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In Robert Eggers’ new epic “The Northman,” released this weekend, Alexander Skarsgård seeks revenge on a man who murdered his parents and usurped the throne from his royal father. It’s a noble mission, as you see his character climbing mountains, paddling in tumultuous waters and getting into brutal, primal combat. Tasked with such body-intensive tasks, it makes sense that the 45-year-old actor would need to go through some serious physical transformations in preparation for the film – not just to convincingly take on the role of a Nordic Viking but simply to make it happen. A scene without collapsing from exhaustion.
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Skarsgård’s compelling portrayal as a bloated warrior with superhuman strength (and the value of a very ripped belly) is credited to fitness trainer and movement coach Magnus Lygdback who first worked with the actor on “Tarzan” in 2019.
“His soul animal is a wolf and a bear, so we really wanted to build that into character,” Lyjdback said. diverse. “We needed him to move like a wolf, and have the liveliness and presence and appearance of a bear as in the huge road he walks on.”
Anyone who has seen the movie, or even the promotional images featuring Skarsgard in character, would be surprised to learn that the main area they focused on during training were the shoulders. His primary weapon is a heavy ax that he uses relentlessly – in one scene, he cuts an enemy off a horse.
His training regimen included six gym sessions a week, one a day, for three months until filming. Balance is key for Lygdback, who doesn’t agree to the 2-3 hours of hard work a day that other coaches put on their clients for these types of movies. “All you do after the first hour is just start breaking down your body,” he says.
His strategy seems to be working. He has gone on to become one of the most sought-after trainers in Hollywood, best known for his work preparing James McAvoy’s body curves in the M. Movie.
So, what are Lygdback’s best fitness and wellness reports? Even if you don’t turn into a Viking, here’s how to get a Lygdback-style look—from the comfort of your own home.
resistance bands
“I’m a huge fan of the bands when it comes to warming up, stabilizing and moving the shoulders. Kettlebells are also good. We used a lot of back-up warm-ups for the shoulders, and then to build the upper body we did a lot of strength training with weights.”
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Theragon
my go to [for recovery] It is Theragun, for sure. Jason, the founder of the company, was the first to do this and as a physical therapist he is very smart. They are always one step away and two steps ahead of everyone else. They’re doing research on it, and they’re really paying for the research to see how different types of vibrations will treat people differently. They are definitely by far the best. I have them all.”
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tonal
“The Tonal is a superior machine for many different reasons. First, you have a big screen with on-demand classrooms, even classes for the kids. Kids can do group training without touching the actual machine itself. But then you have those two arms or the big wires coming out, turning it into two.” It comes on and it feels your strength, and it will connect to how strong you are and give you the right resistance. It can put more of a load on your Essentrics, which is great. It can give you up to 250 pounds of resistance.”
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Sleeping gums Olly Muscle Recovery (44% Off)
“Whenever I’m traveling or flying late and trying to get into a new time zone, I have a simple protocol to do… I really like Olly Gummies. They have melatonin, a natural hormone that is released when you’re tired, and L-Theanine that comes from green tea leaves and reduces of the stress hormones in your body, and chamomile, lemon balm and blackberry.”
Buy: Olly Muscle Recovery Gummies $8.96
Un’sweet sugar free wine
“Well, I personally drink Michelob Ultra and it’s 95 calories. This is my favorite beer. But Un’sweet Wine, which I co-founded, is by far the better choice which is a non-sweet, sugar-free wine. This is something you can throw away when you Training… and absolutely no difference [in the taste].
We were in Belfast, Northern Ireland [when we were shooting] So we didn’t have access to any sweet wine at the time but had a glass of low sugar wine on the weekends when we were having dinner. It was an epidemic so we were stuck in our house together so we had a glass of wine and watched some football matches.”
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Best assortment
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