2 min read
NICHOLAS GALITZINE HAD a major task on his hands when he took on the challenge to embody iconic ‘80s character He-Man in the new Masters of the Universe movie. The 31-year-old actor wasn’t exactly new to working out—he’d been an athlete growing up, focused on rugby—but the Bottoms and The Idea of You star hadn’t been challenged to bulk up quite as much as he would need to portray a fantasy muscle man in the flesh.
Galitzine made the gains—but it was a process. He trained with Hollywood strength coach Jason Walsh, who tells MH that the pair took on a split that depended on basic compound movements up to five days a week for three months to gain the bulk.
Then came the fine-tuning. “A really tricky thing when you’re putting on a lot of size is it’s very hard to gain pure muscle without gaining some fat as well,” Galitzine says. He started about 80 kilograms (around 175 pounds), then pumped up to 105 kilograms (around 231 pounds). During filming, he shredded down to 91 kilograms (200 pounds) for the final physique. Nutrition was challenging too, since the actor went from eating “way more food than I ever thought I could consume to eating less food to eating less food than I ever thought.”
Galitzine visited MH HQ to spill the details about his whole He-Man experience, and when he did, he took the time to show off some of the exercises he used to pump up (and shred down) on set between scenes. He calls them “really basic movements,”—but they’re targeted to get the “boom” flex moment worthy of He-Man.
Nicholas Galitzine’s Basic Boom WorkoutDumbbell Chest Press
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
EZ Bar Reverse Curl
3 sets of 8 reps
Cable Triceps Pressdown
3 sets of 8 reps
Overhead Cable Extension
3 sets of 8 reps
Cable Upright Row
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Want more celebrity workout routines? Check out all of our Train Like videos.
Brett Williams, NASM-CPT, PES, a senior editor at Men’s Health, is a certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.