{"id":786402,"date":"2026-09-29T13:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T13:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/786402\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T13:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T13:46:15","slug":"how-tom-hiddleston-45-builds-total-fitness-hollywood-workouts-death-runs-and-real-world-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/786402\/","title":{"rendered":"How Tom Hiddleston, 45, Builds ‘Total Fitness’: Hollywood Workouts, ‘Death Runs’ and Real-World Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was during the making of War Horse, in 2010, that Tom Hiddleston<\/a> learned the power of running. Not as a tool for health and fitness \u2013 he already knew that from his high-school rugby days \u2013 but as an essential part of his pre-scene preparation. Alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Hiddleston was playing a British cavalry officer in the First World War as they prepared to charge the German ranks.<\/p>\n

\u2018Spielberg\u2019s thing is \u2013 because he\u2019s a master \u2013 that we\u2019re gonna shoot this between 6am and 9am every morning to get that magic golden light,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018Any time after 9am the sun\u2019s too high and the light will be flat [\u2026] it won\u2019t have any romance or melancholy.\u2019<\/p>\n

The first day didn\u2019t go as planned. With a 3.30am pick-up time, Hiddleston rolled out of bed and on to set, feeling groggy and off the pace. He was missing his shot with the great Steven Spielberg.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mercifully, the shots that he got on that first day were high and wide,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018Just, like, bodies in space.\u2019<\/p>\n

The following day would be different.<\/p>\n

\u2018So, I set the alarm an hour early,\u2019 he says. \u2018And I go for this fantastic run in the middle of the night. Along the river, past Big Ben, past the Houses of Parliament. I was like, \u201cSix and nine. These are my hours. This is game day. So, be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I had a shower, stretched off, the driver picks me up and takes me out to set. I\u2019m awake. I\u2019m alive. I\u2019m ready. I\u2019m open. I\u2019m much more generous in my interactions with everyone. I feel great. And I was like, \u201cI\u2019m gonna do this again tomorrow.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\"tomBoth Feet on the Ground<\/p>\n

The pre-scene 5k<\/a> became a ritual for Hiddleston, but it would be fair to say the actor and running go way back.<\/p>\n

\u2018I always ran,\u2019 he tells Men\u2019s Health. \u2018Running was my baseline. Especially living in London, near Regent\u2019s Park. It is my happy place. My meditation. It\u2019s where I do all my best thinking. It\u2019s where I work out my problems as well. [When working on] a project where I have ideas about a character [\u2026] it comes to me in the run.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The track doesn\u2019t lie. There\u2019s something I like in the honesty and the discipline of running\u2019<\/p>\n

He also finds it a useful way to gather instant feedback on both his physical and mental states:<\/p>\n

\u2018Am I fed? Am I stressed? Am I fast? Am I slow? Have I slept? Am I tired? Am I calm? Am I excited? Am I inspired? Am I drained? Where am I? There\u2019s something very honest about one foot in front of the other, one breath at a time, one step at a time. The track doesn\u2019t lie. So, for me, there\u2019s something I like in the honesty and the discipline of running.\u2019<\/p>\n

So, when the topic of Tom Hiddleston\u2019s Men\u2019s Health cover shoot came around, it was of little surprise he wanted it to be focused on running. And at sunrise, of course. (Hey, if it\u2019s alright with Spielberg it\u2019s alright with us.) But a Tom Hiddleston running shoot isn\u2019t like most running shoots, which \u2013 we hate to break to you \u2013 don\u2019t involve all that much running at all. More carefully placed feet bounding into position to give the illusion of running. None of that here, thank you very much. Tom Hiddleston wants the real thing.<\/p>\n

Which is why, at not quite 6.30am, I\u2019m watching Hiddleston rip his sixth 200m sprint in the hope that our photographer captures his galloping frame, perfectly poised as he rounds the bend, sun rising gloriously behind him in all its romance and melancholy.<\/p>\n

\"tom\"tom<\/p>\n

This dedication to authenticity and attention to detail is a defining trait of Hiddleston. No half measures. Nothing left to chance. The meticulous preparation for each of his characters is matched in the way he approaches this interview, devoting an entire day of his time to ensure \u2018we have everything we need\u2019.<\/p>\n

