LIAM HEMSWORTH Hungry For More As far as preparation for the big time goes, being best mates with Jennifer Lawrence and younger brother to Thor goes a long way. Which is just as well for Liam Hemsworth – it’s about to blow up for the A-list’s newest heavyweight > WORDS BY DAN MASOLIVER – PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRIK GIARDINO

ON A ROLL: LIAM HEMSWORTH’S CAREER HAS BEEN GAINING SERIOUS MOMENTUM

68 MEN’S HEALTH MEN’S HEALTH 69 to see it,” were going a few people that at least “We knew 70 however, credits co-stars and best mates mates however, andbest co-stars credits might have flown off therails.Hemsworth, break-up MileyCyrus. withacertain relationship-turned-engagement-turned- paparazzi – thanksto a high profile prying and fanselfies tours, calendarshoots, promotional globetrotting appearances, followed was a cavalcade ofredcarpet do to prepare forit.”can you What he says, there’s “but really nothing out –how your lifemightchange,” whenitcomes might mean it what office muscle. about “You think tostar teenidolto bankablebox fromsoap jobbing a meteoric rise to bankineight. chums managed Potter andhiswand-waving wizard to whatHarry to netclose predicted itis Infour office takings. movies ofbox them –ontheall-timelist films–all24of the James Bond above totheseries propel set looks Hunger Mockingjay 2 –Part Games: andfinalchapter,the fourth office this month, weekend atthebox cinema history. first Bytheendofits in filmfranchises successful the most The Hunger Games instalment Three years after first its inHollywood. stars action bankable asoneofthemost his status fouryearsthat inthepast hassecured of humility. He’s release onthe2012 reflecting says LiamHemsworth withtypical The Hunger Games MEN’SHEALTH A lesser man, or a bigger ego perhaps, perhaps, ego man,ora bigger A lesser For Hemsworththishasmeant There were morea few. thanjust has become oneof hasbecome , a series offilms , aseries The

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is already £103m so far far so £144m £144m

GROOMING: NATALIA BRUSCHI USING TOM FORD FOR MEN AND KEVYN MURPHY I STYLIST: SAMANTHA MCMILLEN I SET DESIGN: NICHOLAS FAIELLA AT EAGLE EYE AGENCY I JEANS NUDIE, SHIRTS JAMES PERSE AND RLL, SHOES VANS, BELT VINTAGE

GUTTER CREDIT hammer-toting bro. officethan his box the at money much as twice made series far so has dystopian Liam’s Thor, but of part the to Liam beaten have may Chris RIVALRY SIBLING MENSHEALTH.CO.UK HEMSWORTH AN EDGE BROTHERS HAS GIVEN OLDER HIS BATTLING THREAT: TRIPLE £1.5bn

£720m there lies fierce gentle exterior determination Beneath his him? “Itwas definitelygoal,” the says Ramsay would Streetcameo provide for thathis thenthespringboard imagined heartthrob.paraplegic hehave Could the improbable role ofawheelchair-bound on asmallpart landed tradition, acting and, inthefinest Aussie anagent, himself bagged course, acting says. “Itwas like, ‘Yeah, Iwant to dothis.’” them into anything andwanted to do akid,Ifollowed them.As “But Iidolised wanted meup, to beat theywould,” hesays. anywhere theirphysicality. near Ifthey Iwas“I was so never theyoungest, really baby brotherLiam’s glutes. undeveloped at pellets orfiringairrifle feet other’s to each throwing aspossible knives asclose their own included fun.Entertainment made theHemsworthboys Melbourne, from alongthecoast and surfbeaches roads ofdirt insignificant collection you’re probably more familiar. known asThor, withwhom issomeone brother ChrisHemsworth,otherwise well theleast known. Middle perhaps and actor ismainly aTV the oldest, from stone. chiselled Luke,seemingly allthree sixfoot-plus withfeatures actors, allthree of threebrothers, Hemsworth to runinthefamily. Liamistheyoungest would appear superstardom Hollywood and triceps ham-sized looks, Good The family firm “Really, really close,” conspiratorially. hedeadpans of whathe’s “You said. just know, we’re realising theimplication pausing, before itasathreesome,”experience hesays we’re ableto shareand italltogether friendswithJenisthat and Josh good having“What’s greatabout madesuch grounded. other each with keeping Jennifer Lawrence Hutcherson andJosh COVER MODEL MUSCLE The teenager promptlyThe teenager enrolled on an Growing uponPhillipIsland,an really LIAM HEMSWORTH snapping inmy mind,” he something clearly remember oneday,him onset andI “But thenIwent andwatched wanted ofthesame. apiece younger he brotherdecided a coupleofyears the before soap inseaside apart landed And itwas always competitive.” whatever theywere doing. close.” When, in2004,Chris Home andAway Neighbours MEN’S HEALTH –playing , itwas

