TO PLAY THE role of Kraven the Hunter, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Bullet Train) knew his on-screen physique was vital to playing Marvel’s trophy-hunting anti-hero in Sony’s sixth film based on the principle players of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. “The costume is my stomach and my arms,” he said in an interview ahead of the movie’s release on December 13.
The bar for what a blockbuster superhero should look like was raised and set by Hugh Jackman in 2013’s The Wolverine. Jackman looked leaner, bigger, and more vascular than any leading man in the history of comic book films. Since then, other actors like Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Henry Cavill have all overhauled their bodies to raise the bar for what it takes to embody these larger than life figures—and now Taylor-Johnson takes his place as one of the most imposing physiques put to screen.
The man behind Jackman’s 2013 transformation is David Kingsbury, a UK-based trainer who has been instrumental in setting the modern standard of on-screen muscle. Kingsbury worked with Taylor-Johnson to help the 34-year-old actor prepare for Kraven the Hunter, a film in which the actor is more often shirtless (or at least, sleeveless and in an open vest) than not. It was a uniquely challenging prep that demanded hard workouts, flexible scheduling, and on-the-fly nutritional changes.
Men’s Health caught up with Kingsbury to discuss the details of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s beastly transformation—and the lessons you can take away for yourself.
MEN’S HEALTH: What was the main focus of transforming Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s body for the role in Kraven The Hunter?
DAVID KINGSBURY: We had a couple of months of prep time, and he needed to get a lot leaner than he was. He put in some good hard work before he started working with me to gain some muscle, but then we had to [lean him out] quickly to get him the definition he needed to look right on screen.
He also had some fairly heavy-duty stunt sequences early on, so we had to start prepping those as well. We had to get a bit more conditioning in for some sprint sequences and some hard sequences we did out on the snow in Iceland.
MH: What’s one unique challenge to working with actors?
DK: People think that actors have all the time in the world because they’re getting paid to get in shape. It’s really far from the truth. In fact, they have far less time than normal people to train… so much less time. But because there is less time to train, there is that ability to focus on narrowing down what’s going to be beneficial. I think [normal] people do too much most of the time.
MH: How did you structure ATJ’s schedule to be flexible during long and sporadic days on set?
DK: When we had more control of the schedule, we would do an upper-lower split four days per week. You’ve got a nice muscle training frequency of twice per week per muscle group, and you don’t have excessive volume so that [Aaron] is able to recover well, train again, and mix in those stunt rehearsals. We’d also do some conditioning work, like sprints on the track or some sled work.
Sometimes we would change the program to an upper-lower, push-pull-legs split. You don’t necessarily know when you’re going to have rest days, so you can’t design a perfect week of training. There is no week anymore, it’s just a rolling program. With the upper-lower, push-pull-legs split, you’re still training every muscle twice per week, but maybe over nine or 10 days. We’d shorten the sessions and split them out over five days versus four. We were still able to get the desired sets and reps done.
We followed a low-volume approach, meaning not too many working sets. But the working sets he did were taken relatively close to failure within six to 10 reps, so you’ve got those stimulating reps that support muscle growth. [See below for more details into Taylor-Johnson’s training.]
MH: What about his nutrition? Obviously, that plays a key role in getting a person lean.
DK: He was consuming a large amount of calories due to his activity levels. We didn’t track calories. For his macros, it was a fairly even split of 33 percent protein, carbs, and fats. Because I was working so closely with him, we based how much he ate on his activity levels for the day. A day where you’re sitting in a trailer for 12 hours versus a day where you’re doing eight hours worth of stunts looks vastly different in terms of how you supply the body with energy.
There was a big focus on nutrient-dense and easy-to-digest foods. We didn’t want him to eat anything that would slow him down, and because he was shirtless on a regular basis, you don’t want him to be bloated. His diet was based around eggs, steak, fish, chicken, potatoes, fruit and white rice and raw honey.
When you’re on set, you need to eat quickly to get the food in between takes. Even simple things like having his food pre-cut made it easier for him to eat.
MH: How was prepping ATJ for Kraven different from some of the other moves you’ve trained clients for?
