Chris Hemsworth
Actor · Limitless and Centr
Australian actor, best known as Thor, who turned years of training for film roles into Centr, the fitness and meditation app he began building in 2017. His National Geographic series Limitless put him through a four-day fast and a walk out along a crane 900 feet up while testing what the longevity science actually supports. Learning on the show that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene shifted his focus toward sleep, solitude, sauna and cold, and more cardio than heavy lifting.
- Entries
- 20
- Does
- 10
- Recommends
- 1
- Discusses
- 9
Gear
2 pieces of gear in this stack
- GearDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Kettlebell
Kettlebell swings, snatches and carries. Centr credits those three with the agility work he took on for the Extraction sequel. He also filmed a kettlebell circuit on the deck of a naval ship to make the point: no gym required.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth Gym Workout, Exercises He Swears ByView item: KettlebellOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - GearDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Resistance bands
According to Centr, bands around the ankles and thighs, to fire the glutes and protect his lower back, are now a fixture of Zocchi's leg sessions with him. All part of a shift toward mobility work after he turned 40.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth Gym Workout, Exercises He Swears ByView item: Resistance bandsOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it
Supplements
2 supplements in this stack
- SupplementDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein powder
A shoot-day diary published by Centr shows a green shake with protein at 8am and a post-workout shake of vegetable protein, BCAAs and vitamin C. Centr calls a protein shake a staple of the muscle-building plan; no brand is named.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth's workout routine to build muscleView item: Protein powderOn record from 18 of 62 tracked people: 13 do it, 3 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - SupplementDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)
The same Centr shoot diary ends the day at 9pm with a magnesium and zinc supplement alongside papaya and yogurt. The form and dose are not given.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth's workout routine to build muscleView item: Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 1 recommends it, 2 have discussed it
Apps
1 app in this stack
- AppRecommends$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Centr
His own app, so a recommendation rather than a discovery. He narrates its Learn to Meditate series and says less than ten minutes a day is enough to start a new habit and pick up tools for a calmer mind.
Source: Centr: The ultimate beginners' guide to meditation, with Chris HemsworthVisit centr.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it
Protocols
11 entriesStructured routines and practices with a defined method.
The Centr Power program is inspired by the training he does for Thor with trainer Luke Zocchi. A long time ago, he says, he would train all day and get nowhere. Zocchi's approach, in his telling, is to structure each workout to get the most out of a minimal amount of time.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth's workout routine to build muscleIce baths, and the sauna too. That is where most of his meditation and breath work happens, he told Men's Health. Fox News carried the interview after his APOE4 result became public.
Source: Fox News: Chris Hemsworth makes major lifestyle changes after learning he's high risk for Alzheimer's diseaseA more consistent approach to sleep was one of the concrete changes he listed after the APOE4 result.
Source: E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's DiseaseHe told Men's Health that most of his meditation and breath work now happens during sauna and ice bath routines.
Source: E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's DiseaseDr. Modupe Akinola taught him the four-count pattern before he stepped out onto a crane 900 feet up for Limitless, and he says how well it gathered him in that moment surprised him. He calls it a really useful tool for intense feelings when the pressure is on.
Source: Centr: Train your mind with Chris Hemsworth's favorite meditationsSurfing is his favorite mindfulness work, he told Men's Health: immersion in a physical activity that forces him out of his head and into his body. He puts it alongside the breath work he does in the sauna and ice bath.
Source: E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's DiseaseBulking for Thor meant roughly six meals a day, eaten every two to three hours, each around 450 calories with 30 to 40 percent protein, according to Centr's account of the plan he and Zocchi used. Off-season he eats far less.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth's workout routine to build muscleHe bulked for Thor: Love and Thunder. Then he dropped the weight on a 16:8 eating window, according to trainer Luke Zocchi, who says it worked because the window suits his lifestyle and keeps portions in check.
Source: British GQ: Chris Hemsworth wanted smaller biceps for Extraction 2For Extraction 2 his team brought in physiotherapist Michal Novotny, who opened every session with 30 minutes of joint work and closed with more than 50 stretches, plus pool sessions to rest a sore lower back. Zocchi adds that muscle grows back slower with age, and that shaped the exercises chosen.
Source: British GQ: Chris Hemsworth wanted smaller biceps for Extraction 2He names VO2 max, muscle mass and strength as the biggest indicators of lifespan and health span, and gives that as one reason he has no plan to stop training. He has not described a specific interval protocol.
Source: Sharp Magazine: Chris Hemsworth Talks Stunt Work, Discipline, and His Fitness App, CentrDid a four-day fast for the first Limitless episode filmed, alongside Peter Attia, who pushed for four days when he would normally cap a patient's first fast at three. He had never fasted before, and the show notes say the sharpness he expected only arrived on the afternoon of day four, out spearfishing.
Source: The Peter Attia Drive #234 show notes: Chris Hemsworth on Limitless, longevity, and happiness
Habits
4 entriesRecurring behaviors recorded in public statements.
Reads most nights in place of screens as part of his sleep routine.
Source: Fox News: Chris Hemsworth makes major lifestyle changes after learning he's high risk for Alzheimer's diseaseNever the meditating type by his own account, he came round through Centr and Limitless and now frames it as training: lifting builds muscle, meditation builds a stronger mind. He narrates the app's Learn to Meditate series.
Source: Centr: Train your mind with Chris Hemsworth's favorite meditationsSince learning his Alzheimer's risk he has been building in more solitude. No outside voice, no stimulation. That felt newly important after years of consistent exercise, he told Men's Health.
Source: E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's DiseaseTries to stay off screens for the hour before bed, he says, and finds it definitely helps.
Source: E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
In their own words
Checked word for word against the linked source
“The more I’ve tried it, the more I think of it as training: you lift weights to build muscle, you meditate to build a stronger mind.”
Centr: Train your mind with Chris Hemsworth's favorite meditations (opens in a new tab) · 18 Apr 2023 “This is a technique that Dr. Modupe Akinola taught me when I was preparing to step out onto a crane 900 feet in the air for Limitless … the power of this simple breathing technique to help gather yourself in high-stress situations really surprised me.”
Centr: Train your mind with Chris Hemsworth's favorite meditations (opens in a new tab) · 18 Apr 2023 “I do a lot of meditation and breath work mostly during sauna and ice bath routines”
E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's Disease (opens in a new tab) · 6 Oct 2023 On Sauna
“I have a more consistent approach to my sleep, … Try to stay off screens an hour before bed and read most nights definitely helps.”
E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's Disease (opens in a new tab) · 6 Oct 2023 “The biggest indicators of lifespan, health span, and life expectancy are your VO2 max, your muscle mass, and your strength, right? And I want a long life that’s full of physical activity, so I don’t plan on stopping any of it soon.”
Sharp Magazine: Chris Hemsworth Talks Stunt Work, Discipline, and His Fitness App, Centr (opens in a new tab) · 3 Jun 2024
Stack notes are paraphrased. Anything in quotation marks is a short excerpt copied from the transcript it links to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.