Next up in the Endgame Training Series, we’re taking a closer look at one of the most polarizing figures in the MCU. Whether you think he should’ve stuck with the plan or not, there’s no denying that Star Lord is a powerful and charismatic leader. And that that’s due in large part to the man playing him - Chris Pratt. Chris Pratt had always been in shape even before donning the mask and coat to play Peter Quill. But it was during the prep for this role that he got absolutely jacked and managed to leverage the literal awesomeness of his transformation into major sex appeal to become one of Hollywood’s premiere leading men. In this article, we’ll examine this transformation through the lens of physical culture as we always do. And I’ll leave you with a program template to achieve similar results.
Before The Galaxy
A lot of people actually don’t realize it, but Chris Pratt was in pretty good shape before he joined the MCU. He didn’t just make the leap from Andy Dwyer to Peter Quill overnight. He actually made the leap as early as 2011 from Andy, a Parks and Rec employee - to Justin, a DEVGRU operator for the 2012 action/drama Zero Dark Thirty. The transformation kind’ve broke the internet at that time. This transformation saw him make a complete 180. From the near 300lb goofball from Parks and Rec to the absolute badass in Zero Dark Thirty, Chris had made a complete transformation that would change his life. This no doubt at least got him the consideration for the role of Peter “Star Lord” Quill in the Guardians of The Galaxy franchise and the MCU at large. To achieve this, his training was obviously completely oriented to fat loss. The number one lynchpin of which is nutrition. But training wise, his trainer focused on building a base amount of muscle mass, followed by a phase of metabolic conditioning. So basically - Pratt was a total beginner and these were beginner gains. And this was followed by an early intermediate stage of bodybuilding combined with metabolic conditioning.
Becoming a Lord
Pratt had already been training for at least three years by the time he took on the role of Star Lord and it’s safe to say he was in the early stages of being an advanced lifter. For him, this meant doing more advanced bodybuilding splits to maintain and gain lean muscle mass. While doing conditioning work and functional training to look, move, and feel like Star Lord - doing as much of his own stunts as possible. He’s stated that he likes to stay active in one way or another. This means plenty of active recovery and home workouts, which by default means absolutely no excuses. While I’m usually against purely bodybuilding splits, Chris Pratt is an exception. See, Pratt found something that worked for him - someone who was more than likely morbidly obese and complacent in that reality. He found something sustainable that has transformed his life for the better and given him, not only a healthier career, but a healthier future. Work and tabloids aside, there is no doubt that getting and staying in shape has made him a better father and helped to ensure that he stick around to be one. This is one of the tenets of PrymaFit. Many of my casual readers as well as the Conclave (loyal subscribers) are parents. This is why my workouts are ideal for garage gyms, home gyms, and everything in between. Being a parent is a very primal task. Back to the bodybuilding and what inevitably be defined as bro splits. Chris prefers this. But he’s doing a lot of active recovery and supplemental work as well. This includes - in his own words - P90X, Insanity, Crossfit, and OCR/marathons. This probably doesn’t mean he’s going “balls to the wall” as he is the MCU’s precious merchandise and he can’t risk damaging the main attraction of the Guardians franchise, the Jurassic Park franchise, or any other projects he might be attached to as the leading man. An ideal balance between all of the aforementioned methods would be to use the active recovery and prehab segments of P90X and Insanity, including the cardio and conditioning. I suspect he runs marathons/ocr because it ties back to his Zero Dark Thirty training and is a good way to test his functionality and conditioning before filming starts. For this program template, we will be using a Push/Pull/Legs template with some active recovery and metcon to boot. The template in whole is on the advanced side, but the resistance and strength training can be tailored for intermediates. This is designed with stackable resistance bands as the key implement, but you can use dumbbells for the compounds and suspension trainer for the accessory movements as well. Before we get into the template let me clear some things up. First, it’s a pretty common trope that “bro splits” are, for lack of a better term, trash. I concur for the most part. It’s for that reason that I encourage Push/Pull splits if you’re advanced and you find full body or Upper/Lower monotonous. Or if you feel you need specialize in certain body parts by splitting them up. This type of split is so versatile and I find it fits perfectly into functional training and powerbuilding. Second, this was designed with stackable resistance bands (e.g. Black Mountain, Bodylastics) as the main implement. Elastic resistance is quite different from free weights and this is further evolved when you are using it to resist bodyweight movements. This is something I will cover in another article. But for now, just know that these rep ranges are very specific to strength and hypertrophy as it applies to using elastic resistance being the implement. Lastly, we all know I make my templates open-ended. This doesn’t mean steal them (I see you, other influencers), but it means that they’re customizable and scalable for your own use. With the P/P/L being so versatile, you’re free to do the more traditional six day split (P/P/L/Active Recovery/P/P/L/Rest). Or you can keep it to three days (P/AR/P/AR/L). It’s up to you. Just be sure that the intensity of your training matches the intensity of your rest. And that even if you’re cutting, you’re nutrition is fueling your recovery. That being said, let’s take a look at the template. Day 1 - Push
Day 2 - Pull
Day 3 - Legs
Active Recovery
Prehab (3 Rounds)
Conditioning (3-5 Rounds x 60-90sec Rest Between Rounds)
In Conclusion
This piece was actually long overdue. I had planned to do this back when GOTG 2 was set to premiere. The reason I love Chris Pratt and his transformation is because he’s just an average dude doing his job. His job just so happens to be in Hollywood. It’s for this reason that not only is he a relatable guy, but his training is relatable. As with any of my templates you are free to modify this to your liking and your training level. Remember that the training was only half the battle and that Pratt’s transformation wouldn’t have been possible whatsoever without dialing in his nutrition. So if you find your build leaning more towards Pratt’s before than his after, you’ll need to put as much attention into that as your training. If not more. The next installment in this training series will be Pratt’s co-star Dave Bautista. We’ll be taking a look at his truly primal character of Drax The Destroyer and what it took to prepare for the role. Feel free to like, share, and subscribe if you haven’t already. Stay Prymal, King Kalos
3 Comments
ERIC
3/16/2024 09:11:32 pm
MS ROKITNICKI FROM APPLEWOOD ARCES APPLEWOOD SCHOOL MY BROTHERS NAME IS ELLIOTT JAILAL WILL YOU BE HIS NEWGIRLFRIEND
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Shredded ShamanLifelong athlete and martial artist. I'm on a mission to bring back the good old days of Physical Culture and make this fit lifestyle a lot more enjoyable. Archives
October 2022
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