Last updated on March 2nd, 2021 at 07:47 am
Alexander Skarsgård is a total badass.
And he seems to be shirtless for the majority of his roles.
Which means, there’s a lot of people in the SHJ Army that want to know how he gets into his superhero-like (or Vampire/Tarzan?) shape.
Should we compare him to other vampire/vampire slayers that we’ve seen at SHJ?
People like Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biel, Luke Evans, and special shoutouts to Joe Manganiello and Taylor Lautner for obvious reasons.
Who sizes up with Skarsgård?
Alexander Skarsgård Stats:
Height: 6’4
Weight: (approximate) 197 lbs.
Age: 41 years old
Alexander Skarsgård is pretty freakin’ tall.
He’s among the tallest we’ve seen on SHJ with guys like Dwayne Johnson, Ray Fisher, Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Derek Theler, and of course the tallest we’ve seen: The Mountain.
The average height among the dudes at SHJ is 6’1-6’3 with men like Hugh Jackman, Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Adam Driver, Ben Barnes, John Krasinski, and so many more.
And, we also have the shorter range with guys like Mark Wahlberg, Zac Efron, Kit Harington, Tom Holland, Daniel Radcliffe, and a bunch of others.
But, either way, don’t worry!
I build these routines for anyone and everyone to utilize.
Take The SHJ Program Quiz and find the perfect program for YOU.
Alexander Skarsgård Diet and Nutrition
For Alexander Skarsgård’s role in Tarzan, Muscle and Fitness has him stating:
“I wanted to have a bit more weight but not get too big,” Skarsgård says. “It was important to work on looking nimble and flexible–like someone who could move through the jungle like an animal would. That’s his natural habitat. There was [to be] no unnecessary bulk that he doesn’t need.”
So, right off the bat we know he was looking to tack on some lean muscle.
We’ve seen some other celebs do that. Actually, we’ve seen a ton of them have to do that!
Who doesn’t want to be lean and add muscle?
One of the best examples is Hugh Jackman, he bulked while utilizing intermittent fasting in order to shred the fat while gaining clean muscle mass.
I like to pair this with cyclical ketosis, but we know it’s best to work around what works for you so that it’s sustainable.
That’s why our Academy Nutrition Classes (Spartans, Hunter Gatherers, Minimalists, SuperHumans, Monks, Samurais, Vikings) revolve around sustainability.
But, you can also always check out the Nutrition Pillars (full of articles) right here on the site.
I’ll leave you guys with a bit more about his caloric intake, being that we’ve seen Hugh Jackman and Henry Cavill tack down 5k+in a day. Here’s what Muscle and Fitness gives us about this:
“For the first three months we tried to bulk up, and I ate about 7,000 calories a day,” Skarsgård recalls, incredulously. “He gave me these Tupperware boxes of food with cold steak or chicken and potatoes. I was constantly eating, constantly full. It was tough. I would get up in the middle of the night and have some protein and potatoes.”
“It was insane,” Lygdback says. “What I eat in one day, he would eat in a single meal.”
That’s a lot of calories!
We tend to take it a bit slower with our new superhero programs that we released specific to goals.
Take The Free Workout Placement Quiz and find the best free workout for you.
Alexander Skarsgård Workout Routine Research
I’m going to immediately dive back into Muscle and Fitness prior to going to any other sources.
They tell us:
For the first several months, Skarsgård did at least four dedicated weight workouts per week with additional sessions of abdominal and core work sprinkled in every other day. Cardio was nonexistent for the first three months, since the focus was on adding mass. With a few exceptions, Lygdback stuck with familiar volume prescriptions for muscle groups: 12–16 for larger muscles like back and legs; and 9–12 for delts, biceps, and triceps. But to establish Tarzan’s back topography, Skarsgård would sometimes do more than 20 sets.
“We started out around 12 reps and then, after a couple of weeks, we started going heavier and heavier. But we never did fewer than 6–8 reps or got in the 1- to 2-rep range. Luckily, he responded well to the training, but you don’t want to go heavy [at the beginning] when someone’s not used to lifting.”
Which they continue by telling us how NOT EASY it was:
“We went really hard but still kept it to an hour,” the trainer reveals. “And we never did two sessions a day during bulking phase. He did six or seven days a week, and when we needed a day off, we’d take a day off. But when we took those days off, it was because I made him rest. He wanted to go every day.”
Yeah. It’s intense.
