Want a superhero physique? Get in line. Wondering how to get it? Wonder no more. We give you all the details on how Chris Pratt workout made his body superhero-worthy.

Who remembers the old Chris Pratt?

You know, the loveable, chubby, short-sleeve-button-up-wearing of his Andy Dwyer, Parks and Recreation days?

We can barely remember that. Think Chris Pratt nowadays and forget the chubby sidekick. You’re more likely to think of the dinosaur-wrangling version, or the superhero of outer space, as he’s best known. Pratt’s transformation has been as complete a change as Hollywood has seen in quite some time.

Most recently, he’s morphed into the Star-Lord himself, in his role in the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy. His cinematic transformation has been a total 180 from just a few years back. As he’s become a full-fledged A-list star, he’s gained the physique to go along with it.

If you’re anything like most of America, Pratt’s truly impressive physical transformation has left you wondering one thing: How to copy it.

In 2013, with a picture that nearly broke the Internet, Pratt, then age 35, first revealed to the world a jaw dropping before and after. After the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, where he first showed off his superhero-worthy body, he went on to star in Jurassic World, another blockbuster hit. Following on all this stardom, he’ll be hitting the screens again in the highly anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

With all that leading-man screen time, Pratt not only had to get into superhero shape, but stay there. That’s a feat not often seen around Hollywood, where actors are known for gaining and losing weight at what seems like overnight rates. More often than not, actors will sink back into their pre-role shape. Not the case here. Thanks to a strict workout and diet plan, Pratt, who joked that his new body is thanks to “six months, no beer,” in his Instagram photo caption, shaved off 60 pounds.

When Pratt first auditioned for the role as Star-Lord Peter Quill, he was tipping the scales at around 300 pounds. The directors had to be talked into even letting him audition.

How did he transform himself?

Here’s exactly how he pulled off his before and after to get into superhero shape.

The Basics Of The Plan Chris Pratt Workout & Diet

Over the years, Pratt has been no stranger to ups and downs in his weight and health. Even before he became a household name, he cut down to around 220 pounds for his role in Moneyball. Then, he packed on 60 for his movie, 10 Years, in which he played an out-of-shape alcoholic. In 2012, to pull off the role of a Navy SEAL in Zero Dark Thirty, he once again lost pounds and buffed up. But for Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt knew it was time to get serious and shape up in a way he never had before.

To help him get into serious shape, and fast, Pratt was guided by not only a top trainer who is well known in Hollywood, but also by an expert nutritionist. Be forewarned, his routine is not for the faint of heart. Pratt often was logging four or more hours a day chiseling his body. At the end of the day though, he says the results were well worth it.

Pratt has said that not only does he feel healthier and happier, but that his mental state has improved. He says his pre-Guardians body had sent him into a depressed state. With his complete 180 turnaround and insane results, Pratt is feeling better and healthier than ever. Here’s how you can get the same results for yourself.

Chris Pratt Workout Revealed

To turn himself into a believable Star-Lord, Pratt enlisted help. Famed trainer Duffy Gaver was his right-hand man. Gaver is famous in Hollywood for crafting seriously sculpted results to his clients. Gaver, the brains behind the brawn for the blockbuster Thor, had already turned star Chris Hemsworth into the god-like stature his role required.

Pratt’s intense training began in February 2013 and ran for five months before shooting ever began. After filming started, the duo continued for three more months to keep Pratt in top-notch shape. His workouts built over the course of the time, moving from bulking to leaning phases, to make sure that Pratt not only bulked up, but shredded down to get the six pack we all saw on that famed Instagram post.

Gaver is used to pushing his clients, but Pratt actually went above and beyond all on his own. In addition to the already-tough routine from Gaver, Pratt was known to pad out his training with extra workouts on his own. Gaver said that instead of having to pump up or cheer on Pratt to go harder, it was just the opposite. Pratt needed to be reined in at times.

