Thor has regained his incredible physique in Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth film in which he stars, after putting on many pounds and having a prominent belly in Endgame. But the God of Thunder is not the only one who is in top form in the film directed by Taika Waititi since Natalie Portman has become very strong in her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after nine years of absence.
The actress has once again played Jane Foster, who this time is not only a scientist: she also becomes a superhero. So Portman, who hasn't played overly muscular characters, has had to build muscle to be able to put himself in the shoes of the Mighty Thor.
Already in the trailer it could be seen that Portman's arms could perfectly compete with those of Chris Hemsworth, one of the great physicists of Hollywood. And in the film it has been confirmed that the actress had to get serious in order to hold Mjölnir, Thor's emblematic hammer.
Looking for volume and definition in arms and shoulders
Portman, who is 41, told Variety that for her return to the Marvel franchise she was asked to "get as big as possible." To achieve this, she put herself in the hands of Naomi Pendergast, who designed a training routine with a high enough workload to "increase the definition of the arms and abs" of the actress in the shortest possible time.
"We worked on upper body strengthening three times a week, which included arm, back and chest exercises, boxing, jumping and running," Pendergast told Variety. The remaining two days of the week were spent working on agility: "We also worked on stability and agility to prevent injuries, as Natalie had some dynamic stunt scenes that required her to move, turn and land in various positions."
Portman highlighted this plan, which began four months before filming and was extended until its end - in 10 months she has achieved the results -, that she had to move weights that she was not used to until now, since her career has characterized by having given life to physically small characters: "We did a lot of weight training and a lot of protein shakes, training with heavy weights that I had never done before." And she admitted that she has never wanted to "get bulky" and that is why, apart from strength exercises, they also dedicated many hours to agility work.
