Chris Evans told Huff Post that getting in Captain America shape really wasn’t easy: “Working out sucked, eating sucked more. You get to a point where you just can’t even look at another piece of chicken. You’re just so bloated, but you just have to keep consuming protein, so that was tricky.”
Just like Dwayne Johnson, Evans needed to bulk up, which meant that he needed to up his meal intake. He ate endless protein, in the form of chicken breasts and protein shakes.
The tricky part was not spilling over and gaining fat, and we’ll discuss everything Evans did in order to avoid that outcome. From his workouts to his eating habits, we’ll look at everything that went into turning Evans into Captain America.
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11 Building Up Instead Of Building Down
Hollywood celebs who are building for shirtless roles usually need to lose weight via rigorous diets. Chris Evans talked about workouts to Huff Post and explained that things were a little different for him. He actually needed to gain weight instead of losing it. He explained that the process was a challenging one, both nutrition-wise and training-wise;
“It was just relentless. I’ve got a fast metabolism and I lose weight very quickly, so for me to get big, it was just eat a lot.”
10 A Lot Of Chicken And Brown Rice
As Chris Evans explained to Extra. the nutrition part was a grind every single day, especially given all the chicken breast he was forced to eat. By the end of it, he couldn’t even look at a chicken breast the same way.
Evans was also careful with carb choices and usually ate his chicken with some plain brown rice. There really wasn’t an easy way out when it came to food!
9 Compound Lifts
According to Evans’ trainer, a lot of his lifts included classic compound movements, such as the deadlift, squat and incline bench press. The bench was meant to bring out his upper pec, especially given that he was rocking the Captain America suit.
Along with the compounds, Evans also hit bodyweight exercises such as pullups and other movements that were meant to get his heart rate going.
8 Heavy Lifting
The name of the game with celebs tends to be lighter weights and more reps, as this workout regimen fills out muscle during a cutting phase.
However, Evans and his trainer took a different approach, attempting to tax the central nervous system with big weights and a lessened volume range. The workouts were grueling, and Evans admitted that he resented going to the gym for a little while.
7 Balanced Workouts
It wasn’t one of those programs that featured abs, chest, and arms every single day. The goal was to make Evans well-rounded, especially on-screen, while he was rocking the prestigious Captain America suit.
That meant back and leg exercises on their own days. Leg day was never easy. It was quite a grind for Evans.
6 Fruits Included (Berries & Apples)
When it came to his carb intake, Evans’ trainer was very cautious about what kind of carbs were going into Chris' body.
Among the acceptable carbs were specific fruits, such as berries, which are low in calories compared to other fruits. Apples were also allowed - apples are an easy fruit to consume, especially for a busy and active guy like Chris, who is always on the go.
5 Single Muscle Groups
His workout schedule, according to Super Hero Jacked, featured five days in a row, which were followed by two rest days on the weekend.
He wasn’t hitting multiple body parts at once - instead, the goal was single body parts on each day. So, day one featured legs, while day two was back, and day three was the chest. He ended the week with biceps and triceps, followed by a delt day.
4 Several Meals A Day
He had at least six meals a day - for someone like Dwayne Johnson, that is considered breakfast…for the rest of us, though, that’s a lot of meals per day. A couple of meals consisted of pre and post-workout snacks, to fuel and build or to repair.
3 Supplementation (BCAA and Protein Powder)
Supplementation is required to supplement a need you aren’t meeting through your daily diet. For Chris, that was protein, as eating massive amounts of chicken breasts wasn’t always possible...although he did eat plenty of chicken, Evans turned to shakes throughout the day to up his protein levels.
He also fueled his workouts with a BCAA drink that gave him extra energy.
2 High Protein Intake
The protein intake was sky-high - he was basically upping his protein total with every meal he ate. Chicken breasts were the key source, given how protein-dense they are, matched with a low-fat total ranging around 1.5 grams of fat per serving. Evans also used protein shakes and lean fish, to change things up from time to time.
1 Diet Low In Carbs
Carbohydrates weren’t as prevalent as Evans would have liked. It was a tricky project for his trainer, as they wanted Evans to look full and jacked, but not bloated.
In order to do this properly, they needed to be aware of his carb sources, which were limited to brown rice post-workout, along with healthy berries.
Sources: Super Hero Jacked, Men’s Journal, YouTube