Written by Finlay Mead

Chris Hemsworth’s body is the envy of men everywhere, but this week he revealed a change to his health and fitness routine that will surprise many: he’s focusing less on heavy weights and more on functional movements.

We’ve been following Chris Hemsworth’s workouts for some time here at DMARGE, along with millions of men around the world who want to use Hemsworth’s regime to get themselves up to the same level of fitness and enjoy the same enviable physique as the start of Thor and Extraction 2.

While the star has integrated heavy weightlifting into his training for many years — his single barbell blaster being a prime example – the movie star took to social media this week to reveal a significant pivot in the emphasis of his celebrity workouts.

Posting a video to his Instagram, Hemsworth has proved that heavy, bodybuilding-style weightlifting isn’t all there is to men’s fitness. The clip shows the star sprinting alongside his trainer, Ross Edgley, before transitioning into functionality-focused movements with ropes and medicine balls, along with calisthenic exercises such as push-ups and bear crawls.

WATCH: Hemsworth hits the bear crawls in his functional new regime.

This change appears to be in line with a wider trend towards functional movements that prioritise mobility and flexibility alongside strength but also makes sense in the context of Hemsowrth’s own decision to take a step back from acting in order to spend more time with his family.

Indeed, if the star plans to spend a little more time playing with his kids and a little less time saving the universe, then a focus on mobility over muscle mass makes perfect sense. Explaining the change further, Hemsworth said this in a caption alongside the post:

“Doing a lot less heavy weight sessions lately and incorporating sprint work and more functional movements. A solid full body workout routine. Feeling good… And in case you’re wondering: yes, I left @rossedgley in the dust… Well, maybe… unfortunately the camera ran outta film so we’ll never know for certain.”

Chris Hemsworth

However, it’s worth pointing out that just because Hemsworth plans to step back from heavy weights absolutely does not suggest that he’ll step back from his wider fitness ambitions. The actor has become something of a byword for peak male fitness and aesthetics over the years given his ability to build and maintain what many consider to be the perfect physique.

The actor has made this a central part of his personal brand and even launched an app that enables and inspires others to train just like him. As such, while he might be pushing less weight, don’t expect him to lay off the training altogether.

In fact, we think Hemsworth’s pivot is a timely one: mobility and functionality are massively undervalued traits in men’s fitness, with a strong focus on lifting heavy and lifting often to get that ‘jacked’ look that so many men are chasing.