Chris Hemsworth's chest workout builds upper body strength in just four moves
Develop your chest and work your upper body with Hemsworth's short routine
Chris Hemsworth is best known for his superhero physique, but you don't need a massive home gym to train like him. If you've been looking for a way to build upper body strength, Hemsworth recently posted a four-move chest workout you can do at home.
Although the routine is designed for the gym, you only need a set of the best adjustable dumbbells if you're training at home. These customizable weights combine several dumbbells in one, and you can quickly change the load mid-workout.
The routine was developed for Hemsworth's fitness and wellbeing app, Centr, in collaboration with his personal trainer Luke Zocchi. It's a time-efficient way to train, helping you fit the most effective exercises into a quick dumbbell routine.
Hemsworth uses a chest press machine, but you can switch this to a dumbbell press, laying down flat and raising the weights above your body. You can also change cable flys for dumbbell flys, laying down with the weights lifted above you and lowering them to the side.
It's a short routine, so the aim is to train intensely and do all four exercises without a break. At the end of the round, take a one-minute rest, then repeat the round four times for an effective upper body workout you can do even when you're short on time.
Watch Chris Hemsworth's four-move chest workout
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Each move is designed to work several muscles in your upper body simultaneously to get the most from this short routine. This isn't too surprising, as Zocchi is a fan of these multi-muscle compound exercises to build muscle and burn fat.
We've listed all the moves you need to get started if you want to give the session a go. You'll do all four exercises back-to-back before taking a one-minute rest, then repeat the round three more times.
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Chris Hemsworth's four-move chest routine
- Incline chest press x12
- Seated chest press x12
- Cable flys x10
- Wide-arm push-up x10
It's an effective routine for building upper body strength, but dumbbells can be expensive—even dumbbells on sale can set you back $100 or more—and you need to find a place to store them, which can be difficult, especially in apartments or shared houses.
Helpfully, if you're after a way to work your chest and build upper body strength without breaking the bank, all you need is a set of the best resistance bands. Then you can take on the best chest workouts with resistance bands, even when you're away from home.
James is a London-based journalist and Fitness Editor at Fit&Well. He has over five years experience in fitness tech, including time spent as the Buyer’s Guide Editor and Staff Writer at technology publication MakeUseOf. In 2014 he was diagnosed with a chronic health condition, which spurred his interest in health, fitness, and lifestyle management.
In the years since, he has become a devoted meditator, experimented with workout styles and exercises, and used various gadgets to monitor his health. In recent times, James has been absorbed by the intersection between mental health, fitness, sustainability, and environmentalism. When not concerning himself with health and technology, James can be found excitedly checking out each week’s New Music Friday releases.
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