For the first two months, Pratt went old school. Gaver set up him up with a traditional, tried and true bodybuilding routine. The moves were targeted, and one muscle group was worked at a time. Want leading-man results yourself? You’re in for a marathon, not a sprint. These weren’t quick-fix results.

A couple of months in, Gaver added the cardio. Not only was Pratt pumping the iron, he was also then hitting the treadmill and rower, adding these routines in with the weight sessions to start dropping the pounds and carving out the physique.

For the last month, he went even harder. To get screen-ready, the last phase of his routine was an intense, dialed in combo of HIIT routines like cardio circuits and more functional-based workouts like swimming, biking and more.  He also threw in cardio from P90x, and even took part in a triathlon – a testament to his newfound health and endurance.

Be warned though. If you want otherworldly results, expect to put the work in. As a former Navy SEAL himself, Gaver asked a lot of his client. His tried and true method always uses the same plan of bodybuilding to bulk, followed by a phase of weights combined with cardio. His last hurrah is always a final, polishing phase, with a serious amount of cardio on the menu. This is where you can expect to seriously shred out and see the fruits of your bulking labor.

Not only were his workouts intense, but frequent. Pratt was logging hours in at the gym or pounding the pavement a minimum of four times a week, but usually six. Then, he would add in more workouts on his own schedule sometimes, a testament to his inner determination and personal drive.

To follow this routine and get Guardian-fit, then you need to follow his exact workouts for the week. Gaver suggests starting each workout as Pratt did, with a 10-minute treadmill warm-up to get the blood flowing. Bump up the incline to 5.0 if you want to warm up in true Star-Lord fashion.

Monday: Back

Notes: Superset the first two workouts in this group. This means that rather than resting for a minute in between exercises, you simply move to the next one. Going back-to-back means max burn.

Exercise                                   Sets     Reps

Pull-up                                                5          20/15/12/10/10

Push-up                                  5          20

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown        4          12

Hammer Strength Row           4          12

One Arm Row                                    4          12

Back Hyperextension                         4          25/20/15/15

 

Abs

Exercise                                   Sets     Time/Reps

Plank                                       3          60 seconds

Hanging Leg Raise                   3          12

Side Plank                               3          60

Toes to Bar                             3          12 (slow)

 

Tuesday: Chest

Notes: Go for a superset. This time though, do so with the last two workouts. When going down in reps on the bench press, you’ll also want to go up with your weights, as you can. Be sure to use a spotter during this one. Safety first.

Exercise                                               Sets     Reps

Bench Press                                        4          12/10/8/6

Heavier Bench Press                           4          4

Incline Bench Press                             4          12

Hammer Strength Bench Press           4          15

Weighted Dip                                      4          10

Standing Cable Flye                            4          12

 

Wednesday: Legs

Notes: Once again, supersets are key. Only this time, you’ll do a triple. This means that you’ll end up doing the last three exercises (leg extensions, leg curls and standing calf raises) all the way through with no break. Then, take a brief rest and begin again. For the leg presses, Pratt did a strip set. This means that you begin with as much weight on the machine as you can. Try to crank out just a few reps at this maximum weight. Gaver has his clients aim for doing the presses with six 45-pound plates on either side.

Exercise                       Sets     Reps

Squat                           7          10/8/6/5/4/3/3

Deadlift                       4          12/10/8/6

Leg Press                     1          Until failure

Walking Lunge            4          20

Leg Extension              3          20

Leg Curl                      3          20

Standing Calf Raise     3          20

 

Abs

Exercises                     Sets     Reps

Plank                           3          60 seconds

Hanging Leg Raise       3          12

Side Plank                   3          60 seconds

Toes to Bar                 3          12 (slowly)

 

Thursday: Shoulders

Notes: For the last three exercises (lateral raises, front raises, and rear delt flyes), you’re supposed to do all three before resting. Do the exercises in a row, with one-minute rest in between each superset.