Though, in truth, the extra time did end up coming in handy because alongside Hiddleston\u2019s sense of commitment is his unparalleled verbosity. The man can talk.<\/p>\n

He can \u2013 and does \u2013 quote Shakespeare and poetry with ease, and speaks in long winding sentences that sometimes make you wonder if you are actually talking to him or witnessing a soliloquy. When he speaks he includes long lists of adjectives as if mining deeper for the truth. And yet he seems always to succeed in stopping short of grandstanding, the sincerity of his passion and curiosity burning through any pretence.<\/p>\n

This December, Hiddleston will return as the iconic Loki in Avengers: Doomsday, but first, he\u2019ll appear in Tenzing as Sir Edmund Hillary, in the true story of Tenzing Norgay and Hillary making the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. In typical Hiddleston fashion, the 45-year-old wanted to ensure he was physically prepared for the challenge of mountaineering despite never having done anything of the sort, unless you count a holiday hiking in mainland Scotland 20-odd years ago.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was a lot of long runs, a lot of death runs, leg strength<\/a>, conditioning<\/a>, a lot of upper body<\/a>, a lot of pull-ups<\/a>, core<\/a>. Just trying to be really mobile and really strong [\u2026] and just have a \u201ctotal fitness\u201d, because I wasn\u2019t sure what I was gonna need.\u2019<\/p>\n

As to what \u2018death runs\u2019 and \u2018total fitness\u2019 mean in practice, I was about to find out at my own expense.
<\/p>\n

Moving Mountains<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a hot, sweaty August morning and I\u2019m walking towards Belsize Park with Tom Hiddleston. He\u2019s sipping on a long black and talking about the upcoming Tenzing release but, to be honest, I\u2019m barely paying attention, far more concerned with the impending misery he has in store for me. This is because I\u2019ve agreed to join the actor on one of his so-called death runs: essentially 5km of 100m sprints, completed for time with nowhere to hide. And Hiddleston has opted to do it on thick grass rather than a track, the sadist.<\/p>\n

THE DEATH RUN
This no-joke sprint workout helped the actor prepare for his role as legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. Want to compete with Hiddleston? Aim to finish each set of 10 sprints in under 4 mins.
\u2018The recovery is almost more important than the work in this protocol,\u2019 says Men\u2019s Health fitness director Andrew Tracey. \u2018Avoid pacing around and wasting energy between rounds; focus on getting control of your breathing as quickly as possible and relaxing into a long exhale.\u2019<\/p>\n

Complete 5 rounds of:
– 10 x 100m shuttle sprints, back and forth
– Rest for 2 mins between rounds<\/p>\n

It\u2019s without doubt one of the hardest workouts I\u2019ve ever done. The thinking was to witness Hiddleston in his own environment and maybe get a better sense of who he is and what makes him tick. But after the sixth lap on the very first round, my journalistic tendencies have made way for pure survival instinct. I don\u2019t even notice the Hollywood actor bounding effortlessly past me like a gazelle \u2013 too preoccupied by my own pain and suffering.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a line from Chariots Of Fire Hiddleston likes to quote, where the Scotsman Eric Liddell describes his love of running: \u2018I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.\u2019<\/p>\n

Well, looking at me trudging through the thick grass of Belsize Park like hot honey, I think it\u2019s safe to say the Big Man would be indifferent at best.<\/p>\n

\"tom<\/p>\n

All this to say, Hiddleston is in good nick. When the final lap finishes, the actor stretches off calmly while I try to regain a modicum of professionalism. He assures me the endorphins will soon replace the overwhelming feeling that I might vomit. I pick myself up and we head to lunch in nearby Primrose Hill.<\/p>\n

As we settle into a quiet corner table of Hiddleston\u2019s favourite cafe, the conversation starts with him explaining how he has always been \u2018moved by the thrill of physical performance\u2019. In preparing to play Sir Edmund Hillary, capturing the iconic explorer\u2019s adventures meant embodying his tall wiry frame and movements.<\/p>\n

