The Workout Simu Liu Used to Become Marvel's Next Great Hero
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Simu Liu is not the type of person that allows failure to hold him back from accomplishing his goals. From large scale matters, like dropping a stable accounting career for the unpredictable life of an actor, to smaller pursuits, like learning to nail a backflip when he was a teenager, the 32-year-old star of Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is going to keep pushing forward until he succeeds—even if that means he's going to crash land on his head a few times in the process.
"When I was 16 years old, I thought that backflips were like the coolest thing," he says. "So I spent like months and months of my life like, literally flipping onto my head. My parents were like, what are you doing?"
The actor opened up to Men's Health about his journey to playing Marvel's first Asian lead superhero in a wide-ranging cover story, discussing matters of representation, generational conflict, and his place in a rapidly changing Hollywood scene that is still has a way to go for true parity for people of all backgrounds. He also invited the MH crew to his gym with his trainer, Bart Kwan, to walk through his the workout routine he used to prep for his breakout role. The first thing he showed us? A perfectly-executed backflip.
But the role of Shang-Chi required even more complicated training than just a flip."Obviously, learning the martial arts is a big part of my training, but the other part of being a Marvel superhero is, well, looking like a superhero," Liu told the MH crew. "So when we were building that superhero workout, that Marvel body, it was really important for us not to sacrifice range of motion and explosiveness, because I've still got to be able to throw a punch at the end of the day."
This particular session focuses on building explosiveness and power, a valuable physical characteristic for a back-flipping action star. Liu uses sets of contrasting exercises to accomplish that goal. The protocol consists of supersets that use similar movements, one loaded, one with your bodyweight. First, the loaded exercise gets Liu's body accustomed to working against resistance. Then, he immediately ditches the weight to perform a similar movement without resistance—which allows him to really bring the power now that his muscles are unencumbered.
Liu also needs to look the part, so the workout also includes a muscle-sculpting superset that targets his back and shoulders. Overall, Liu says that his most important secret is also the key to his career success: putting in the work. "The most important thing is to show up," he says. "You've just got to get your butt out there."
Not convinced? You'll see the fruits of Liu's labor when Shang-Chi debuts in September—or if you stick around past the credits of this video, as any true Marvel fan would.
Simu Liu's Superhero Workout
The Warmup
Airfan Bike
5 minutes
The Workout
1A. Banded Trap Bar Deadlift
5 sets of 5 reps
1B. Box Jumps
5 sets of 5 reps
Sled Push to Sprint
5 rounds of 20 yards
Rotational Med Ball Slam
3 sets of 5 per side
4A. Lat Pulldown
3 sets of 15 reps
4B. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
3 sets of 15 reps
Want more celebrity workout routines? Check out all of our Train Like videos.
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