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COVER MODEL MUSCLE LIAM HEMSWORTH

does their sibling rivalry extend to takings at the box office? “Yeah, of course,” he says. “That’s what brothers do.”

Hemsworth matter-of-factly. “Before Bodyweight rules places you’ve ever been to. It was this old I even started working on Neighbours in At 6ft 3in, Liam is the tallest of the boxing gym with a really mixed crowd of Australia, I was already thinking about LA.” Hemsworth brothers and, thanks to people and the worst stench. It made you With his soft accent and casual surfer a varied training plan, he’s catching up just want to get in there, get the job done, styling, Hemsworth cuts a laid-back, with his older brother on the physique and get out. That’s how I like it.” easy-going figure. But it would be foolish front, too. But despite looking every inch to mistake his humility for a lack of the action hero, Hemsworth is no great Veg your bets ambition. Beneath the gentle exterior fan of traditional workouts. “I don’t like More impressive than his self-structured there clearly lies fierce generic weightlifting,” he says. “I mean, VEGAN workouts is how he fuels them: for the determination and there are periods where I’m doing lots of past five months Liam Hemsworth has competition, most of all that of course, but for the last six months MUSCLE eaten a vegan diet. Far from hampering with the siblings who once I’ve been trying to spend as much time his gains, he claims never to have felt better: used him for target practice. outdoors as I can: going for a bike ride, MATHS “When I was eating meat I was eating a lot By the time Liam was playing soccer or basketball, going for of meat. I’d feel sluggish after meals and challenging love rivals two-hour hikes and doing as many You too can go green constantly want to have a nap. Now I feel without gutting your to games of wheelchair push-ups as I can on the way.” like my energy levels are much more gains, says strength basketball in Erinsborough, It is 10am in Los Angeles when we and nutrition coach consistent.” Refreshingly though, it’s not older brother Chris was chat and Hemsworth has already been Scott Baptie, with all clean eating. “I tend to go from one already in California. His on a long trek through Malibu Canyon, these smart swaps extreme to the other,” he says. agent had put him forward getting up at 6am to avoid the blistering EGGS < QUINOA “I like gritty “Leading up to a movie I’m for the part of Thor, but Californian sun. He has things to do, Amino acids are the usually pretty healthy. But initially casting agents people to see, waves to ride – he surfed building blocks of then after I’m mostly eating didn’t think him right for competitively up until the age of 18 and protein and, gram- gyms. You get pizza and playing Xbox.” for-gram, this grain the role. Undeterred, young had ambitions of turning pro, before his WHEY = BROWN Hemsworth is currently outdoes eggs. Pile Liam sent them a tape of acting career took off. So when it comes into a salad with RICE PROTEIN in that mode (not that you’d his own. They liked it. to the professional requirement that is spinach; you’ll walk Using enzymatic the job done guess) because he has just processing, protein “Marvel flew me out to the pre-filming shred, he prefers short away a bigger man. wrapped on what is already is extracted from screen test for it and it was bursts of bodyweight exercise. set to be one of the biggest DAIRY < SOY MILK rice and weighs in at and get out” down to me and four other Ahead of the first Hunger Games film, at 24g protein per releases of next summer, Worried about low 30g – equivalent to guys,” he chuckles quietly Hemsworth trained with the legendary calcium levels? The Independence Day: Resurgence. a protein shake. to himself, remembering Hollywood PT Logan Hood, who helped phytoestrogen in Expect high-octane action, explosions how close he came to carve out the obliques of 300’s Spartans. soy actually speeds and comical fisticuffs with odd-looking up absorption of the FISH OIL pipping his brother to the But unusually for an actor of his stature, extra-terrestrials. Also expect your cover stuff. Soy is also high < FLAX SEEDS part. “I spoke to my brother Hemsworth concocts his own sessions in unsaturated fats Omega-3 is essential star’s propulsion further into the A-List as on the phone, and he was these days. “I feel like I’ve gained enough and cholesterol-free. for reducing muscle he fills Will Smith’s sizeable footwear in the like, ‘What? I didn’t even knowledge over the years to do my own inflammation and Earth-saving lead role. get called back!’ And I was stuff at my own pace,” he says. exercise stiffness; If he’s overawed by the prospect, he sprinkle flax seeds like, ‘I’m probably just “I really enjoy Tabata – high intensity, on your porridge to does little to show it, even if past brushes more of a man, you know?’” timed workouts where you do a bunch assist recovery. with the leering eye of celebrity media As it transpired, Liam, then 18, was of different exercises. Burpees, pull-ups, have left him with a slightly bitter taste in deemed too young to play the immortal dips, push-ups, bodyweight squats – and STEAK his mouth. First there was the overbearing God of Thunder by director Kenneth you just cycle through those and see < SPINACH scrutiny of his relationship with Cyrus. Branagh, who eventually flip-flopped how many reps you can do of each in Popeye didn’t pound Then the notorious leaking of hundreds it for no reason – iron and offered the part to Chris. But in 20 minutes. Or you see how quickly you of pictures of (mostly female) celebrities repairs damaged hindsight, losing out to his brother might can do 100 of each. I enjoy that sort of muscles and boosts in various states of undress. One of the have been the best thing that could have workout, because you’re going hard and energy. Chickpeas, victims was his best friend, Jennifer happened, reckons Liam. “I feel like that fast and it makes you sweat.” lentils and kale are Lawrence. “I just don’t understand how also good sources. about every job I haven’t got,” he says. The punch bag on his Men’s Health LEAP YEAR: THE someone can do that to another human “I feel like if I don’t get something, I’m cover shoot isn’t just a prop, either. FINAL HUNGER GAMES being,” he says. “It made me upset for her. not meant to, and there’ll be another Hemsworth has been sparring since high MOVIE IS SET TO And it made me angry. Really angry.” LAUNCH HEMSWORTH project that will be more right for me at school. “One of my brother’s friends Clearly, Hemsworth is both fiercely that time.” And so it came to pass. Thor used to take me to a boxing gym after loyal and deeply private. “People ask you was a hit for Chris, as was its sequel and school,” he says. “We’d catch a couple of constantly, ‘Are you ready for this?’” he the two subsequent Avengers movies. trains to this particular gym. I’ve always says. “I don’t even know what that means. Meanwhile, Liam found himself loved the workout. It keeps you strong, Am I ready for what? At first, it’s crazy and getting by on bit-parts and rom-coms mentally as well as physically. insane and you feel like you’re holding BOX FRESH: LIAM until The Hunger Games klaxon sounded. “I like rank, gritty gyms,” he says, your breath just trying to figure it all out. VARIES HIS WORKOUTS Now there’s little argument about who warming to the theme. “When I was But you learn as you go.” Fortunately for TO KEEP HITTING is the reigning king of the box office. But shooting Hunger Games in Atlanta, me him, Liam Hemsworth is a fast learner. HIS BODY HARD and the stunt guys would work out at this gym that we called ‘the Stinky Gym’,

because it was one of the foulest-smelling CREDIT GUTTER CREDIT GUTTER

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The Hungry For Gains Workout

“Liam wanted to be fit, strong and functional,” says Luke Zocchi, trainer to all three Hemsworth brothers. So he created this hard-hitting mix of bodyweight work, kettlebells and boxing with sessions capped at 45 minutes for max intensity. After all, you haven’t got time to play around