\u2018Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last Of The Mohicans \u2013 the way he ran. He looked like how I felt when I ran. Harrison Ford<\/a> on a horse in Indiana Jones. He was an archaeologist, but put him on a horse and you believe it, right? Russell Crowe<\/a> in Gladiator\u2026 the twirl of the sword. Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze running down the beach in Point Break. Gene Kelly in Singin\u2019 In The Rain. Tom Cruise<\/a> in everything. These are things that hit me between the eyes when I was young, that have really stayed with me.\u2019<\/p>\n

Hiddleston may not be synonymous with the superhero physique in quite the same way as, say, Chris Hemsworth<\/a>, but the British actor\u2019s physical presence is nonetheless a defining part of each of his roles. Approaching each character, he asks:<\/p>\n

\u2018Who is this person? And how do they move? Where is their physical centre; where\u2019s their emotional centre? How are they tied together?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Do whatever makes you feel good. Do it now while you can\u2019<\/p>\n

With 2024\u2019s The Life Of Chuck, a film based on the Stephen King novella, the story hinges on a moment of impromptu dancing. An accountant, Chuck, is by all descriptions a safe, maybe even a bit boring, middle-aged man. Until he breaks into dance.<\/p>\n

\u2018That moment on the promenade where he\u2019s going to the conference and he puts his briefcase down. The grey man in the grey suit with the grey light explodes into movement and joy. And I remember the extraordinary thrill of reading it, going, \u201cI must do this \u2013 this is brilliant!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I thought, \u201cWow, what a metaphor for life. Move if you can. Do whatever it is that makes you feel good. Whatever gives you that feeling of presence. It doesn\u2019t have to be dancing. It could be climbing mountains or doing a death run, kickboxing or playing the piano \u2013 whatever it is that gives you joy. Do it now while you can. While you have the breath of life.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\"tom\"tom<\/p>\n

It was soon after the release of The Life Of Chuck that Hiddleston was asked to play Sir Edmund Hillary \u2013 an opportunity he knew he had to take.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was like, \u201cI\u2019m not gonna get asked to do this forever.\u201d Let\u2019s go! I want to do this. I want to learn how to climb at altitude. For Chuck, the expression of freedom, a feeling of presence, of being profoundly alive, is found in dancing. For Hillary, it\u2019s his ice axe in hand.\u2019<\/p>\n

In his research of the New Zealand explorer, Hiddleston found a description from the expedition photographer, Tom Stobart, depicting Hillary as \u2018tall, lean, with long limbs and a strong jaw. And he seemed to be tied together with steel\u2019.<\/p>\n

In other words, Hillary was someone with total fitness: not a flashy physique made for the algorithms of social media, but real-world grit and determination.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s that mountaineering fitness when you\u2019re marching up these big hills and there\u2019s no oxygen and you\u2019re living on tins of sardines, peaches and cheese,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018So, I just wanted to be aerobically fit in a way that I just knew, like, my heart was fit, my lungs were fit.\u2019<\/p>\n

Hiddleston wanted not only to have the requisite fitness to pass as Hillary, but the skill set, too. On director Jennifer Peedom\u2019s insistence, he and co-star Genden Phuntsok, who plays Tenzing Norgay, travelled to Nepal to retread the pair\u2019s passage to Base Camp.<\/p>\n

Upon landing, the initiation began. He recalls his expedition guide, Dr Nima Sherpa, an Everest veteran and high-altitude medical adviser, telling him, \u2018You\u2019re playing the man who built the school that I went to when I was four. He\u2019s the reason I can speak English and do maths. He\u2019s the reason I became a doctor.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018It was an extraordinary honour and a great privilege,\u2019 says Hiddleston, who used the trek to get acclimatised to the conditions and his character.<\/p>\n

\u2018Jen, coming from her documentary background, was like, \u201cI want real mountains, real conditions, real ice, real crevasses. God is in the details. I want these actors in the environment. I just believe that everything will come together if we\u2019re on real mountains. No studio, no green screen.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

