YouTuber and bodybuilder Zac Perna frequently tries out the training and diet plans of super-fit actors and athletes on his channel, and in a new video he takes on the routine that Henry Cavill used to get into shape to play the hulking Geralt of Rivia in the fantasy Netflix series The Witcher.
Perna starts off with 30 minutes of fasted cardio before a breakfast of beef fillet, a three-egg omelet, and oats with berries and a scoop of protein, totalling 835 calories. Then he prepares the pre and post-workout meals, which are both the same: poached chicken and rice with mixed vegetables and a Thai yellow curry sauce, coming in at 677 calories apiece
"For him, I'm guessing this would be around maintenance or a bit of a deficit because his activity is so high," says Perna. "For me, if I were to eat this whole day, it would be more like a lean bulk... Whatever you see on YouTube, all these videos, it is tailored to that person. If they're huge, they're going to need a lot more calories, but if they don't have a lot of muscle mass or they're a hobbit like me, they will need far less."
For dinner, Perna barbecues steak and serves it with sweet potatoes and mixed veggies (528 calories). Then, before bed, he downs a 147-calorie protein shake.
When it comes to Cavill's workout, the majority of the exercises are centred around the kind of strength needed to lift heavy swords in The Witcher's many fight scenes: that means a lot of posterior chain, bicep and shoulder work. Cavill also performs his lifts as slowed down versions, with four second negatives on each rep to maximise time-under-tension. This particular workout includes Russian deadlifts, static oblique holds, side raises, and alternating iso dumbbell curls.