UPPER 1/ PULL-UP 2/ INCLINE PRESS-UP 3/ DIP 12 REPS 20 REPS 5 SETS OF 10 REPS BODY #1 Hang from the bar, arms straight (A), Place your hands slightly wider than Grab the bars of a dip station with your Perform the then initiate the movement by engaging shoulder-width apart on a bench, toes palms facing in and your arms straight. pull-up and your lats and pulling your elbows down. planted on the floor (A). Keeping your Slowly lower until your elbows are bent incline press-up Touch your collarbone to the bar (B), body in a straight line and elbows in tight at right angles (A), ensuring they stay as a superset then lower to a dead hang, keeping your gradually lower your body until your tucked against your body and don’t flare for 6–10 sets, legs as straight as possible throughout. chest touches the bench (B). Push up. out. Now drive back up to the top (B). then move on to your dips B A

B B

A A

UPPER 4/ HANGING LEG RAISE 5/ BENT-KNEE LEG RAISE 6/ SCISSOR LEG RAISE 10 REPS 10 REPS 10 REPS BODY #2 Grab a pull-up bar and lower yourself Set up as you would for a hanging leg From a dead hang (A), alternate one leg Now perform into a dead hang (A). Let your legs raise (A), but this time allow your knees at a time. When your right leg is raised, these abs moves straighten and pull your pelvis back to bend as you pull your legs up. End the your left leg should be down (B), and as a circuit – slightly. Tense your core and raise your movement with your thighs parallel with vice-versa. If your abs aren’t burning five times with legs until your thighs are perpendicular the floor and knees bent at a 90-degree already, they will be by the end of 45 seconds’ to your torso (B). Hold, then lower angle (B), pause, and then lower your the next circuit. rest between slowly back to the starting position. legs to the starting position. each round

B

B ILLUSTRATIONS: BEN MOUNSEY ILLUSTRATIONS: B

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LIAM’S BOXING LOWER 1/ KETTLEBELL GOBLET SQUAT 2/ KETTLEBELL SWING 12 REPS 12 REPS WORKOUT BODY DAY Stand with your legs wider than your Holding a kettlebell with both hands, Warm up on shoulders and hold a kettlebell with both stand with your feet slightly wider than a spin bike for hands at shoulder level (A). Shift your shoulder-width apart and bend your 10 minutes, then hips back, bend your knees and lower knees slightly. With your back flat, do six circuits yourself into a deep squat (B). Drive engage your lats to pull the weight of these moves. back up through your heels. between your legs, then drive your hips Rest 45 seconds forward and explosively pull the bell up between rounds to shoulder height, arms straight (A). Allow momentum to carry it down (B) and go straight into the next rep. B

B

A A

3/ KETTLEBELL THRUSTER 12 REPS Hold two kettlebells by their handles with the weights resting on the back of your wrists. Slightly bend your knees 4/ KETTLEBELL LUNGE and squat down, keeping your legs in line 12 REPS with your shoulders (A). Drive through Stand upright, holding kettlebells at your heels to stand up (B), and extend shoulder level, palms facing each other your arms at the same time to press (A). Lunge forward as far as you can with the kettlebells above your head (C). your left leg, bending your trailing knee First, warm-up: Reverse and repeat. so it almost brushes the floor (B). Use alternate three the heel of your left foot to push your minutes skipping body to the start. Switch legs and repeat with 45 seconds B to leave everything on the gym floor. of bodyweight squats. Repeat for four rounds total with no rest. Next, Zocchi C B and Hemsworth A step into the ring – you will need a partner for this A bit. Loop a secure band around your waist to increase the resistance in your forward movements. The pair spars for eight three-minute rounds, resting for 30 seconds in Strengthen Your Foundation In addition to his regular training, Hemsworth does between. Then a restorative ‘foundation’ workout twice a week to improve his range of motion and you can finally hit strengthen his posterior chain. Find it at menshealth.co.uk/foundationtraining the showers. CUT OUT AND KEEP

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