The film, then, stands as a love letter to the natural world and the majesty of Everest, as well as a testament to the bond and friendship between Norgay and Hillary. Though, in their quest for authenticity, there was one notable exception:<\/p>\n

\u2018The only thing that wasn\u2019t real was oxygen deprivation,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018For which I\u2019m grateful.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"tomDivine Might<\/p>\n

This December will mark Hiddleston\u2019s seventh turn as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That\u2019s 16 years playing the God of Mischief, foil to Chris Hemsworth\u2019s Thor. It\u2019s the one role, whether he\u2019s in Nepal or London, sure to elicit attention.<\/p>\n

\u2018The association with Loki is extremely strong,\u2019 he reflects. \u2018And is a constant source of surprise and delight.\u2019<\/p>\n

But things could have turned out very differently. Hiddleston originally read for Thor, getting to the final stages of auditioning alongside Liam Hemsworth, Joel Kinnaman, Charlie Hunnam and Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd; it wasn\u2019t until later that Chris was added.<\/p>\n

Hiddleston was 29 then and a relative unknown \u2013 one of the preconditions of whoever scored the role. He was also a few kilos short of a Demi God and about to learn a lesson that would dictate the rest of his career.<\/p>\n

\u2018They gave me six weeks to put on as much muscle as I could,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018It was such an extraordinary challenge. I\u2019d auditioned for big movies before, but I\u2019d never got to this stage. I felt like I was in the semi-final or final. For the first time in my life, and I mean this sincerely, I thought to myself, \u201cIf you don\u2019t go for this, you\u2019ve only got yourself to blame.\u201d Throw your whole soul at it and see what happens. All in. No doubt. Don\u2019t hesitate. Don\u2019t say to yourself, \u201cWell, what\u2019s the point? Someone else will probably get it.\u201d Just go for it. Really go for it. And it was such an enjoyable target, because in that deal with myself, there was no failure.\u2019<\/p>\n

He was right. Hiddleston missed out on Thor, but he landed his half-brother and arguably the richer character in Loki.<\/p>\n

\u2018They called Chris at 9.00am, and me at 9.02,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

Soon, he would be at a wardrobe fitting in LA, where he got a visit from studio head Kevin Feige.<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s got a twinkle in his eye; he goes, \u201cSit down, listen. This is gonna be great. We\u2019re so excited to have you and Chris. We think you\u2019re going to be extraordinary together.\u201d And at that point, The Avengers isn\u2019t a film yet. It\u2019s a concept, an idea\u2026 He hasn\u2019t told anyone about it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Feige set out his vision, says Hiddleston.<\/p>\n

\u2018[He said,] \u201cIn 1967, in the first edition of the first Avengers comic, the antagonist, the villain, was Loki. And I want to replicate that in our Avengers movie. So, what we\u2019re gonna do is we\u2019ve made an Iron Man movie. We\u2019re gonna make a Captain America movie, and then we\u2019re gonna make an Avengers movie, and you\u2019re gonna be the villain in Thor and The Avengers.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018My jaw was on the floor. And I was like, \u201cNow I know why it was such a long audition process!\u201d The scale of the ambition was dawning.\u2019<\/p>\n

Soon, it was time for the brothers to lock in.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019d met Chris, and it was like an immediate, fast friendship,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018We met at Kenneth Branagh\u2019s house and did a training session together, which is hilarious. In Ken\u2019s garden lifting firewood and logs. And then we basically chatted, trying to define their physical characteristics differently.\u2019<\/p>\n

With Loki, Hiddleston found a character in desperation.<\/p>\n

\u2018Desperate for purpose,\u2019 he says. \u2018Desperate for meaning. Desperate for answers and clarity. And he\u2019s behind the pace. I wanted it to feel like Run Lola Run, a film about a young woman who keeps rerunning this scenario \u2013 literally sprinting it \u2013 doing a different thing every time and trying to get a different result.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Loki moves like the wind. He\u2019s a deceiver, a manipulator, a trickster, a boundary crosser\u2026 His danger was from a distance, so I had throwing knives, trying to make the most dynamic shapes so that they feel choreographic and expressive.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Chris was interested in heavyweight boxing and having that sense of enormous power and speed and strength. And Loki would be his ideal partner because he was agile and fast. If Thor was like a rock, Loki was like water.\u2019<\/p>\n

On set of the MCU films<\/a>, the pair had different training schedules, with Hiddleston preferring his morning runs and Hemsworth opting for the weight room after shooting. Though, there was one workout that created some brotherly competition.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was 100 pull-ups, 100 press-ups<\/a>, 1,000m row<\/a> and 100 squats<\/a> for time. He\u2019d always had me on the pull-ups, and I had him on the row!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I want to be strong and fit for my children. I want to keep up with them\u2019<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 2017 that Hiddleston met the trainer Simon Waterson and stepped up his physical evolution. Waterson is responsible for Daniel Craig\u2019s Bond physique and countless other Hollywood transformations. He\u2019s also the architect of the 5\/2 protocol that Hiddleston has used since the set of Kong, which saw him transform into a former Special Forces soldier.<\/p>\n

THE 5\/2 METHOD
Created by Hollywood PT Simon Waterson, this protocol \u2018is designed to be short but intense\u2019, says Hiddleston. \u2018It\u2019s essentially a metcon where you\u2019re working at a very high heart rate under intensity for 30 mins.\u2019 Take five exercises (goblet squats, kettlebell swings, etc) and pair a set of each with cardio intervals (running, bike, row). \u2018It\u2019s an accumulator pyramid, which gets nastier the higher you get,\u2019 says Hiddleston. <\/p>\n

Exercise A
+ 2 mins of cardio
Exercise A + B
+ 2 mins of cardio
Exercise A + B + C
+ 2 mins of cardio
Exercise A + B + C + D
+ 2 mins of cardio
Exercise A + B + C + D + E
+ 2 mins of cardio<\/p>\n

These days, Hemsworth has been replaced as a training partner by a group of local friends: Ronaldo, Lawrence, Larry and Jesse. Hiddleston drops his son off at nursery, then joins the training crew at the local gym or out on the track. Some days it\u2019s a group strength session; other days it\u2019s tennis or a death run.<\/p>\n

\"tom<\/p>\n

While there isn\u2019t the added incentive of a life-changing role on the line, Hiddleston still has a lot to train for.<\/p>\n

\u2018I want to be fit and strong for my children,\u2019 he tells me. \u2018I\u2019m so aware that they are watching me and I\u2019m a model for them. It\u2019s such a privilege to be someone\u2019s father. And I mean that humbly. It\u2019s such an honour to live up to what that means. And both my children, to introduce them to the joy of movement and the joy of their bodies.\u2019<\/p>\n

Naturally, Hiddleston has a poem for that. It\u2019s called Humpbacks by Mary Oliver, about how \u2018watching these great creatures breach reminds you of the pleasure of being alive\u2019.<\/p>\n

Whatever it is you try \/ to do with your life,
nothing will ever dazzle you \/ like the dreams
of your body, \/ its spirit \/ longing to fly while the
dead-weight bones \/ toss their dark mane and
hurry \/ back into fields of glittering fire<\/p>\n

\u2018I want to keep up with them,\u2019 says Hiddleston. \u2018I want to play with them. I want to carry them and run with them, play football with them, swim and chase and throw them up in the air. And so, that now is the motivation. Trying to hold on to it for as long as I can.\u2019<\/p>\n

Photography by Hamish Brown
Styling by Eric Down
Grooming: Amanda Grossman at Forward Artists using Allies of Skin
Drone Operator: Quest Productions <\/p>\n

This interview features in the October 2026 issue of Men’s Health \u2013 out now. Subscribe to MH by hitting this link<\/a>.\"men's<\/a>\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Christopher Riley is the editor of Men’s Health UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was during the making of War Horse, in 2010, that Tom Hiddleston learned the power of running.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[148505,9262,259064,12497,6647,102,190731,1156,259063,223205,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-786402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-collection-fit-for-life","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-0daef6bf-30dc-420c-90d5-ca3cba2d7de2","tag-displaytype-long-form-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-tom-hiddlestons-total-fitness-blueprint","tag-sponsored-false","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}