DK: The difficulty with shoots like this is there’s a lot of shirtless scenes or the character is in costume with their arms and abs out… [you] have to maintain that level of leanness throughout the shoot. That’s really difficult. To peak for one day is simple. You feel terrible, do your day, and then it’s done. When you have to maintain a level of leanness for that period of time, you really have to consider the foods you’re eating more seriously.
Also, when you’re on a film set, you never know what’s happening day to day. The call times are sent out at 10 p.m. the night before, and you don’t even know if you have time for the gym the next day. You have to be flexible with the planning and adjust as you go.
MH: Speaking of peaking, what does go into prepping an actor’s body for those heroic, full-physique shots?
DK: There are moments in these films where you go, “wow, that person is a superhero,”—and for the audience, it’s their first time seeing that person shirtless. We work harder for those particular scenes. Typically, I’ll speak to the director to find out what the key scenes are.
Then, it’s a six- or seven-day process of slight over-hydration with a slight reduction in carbohydrates so the body is flushing out water. One to two days prior to the scene, there’s an increase in carbohydrates and a reduction in water intake. We’ll also pump up for the scene, potentially using additional carbohydrates and sodium.
MH: What do you do if the director pivots while you’re halfway through this process?
DK: That kind of thing can happen. I’ve been on shows where I’ve had to go, “No, we can’t shoot that scene today. We started water loading.” It’s my job to communicate so the actor doesn’t get left in the middle of not being in the right shape for the shoot on the right day. People don’t understand the process and how vastly different a person can look in a five-day window.
MH: What are three key points someone should focus on if they want to achieve their own version of an on-screen superhero physique?
DK: Number one is to focus on the quality of your training. Prioritize less volume per session for less muscle damage and improved recovery, so you’re able to train more frequently at a higher level. A lot of people train six days a week and do six, seven, even eight sets per muscle group per session, and that can be difficult to recover from. Try an upper-lower split, where you’re training every muscle twice per week, doing two to three working sets per exercise. There’s no excess there; just get those basics right.
Secondly, aim for progressive overload, which can be with the addition of more weight or more reps with the same load. You want to try and hit those targets on a regular basis. Muscle gain is a slow process and the best way of achieving it is progressive overload over time with repetitive movements.
Lastly, you can get in great shape with bad nutrition, but if you’re looking to get in shape and stay in shape, you need to do it with quality foods. You need to make sure that you’re getting micronutrients and fat-soluble vitamins. For longevity in this process, healthy whole foods are key.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s Upper Body Workout for Kraven the Hunter
TO HELP TAYLOR-JOHNSON build and maintain muscle, Kingsbury had the actor follow a high-frequency, low-volume program—not too dissimilar from how many bodybuilders and physique athletes train. The Kraven lead trained each muscle twice per week, performing two to three hard sets (about one rep short of failure) per exercise for about six to 10 reps. Each session, Taylor-Johnson’s focus was to do one more rep than he did last time to drive muscle growth.
You’ll notice a lot of machine movements listed in the workout below. “Machines make a lot of sense for people that are trying to build muscle,” Kingsbury explains (a sentiment we agree with here at MH). “You can push harder [with machines]. There’s less coordination required and more motor unit requirement.”
Directions: Kingsbury likes to utilize a rep range of six to 10 for building muscle and strength. He also emphasizes progressive overload, which is when you gradually increase the weight, frequency, or number of reps you perform each week.
For each of the exercises below, select a weight that you can do for eight reps. After you warm-up, perform your first working set. Rest for two minutes and then perform another working set. (If you’re new to lifting weights or haven’t been in the gym for a few weeks, start with two sets.) You’ll likely get fewer reps than your first set. Write down how many reps you got and try to add one rep to each set the next time you do this workout. When you’re able to do 10 reps, add about five pounds and start the progression over.
To warm-up to your working sets, do 50 percent of your planned working weight for six to eight reps, rest for 45 seconds, and then perform four reps with 70 percent of your planned working weight. Follow this protocol for every exercise so your muscles are properly prepared for two to three hard working sets.
Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Machine Shoulder Press
2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Chest-Supported Row
2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Triceps Pushdown
2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Single-Arm Machine Preacher Curl
2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps
