James McAvoy: get in shape like the Glass actor with these five exercises from his PT

He’s the architect behind one of the most impressive film fitness transformations of recent years

Magnus Lygdback is a personal trainer and nutritionist, who was entrusted with whipping James McAvoy into shape for Glass.

In this film, the Scottish actor plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, a psychotic cannibal with superhuman strength.

For this role and without much of a training background, it meant McAvoy had to pack on muscle size – and fast.

He sought the help of Lygdback, a man who has worked in the fitness industry for almost 20 years, and who also counts Ben Affleck, Gal Godot, Katy Perry and Harry Styles among his clients.

Lygdback has shared some of the key exercises that would have undoubtedly formed the basis of McAvoy’s full-body muscle-building routine.

Lat Pulldown – Muscles Worked: Lats (Back), Forearms

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Wide Grip Lat Pulldown – Strengthen your lats and back with lat pulldowns. If you want strengthen your pull-up this is an exercises you should incorporate when your work your back! – This exercise will mainly target your lats or latissimus dorsi. – How to perform: * Use a wide bar and adjust the knee pad on the machine so it fit your height and you feel locked in. * Grab the bar a little wider than shoulder width apart with palms facing forward, away from your body. * As you breathe out, bring the bar down towards your chest by pulling you shoulders and upper arms down. Make sure to lower your shoulders before bending the arms when pulling the bar down. * Breathe in at the same time as you, in a slow and controlled movement, raise the bar back to the starting position with your lats fully stretched and arms extended. – Important ☝? really squeeze the back muscles when you are in the contracted position, when the bar is close to the chest. – – – – – – #latpulldowns #workyourback #lats #magnusmethod #magnuslygdback

A post shared by Magnus Lygdback (@magnuslygdback) on Apr 9, 2019 at 6:00am PDT

TRX Fly – Muscles Worked: Chest

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TRX CHEST FLY – A fly is a great way to strengthen and build your chest muscles. A fly recruit more muscle fibers and stretch the muscle more than other chest exercises. A TRX is easy to use and bring anywhere as long as you have somewhere to put it up. – How to perform: * Start in a standing position with your body weight leaning in to the TRX and with your arms straight out. * Keep your body tight while you in a slow and controlled movement open up your arms to the side with your elbow slightly bent. * Bring your hands together again by squeezing your chest. * If you want to make it harder, step your feet back farther so you lean more in to the TRX. – – – – – #trxchestfly #trxworkout #chestexercise #trx #magnusmethod #magnuslygdback

A post shared by Magnus Lygdback (@magnuslygdback) on Apr 4, 2019 at 6:44am PDT

Straight Arm Pulldown – Muscles Worked: Lats (Back)

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Straight Arm Pull Down – The targeted muscle here is the lats and this exercise is a different variation of the regular lat pull down. – How to perform: * Start position, slight bend in your hips with arms by your ears. * Keep you shoulders back and down as you initiate the movement by extending the shoulder * Use your lats (back muscles) to pull the rope down until your hands are by the sides of your legs. * From there, with a slow and controlled movement, let the rope come back up to the start position. – – – – – – #straightarmpulldown #buildyourback #backdayworkout #magnusmethod #magnuslygdback

A post shared by Magnus Lygdback (@magnuslygdback) on Mar 26, 2019 at 6:10am PDT

Rear Delt Rotations – Muscles Worked: Shoulders, Abs and Rhomboids

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REAR DELT ROTATIONS ? – This movement will work several muscles in your body including the obliques, rhomboids and the backside of your shoulders. – How to perform: • Stand shoulder width apart with your feet, bend in your hip, so your chest is facing the floor. • Grab a dumbbell in one hand and place the other hand as a support against the inside of your knee. • Use the backside of your shoulder to pull the dumbbell up at the same time as you twist your upper body. • Come down to the start position and switch hands. – Give it a try: Do 3 sets of 10 reps on each arm ?? – – – – – #obliques #rhomboids #magnusmethod #magnuslygdback #dumbellworkout

A post shared by Magnus Lygdback (@magnuslygdback) on Mar 5, 2019 at 7:09am PST

Dumbbell Front Squat – Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes and Hamstrings

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Dumbbell Front Squat – The dumbbell front squat mainly works your quadriceps, the front muscles of your thighs. The movement will also work your glutes, core and hamstrings. – How to perform: • Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder width apart. • Hold one dumbbell with both your arms, really hugging the dumbbell to keep it close to your body. • Initiate the squat by bending in your hip while you let your knees come forward slightly. • Make sure to keep your back straight, knees tracking the same way as your toes and to keep your chest high. • Squat down as deep as you feel comfortable with good form, it’s probably going to be somewhere between parallel to the floor or maybe slightly lower. • Stay engaged throughout the movement and stand up front he bottom position by pushing the floor away, extending your knees and hips. – – – – – #dumbbellworkout #dumbbellfrontsquat #legworkout #magnusmethod #magnuslygdback

A post shared by Magnus Lygdback (@magnuslygdback) on Mar 7, 2019 at 4:26am PST

McAvoy previously opened up about the nutrition plan underpinning his muscle gain transformation.

Posting on his Instagram, he said:

“The truth is that this time around I gained more muscle weight and got leaner by not counting a single calorie. Good old @magnuslygdback had me eating a lot but nowhere near the 6000 calorie mark. In fact we didn’t count a single calorie. We counted macros…I think probably a healthier way of tracking intake.”

Macro is short for macronutrient, the group term for the major food groups – protein, carbs and fat.

Protein will help to build and repair muscle tissue, whereas carbs and fat are more applicable for energy and training fuel.