The munchies would have been impossible to appease on the set of last summer’s Superman – Twight banned junk food and soft drinks from the set, as he continued to sculpt the new Man of Steel, Henry Cavill. The trainer has nothing but praise for Cavill, who had to keep up his physique for a grueling 127-day shoot. “It’s not like you’re peaking a guy for three days for his shirtless scene,” Twight says. “You’re living with this guy for a year.”
For the six months prior to the shoot, Cavill worked out and ate according to Twight’s plan. The film’s producers actually contacted Twight and his wife, Lisa, a trainer, to make sure they weren’t giving Cavill anything illegal. With tarnished heroes like A-Rod and Lance Armstrong, it was important to establish that our most American superhero wasn’t a juicer.
“Someone in production had me more than pinky swear,” says Lisa, leaning on a stationary bike. “They told me that they’d be drug-testing Henry.”
Did they?
“They never tested him,” says Twight, “but I gave them a list of every supplement, with contact numbers.”
Twight says there is a secret to Cavill’s transformation. “Yeah, there’s a 90-day miracle, but you’re not gonna fucking like it,” he says, laughing. “It’s hard work. It’s commitment. Self-discipline. Persistence. And mindful attention to all this stuff. Then you can become whatever you want.”
Men’s Journal Magazine – May 2014 – “Building A Bigger Action Hero”
In a June 5, 2013 interview with Shortlist, Cavill spoke briefly about the training:
We read you didn’t want CGI abs. How did you shape up? Was it hell?
It was hell and wonderful at the same time. [My trainer] Mark Twight gave me a whole bunch of workouts to do by myself to get my fitness levels up, so that when I arrived in LA the really hard stuff would start. I did two months training on my own and four months training in LA with Mark, and that was excruciating – breaking boundaries I didn’t know I could. I remember one moment, doing some horrible rowing sprint thing, and I said, “I can’t do this Mark, I can’t, I’m done,” and he said, “No you’re not, don’t listen to the lies.” I kept on pulling and pulling until suddenly I realised I had finished. That’s what Mark taught me – one of the many things – don’t listen to the lies, your barriers are breakable.
Did you pig-out once shooting finished, then?
We had treats throughout filming, because to do 10 months without anything would be excruciating. The biggest treat was after a six-week phase when I was getting in shape for shirtless scenes. After that, Zack Snyder bought me an amazing apple pie and a tub of ice cream. Then I ordered a pizza as well, and didn’t even go home – I just sat in a trailer afterwards and ate it. I passed into a food coma after that.
Hopefully, a little inspiration for any New Year’s Resolutions that may be flagging, heh!
