As a former WWE superstar, bodybuilder, and mixed martial arts fighter, actor Dave Bautista always takes his training seriously. But in his preparation to play Drax the Destroyer in Avengers: Infinity War and the sequel Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of 10 years of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista didn’t leave anything to chance.
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With Bautista starring alongside super-ripped stars like Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), as well as a shredded Josh Brolin as the main villain, Thanos, the actor wanted to make sure he got the “superhero” look just right. In order to view the video, please allow Manage Cookies
“Being in the Avengers got me to hire a personal trainer,” Bautista tells Men’s Journal. “Because literally for the first time in my film career, I was really concerned about looking better. I wanted to not only look big, but I wanted to look toned—I wanted to look like a superhero, that big figure, small waist look. We focused on making my muscles look more rounded, my waist more tapered, my back wider, and my thighs more developed. We went back towards a real bodybuilding style, but not with heavy weights—we focused more on power training.”
Bautista brought in trainer Jon Bennett, who helped the actor develop a program that would allow him to shape his muscles, but without sacrificing the functionality, movement, and athleticism that Bautista would need to play a superhero. Bautista used a three-day split program that comprised of a Push Day, Legs Day, and Pull Day, which Bennett described as being “in between” the typical bodybuilder split and athlete split.
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Marvel Studios “That was a great balance for what Dave wanted to do,” Bennett says. “Dave needs a little more stress from his training than the average athlete to maintain his desired level of muscularity, but he also wants a higher level of function than the average bodybuilder so he can move in his scenes well. So his exercise selection revolves around very big, efficient movements, with a smaller percentage of purely aesthetic movements kept in as well. We put a lot of thought into making sure every exercise fits Dave’s unique structure, because injury prevention is paramount.”
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Bennett didn’t just help shape Bautista’s muscles—he also helped show him how to train to stay healthy. “I actually found out that everything I’d been doing all these years was wrong,” Bautista says with a laugh. “I was squatting wrong. I was bench pressing wrong—my shoulders were in the wrong place—so we worked a lot on that. We focused a lot on very controlled movements and keeping my body locked in certain positions while I’m performing the movements. It really was complete muscle isolation.” Bennett felt the workouts would be more challenging and effective by using “slower, controlled tempos” in Bautista’s movements, and also with directional changes to amp up the difficulty. While Bennett said that the workouts were “grueling and painful” at times, the duo always kept in mind how to mitigate the risk for injury, all while boosting Bautista’s “aesthetic balance, muscularity, and conditioning.” Here’s how Dave Bautista got Drax-level strong for Avengers: Infinity War. “Every workout is preceded by a 5-8 minute warm-up/activation,” Bennett says. “Every exercise Dave would take as many warmup sets as needed. Typically between 2-5 sets. The volume (number of working sets), varies greatly, depending on Dave’s recovery. When his recovery is low (low sleep/food, or just getting back into consistent training), we will often have as few as one working set per exercise. When his recovery is great, we can have anywhere between 2-4 working sets. Rest between sets is typically between 30-120 seconds, depending on the exercise. While these are typical workouts, the split and exercises are periodized and changed as needed.” A typical body part split for the program: Push: Chest, side/front delts, triceps, calves Legs: quads, hamstrings, hips, abs Pull: lats, upper back, side/rear delts, biceps, calves DAVE BAUTISTA’S SUPERHERO WORKOUT PLAN Sets: 2-4, depending on how you feel Rest: 30-120 seconds DAY ONE: Push Incline DB chest press: 6-8 reps Machine chest press: 8-10 reps Lying cable cuff delt laterals: 8-10 reps Shoulder press: 10-12 reps Cable cross triceps extensions: 10-12 reps Machine calf raises: 10-12 reps DAY TWO: Legs Crunch variations: 6-8 reps Seated leg curls: 5-6 reps Heel elevated Safety squats: 6-8 reps Leg extensions: 10-12 reps Squat press: 12-15 reps Walking lunges: 25-30 steps DAY THREE: Pull Single arm machine rows: 6-8 reps Machine pull downs: 6-8 reps DB rows: 10-12 reps Single arm DB preacher curls: 6-8 reps Incline curls: 10-12 reps Machine lateral raises: 10-12 reps Machine rear delts: 10-15 reps Calf raises: 10-20 reps
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As a former WWE superstar, bodybuilder, and mixed martial arts fighter, actor Dave Bautista always takes his training seriously. But in his preparation to play Drax the Destroyer in Avengers: Infinity War and the sequel Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of 10 years of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista didn’t leave anything to chance.
