One of Ben Affleck’s most notable roles was portraying Batman in the DC universe, a character he impeccably embodied. To prepare for this iconic role, he dedicated himself to rigorous training under the guidance of his longtime fitness trainer, Walter Norton Junior. Affleck’s commitment to physical fitness stemmed from his understanding that the audience’s expectations of the character extended beyond just his acting abilities.
In order to get ready for the role of Batman, Ben Affleck didn’t just work on building muscles. He also concentrated on taking care of his overall physical and mental well-being to portray the character convincingly in the movie. Let’s take a look at the exercise plan he followed for prepping up to play Batman.
Ben Affleck Trained Hard For Batman
To prepare for his role as Batman, Ben Affleck followed a rigorous workout routine designed by his trainer, Walter Norton. The goal was to build muscle mass and strength, considering the weight of the bat suit he had to wear, which was around 75 pounds.
Affleck focused on adding muscle without losing too much weight, so cardio exercises were kept to a minimum. His workout sessions began with a brief 10-15 minute cardio warm-up, including activities like bike sprints and elliptical exercises.
The main part of Affleck’s workout routine involved intense heavyweight training. It consisted of a combination of free weight-based and bodyweight exercises. Some examples included Farmer’s Walk, cable rows, lunges, planks, heavily loaded carries, and dumbbell curls. He dedicated around two hours each day divided into three blocks.
The first block comprised warm-up exercises and movements like inchworms, calf stretches, Spiderman exercises, planks, rumble rollers, and elliptical workouts.
The second block focused on strengthening and training the body. Exercises in this block included Shoulder Bridges, pull-ups, half kneeling rows, hanging knee raises, dumbbell Farmer’s Walk, and back bridges.
The third block emphasized building overall strength and fitness. It consisted of exercises such as goblet squats, bike sprints, seated row handles, alternating dumbbell curls, lateral squats, and V grip pull-downs. Norton continuously modified and varied these exercises to effectively target all muscle groups and keep them challenged.
Certain exercises, like pull-ups and chin-ups, were considered essential for Affleck’s training as they contributed to both physical strength and muscle mass development, crucial for his portrayal of Batman.
Henry Cavill Intimidated Ben Affleck With His Physique
Ben Affleck saw Henry Cavill topless in Man of Steel he immediately knew that he had to bulk up to be able to justify playing the Caped Crusader.
“I’d already seen Henry topless in The Man of Steel so I knew what I have to live up to. The fans expected me to look like a real superhero so I had to workout.”
Ben Affleck had already been training for Batman vs Superman but got more serious after delving into more research. Ultimately, his hard work did pay off as looked super jacked in Batman vs Superman like an actual action superhero.
Batman vs Superman is available to stream on HBO MAX.
Source: MAN OF MANY