Exercise                       Sets     Reps

Military Press             7          10/8/6/5/4/3/3

Arnold Press               4          12

Barbell Shrug               4          12

Lateral Raise               3          12

Front Raise                 3          12

Rear Delt Flye                        3          12

 

Friday: Arms

Notes: This routine takes the superset game up a notch. For the first two moves, you’ll perform them with a normal one-minute rest in between. Then, do superset preacher curls and French curls with a 45 to 60 second rest only in between. Likewise, hammer curls and triceps rope pressdowns are also supersetted. Wrist curls and reverse wrist curls are as well, with the same short breaks in between for each of these three supersets.

Exercise                                   Sets     Reps

Barbell Curl                             3          10

Skullcrusher                            3          10

Preacher Curl                          3          10

French Curl                             3          10

Hammer Curl                          3          10

Triceps Rope Pressdown       3          10

Wrist Curl                               3          20

Reverse Wrist Curl                 3          20

 

Abs

Exercises                                 Sets     Reps

Plank                                       3          60 seconds

Hanging Leg Raise                   3          12

Side Plank                               3          60 seconds

Toes to Bar                             3          12 (slowly)

 

During this bodybuilding phase, Pratt was focused on muscle gain. Even so, he kept active with hours of cardio a day to help kick up his fat-shedding process. All the while, a balanced approach was still a focus – something Gaver insisted on. He has a three-tiered approach to health, meaning not only did he stress the workouts, but also made sure to get quality sleep each night and dialed-in eating.

Cardio: Total Body

Here’s one of Pratt’s basic, scorcher full body cardio routines that Gaver added to help him get shredded.

Exercises                     Sets     Time/Reps

Treadmill                     5 rounds          400 meters

Burpees                       5 rounds          10 reps

Pull-up                                    5 rounds          10 reps

Push-up                      5 rounds          10 reps

Bodyweight Squat      5 rounds          10 reps

Rowing Machine         5 rounds          400 Meters

Abs Crunch                 5 rounds          25 reps

Hanging Leg Raise       3 rounds          25 reps

 

Cardio: Metabolic Circuit

Here’s another option that was part of Pratt’s overall cardio phase. Pratt used 95 pounds for the cleans, bench pressed 205 and did a 30 inch box jump

Exercise                       Sets     Reps

Treadmill/Run             5 rounds          800 m (1/2 mile each round)

Clean                           5 rounds          15

Bench Press                5 rounds          10

Box Jump                    5 rounds          5

This Is The Chris Pratt Diet

You’ve heard it before. There’s no outworking a bad diet. Though his workouts are seriously tough, Pratt’s plan required a top-notch diet as well. That’s why he not only had a trainer, but also the best nutritionist helping him as soon as he found out he’d landed the role.

Pratt worked with Phil Goglia to devise a meal plan. While he joked that his shocking transformation was the result of six months sans beer, there’s some truth to that Instagram caption. Pratt stuck to tried and true methods to fuel his workouts and cut out any and all junk. This was no dirty bulk. He said goodbye to all things fried. He also stuck to a Paleo-type diet, meaning low on the carbs. As well, protein was a mainstay in his diet, in order to build the muscles he needed to step into the superhero suit.

Make no mistake: This was no starvation diet. Pratt was eating around 4,000 calories a day to support his 6’3″ frame and to keep the bulk he worked so hard to put on. On his daily menu were plenty of lean animal proteins, veggies, nuts, fruits and seeds. Any carbs he did eat were complex ones, meaning no empty-calorie processed carbs.

Conclusion 

It isn’t easy getting into superhero shape. Pratt’s results are a nod to his dedication and hours of blood, sweat and tears. You too can have the jaw-dropping transformation if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and get to work. There’s no room for cutting corners in this routine, but the results will be well worth the work. If you have the guts and drive, you can have the results that Pratt will no doubt be showing off on the big screen for many movies to come.

By Emily Schneider-Green