Is This The Hack That Led To Chris Hemsworth's Physique?
We’re well aware that Chris Hemsworth has dieting, nutrition and training down to a fine art. His workout program is efficient and effective, and his diet hacks have cemented his place at the top of the Hollywood food chain.
But it’s the attention to detail, lifestyle factors, and constant knowledge of body hacks that separates the Hemsworth brothers from the rest of us.
As it turns out, Thor’s leisure activities and family visits to the beach could be providing him with the extra edge that not only promotes fat loss, but encourages him to build further muscle.
Scientists at the University of Florida recently conducted a study demonstrating an increase in caloric burn when immersed in colder water. In their research the team identified that during a 45 minute in-water workout, those who exercised in 20 degree water burned noticeably more calories than those who worked out in 32 degree water.
Given that Hemsworth’s spare time is spent frolicking with family in the waters of Byron Bay, where the average sea temperature is 21.6 degrees, the habit is no-doubt adding to his overall conditioning. Oh, don't forget the time he surfed in the near 0 degree waters of Canada! A calorie burning heaven.
The reasons behind the increased calorie burn can be explained by a movement of blood towards the body’s core in cooler temperatures, an involuntary act that keeps your vital organs warm. In response, your heart and lungs work faster, burning more calories in the process.
Cold water immersion also acts on your brown fat stores, which are necessary in controlling your body temperature by burning calories to keep you warm.
According to the researchers from the University of Florida, cold water immersion also resulted in an increased appetite, with participants eating a reported 44 per cent more calories following exposure to cold temperatures. Whilst this may be thought to negate the effects of increased calorie burning, in Hemsworth’s case, adhering to a vegan diet with emphasis on muscle building carbs and proteins, the additional calories would only compliment his muscle growth. Accompanying this with the fat burning process of cold water exposure is seemingly assisting to create the perfect bodybuilding conditions for the actor.
Not to mention the accelerated recovery from cold water therapy. Ice baths, ice packs, or cryotherapy chambers are becoming more popular in reducing pain and swelling by constricting blood vessels and mitigating inflammatory processes in the muscles. What does this mean for the God of Thunder? Well he can get back in the gym sooner, backing up his blockbuster training sessions.
Who’d have thought that summer bodies really are made in the colder winter conditions!?