‘Avengers 4’: All the Rumors, Spoilers, and Theories You Need to Know After ‘Infinity War’
Read article
With Bautista starring alongside super-ripped stars like Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), as well as a shredded Josh Brolin as the main villain, Thanos, the actor wanted to make sure he got the “superhero” look just right.
‘Avengers 4’: All the Rumors, Spoilers, and Theories You Need to Know After ‘Infinity War’
Read article
‘Avengers 4’: All the Rumors, Spoilers, and Theories You Need to Know After ‘Infinity War’
In order to view the video, please allow Manage Cookies
“Being in the Avengers got me to hire a personal trainer,” Bautista tells Men’s Journal. “Because literally for the first time in my film career, I was really concerned about looking better. I wanted to not only look big, but I wanted to look toned—I wanted to look like a superhero, that big figure, small waist look. We focused on making my muscles look more rounded, my waist more tapered, my back wider, and my thighs more developed. We went back towards a real bodybuilding style, but not with heavy weights—we focused more on power training.”
Bautista brought in trainer Jon Bennett, who helped the actor develop a program that would allow him to shape his muscles, but without sacrificing the functionality, movement, and athleticism that Bautista would need to play a superhero. Bautista used a three-day split program that comprised of a Push Day, Legs Day, and Pull Day, which Bennett described as being “in between” the typical bodybuilder split and athlete split.
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Read article
“That was a great balance for what Dave wanted to do,” Bennett says. “Dave needs a little more stress from his training than the average athlete to maintain his desired level of muscularity, but he also wants a higher level of function than the average bodybuilder so he can move in his scenes well. So his exercise selection revolves around very big, efficient movements, with a smaller percentage of purely aesthetic movements kept in as well. We put a lot of thought into making sure every exercise fits Dave’s unique structure, because injury prevention is paramount.”
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Read article
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Bennett didn’t just help shape Bautista’s muscles—he also helped show him how to train to stay healthy.
Dave Bautista’s 9 Most Shredded Instagram Workout Moments
Read article
Dave Bautista’s 9 Most Shredded Instagram Workout Moments
“I actually found out that everything I’d been doing all these years was wrong,” Bautista says with a laugh. “I was squatting wrong. I was bench pressing wrong—my shoulders were in the wrong place—so we worked a lot on that. We focused a lot on very controlled movements and keeping my body locked in certain positions while I’m performing the movements. It really was complete muscle isolation.”
Bennett felt the workouts would be more challenging and effective by using “slower, controlled tempos” in Bautista’s movements, and also with directional changes to amp up the difficulty. While Bennett said that the workouts were “grueling and painful” at times, the duo always kept in mind how to mitigate the risk for injury, all while boosting Bautista’s “aesthetic balance, muscularity, and conditioning.”
Here’s how Dave Bautista got Drax-level strong for Avengers: Infinity War.
“Every workout is preceded by a 5-8 minute warm-up/activation,” Bennett says. “Every exercise Dave would take as many warmup sets as needed. Typically between 2-5 sets. The volume (number of working sets), varies greatly, depending on Dave’s recovery. When his recovery is low (low sleep/food, or just getting back into consistent training), we will often have as few as one working set per exercise. When his recovery is great, we can have anywhere between 2-4 working sets. Rest between sets is typically between 30-120 seconds, depending on the exercise. While these are typical workouts, the split and exercises are periodized and changed as needed.”
A typical body part split for the program: Push: Chest, side/front delts, triceps, calves Legs: quads, hamstrings, hips, abs Pull: lats, upper back, side/rear delts, biceps, calves
DAVE BAUTISTA’S SUPERHERO WORKOUT PLAN
Sets: 2-4, depending on how you feel Rest: 30-120 seconds
DAY ONE: Push Incline DB chest press: 6-8 reps Machine chest press: 8-10 reps Lying cable cuff delt laterals: 8-10 reps Shoulder press: 10-12 reps Cable cross triceps extensions: 10-12 reps Machine calf raises: 10-12 reps
DAY TWO: Legs Crunch variations: 6-8 reps Seated leg curls: 5-6 reps Heel elevated Safety squats: 6-8 reps Leg extensions: 10-12 reps Squat press: 12-15 reps Walking lunges: 25-30 steps
DAY THREE: Pull Single arm machine rows: 6-8 reps Machine pull downs: 6-8 reps DB rows: 10-12 reps Single arm DB preacher curls: 6-8 reps Incline curls: 10-12 reps Machine lateral raises: 10-12 reps Machine rear delts: 10-15 reps Calf raises: 10-20 reps
Dave Bautista’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Workout
Read article
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
Dave Bautista’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Workout
Read article
Dave Bautista’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Workout
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