Men’s Journal also gives us some pretty good information by informing us:
In his normal life, Skarsgard prefers long-distance running to hitting the weights, but Lygdbäck’s goals required him to boost his testosterone through fundamental lifting, as well as adhere to a strictly designed diet, which allowed him to gain 25 pounds of muscle. “We didn’t want that generic gym-built body for Alex,” says Lygdbäck. “We wanted to create a physicality close to his primate family, so there was a concentration on sculpting a broad back, huge traps, with less focus on the chest.”
This makes sense now. That’s why Muscle and Fitness was quick to have a quote about “someone not used to lifting”. Which you wouldn’t automatically assume of Skarsgård.
Expanding on that even more, to tell you a little bit about the type of long distance running that he did, I’m stealing a quote from Joe:
“This was a guy who ran 10k (races) four times in a week, he explained. His cardio was great coming into the project. But he had to stop that and expend all his energy into lifting weights and building muscle mass.”
So, please keep this in mind if you’re looking to train like Skarsgard outside of the bulking phase (going for his everyday look).
And, thankfully for us, Men’s Journal actually gives us a one day sample workout which I will use while building the rest of the routine.
But, keep in mind, if you’re looking to bulk like him you’re going to need to take in a ton of calories.
Check out all The SHJ Programs and start unleashing your inner SuperHuman.
Alexander Skarsgård Workout Routine
Training Volume:
4 days per week
Explanation:
I’m going to build you 4 days of workouts revolving around the sample day we have, and also the other information we got from our sources.
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Day One: Muscle and Fitness Deadlift
Morning
Jogging: 10 minutes
Sprints: 6 sets of 1 minute
Max Sprints: 1 minute
Stationary Sprint: 1 minute
Evening
Bear Crawls: 5 sets of 1 minute
Deadlift (4 sets)
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 8–10 reps
Set 3: 6 reps
Set 4: 12 reps (pyramid set)
Pull-Ups (4 sets)
Set 1: wide grip, max reps
Set 2: narrow grip, max reps
Set 3: wide grip, max reps
Set 4: narrow grip, max reps
Standing Alternating Rows with Dumbbells: 3 sets of 20 reps
Kettlebell Swing: 3 sets of 15 reps
Lateral Raise with Dumbbells: 4 sets of 12 reps
Moving Front Plank on Exercise Ball: 4 sets of 1–2 minutes
Day Two: Bench Press and More
Morning
Jogging: 10 minutes
Sprints: 6 sets of 1 minute
Max Sprints: 1 minute
Stationary Sprint: 1 minute
Evening
Bear Crawls: 5 sets of 1 minute
Bench Press (4 sets)
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 8–10 reps
Set 3: 6 reps
Set 4: 12 reps (pyramid set)
Dips (4 sets)
Set 1: wide grip, max reps
Set 2: narrow grip, max reps
Set 3: wide grip, max reps
Set 4: narrow grip, max reps
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 20 reps
Tricep Overhead Extension (Dumbbell): 3 sets of 15 reps
Chest Flyes: 4 sets of 12 reps
Moving Front Plank on Exercise Ball: 4 sets of 1–2 minutes
Day Three: Squats and More
Morning
Jogging: 10 minutes
Sprints: 6 sets of 1 minute
Max Sprints: 1 minute
Stationary Sprint: 1 minute
Evening
Bear Crawls: 5 sets of 1 minute
Back Squat (4 sets)
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 8–10 reps
Set 3: 6 reps
Set 4: 12 reps (pyramid set)
Lunges (4 sets)
Set 1: unweighted, max reps
Set 2: weighted, max reps
Set 3: unweighted, max reps
Set 4: weighted, max reps
Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 20 reps
Kettlebell Goblet Squat: 3 sets of 15 reps
Calf Raises: 4 sets of 12 reps
Moving Front Plank on Exercise Ball: 4 sets of 1–2 minutes
Day Four: Military Press and More
Morning
Jogging: 10 minutes
Sprints: 6 sets of 1 minute
Max Sprints: 1 minute
Stationary Sprint: 1 minute
Evening
Bear Crawls: 5 sets of 1 minute
Military Press (4 sets)
Set 1: 12 reps
Set 2: 8–10 reps
Set 3: 6 reps
Set 4: 12 reps (pyramid set)
Push-Ups (4 sets)
Set 1: wide grip, max reps
Set 2: narrow grip, max reps
Set 3: wide grip, max reps
Set 4: narrow grip, max reps
Standing Alternating Snatches with Dumbbells: 3 sets of 20 reps
Shoulder Flyes with Dumbbells: 3 sets of 15 reps
Shoulder Front Raises with Dumbbells: 4 sets of 12 reps
Moving Front Plank on Exercise Ball: 4 sets of 1–2 minutes
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