From Game of Thrones to Pompeii, Kit Harington has taken his chiseled body to screens large
and small.
Reviews never fail to notice just how jacked this dude always manages to be.
We've noticed, too.
Here's how he does it.
Training with stunt actors
From Game of Thrones' brutal, body-twisting battle scenes to the sword-and-sandal action
of 2014's Pompeii, Harington has had to conquer quite a few stunts.
Turns out, this is a solid way to get and stay in shape.
"Done a lot of physical training for the role.
Training sort of six times a week."
As an actor, Harington has had to manipulate his body in numerous ways.
One of his favorite ways to push the limits is by training with stunt actors, thus cutting
out the middleman and learning action choreography as he trains in a way that's consistent with
the character he's playing.
As he told Vanity Fair, his role in Pompeii demanded daily training for four hours in
addition to a very specialized diet.
Working on his swordsmanship
Harington doesn't just train like a fighter — he wields like one, too.
His workout routine has involved everything from one-handed swordsmanship to dual wielding,
ranging from fighting that employs lightweight sabers to the kind that incorporates the weighty,
long-handled broadswords that Jon Snow most commonly uses.
His sword training was so intense for Pompeii that the Game of Thrones staff noted a change
in his technique.
Thanks to all that training, he returned to the celebrated fantasy series as a much more
fluid and physically skilled actor.
A specifically calibrated diet
Exercise is only part of getting in shape, of course.
It has to work harmoniously with a lot of other things, from a solid sleep schedule
to adequate hydration and mental wellness.
But above all, it must be paired with a well-balanced diet, attuned to the individual's needs, and
that's exactly the kind of diet Harington follows.
Here's how Harington honed himself into a lean, mean machine for Pompeii:
"I went on this vigorous regime of over five weeks of eating over 4000 calories a day."
As Harington told Men's Health, he
"was eating all the time: loads of good carbs, like brown rice and sweet potatoes.
And lots of chicken."
Of course, that can get boring fast, which is where so many aspiring athletes fail.
One of Harington's trainers said the key is in the seasoning.
With the right preparations, even the humble sweet potato can taste a thousand different
ways.
Personally, he recommends a special blend of salt and 15 herbs called Herbamare.
Cable-based workouts
Picking any one exercise can be overwhelming.
While the plethora of information on everything from hyper-specific diets to confusing weight
machines can be a boon at times, it can also be a curse.
How does one choose where to begin?
How much time is any one person willing to devote to trial and error?
When it comes to Harington's workouts for Game of Thrones, there's one type of exercise
that has proven more useful than the rest: cable-based workouts.
His trainer, Dalton Wong, developed a program that uses these exercises to mimic his in-character
moves.
He told Men's Journal:
"We were doing… lots of cable routines that would allow his body a fuller range of movement."
Given that he's usually swinging his sword wrapped in layer upon layer of heavy fur and
leather, it sounds like working with flexible cables is exactly the right course of action.
Hitting the largest muscle groups
Strength training has become more and more popular over the last few years.
As Harington has spent most of his career playing brawny dudes with physical jobs to
do, he's devout to the practice.
But he doesn't just devote himself to any old strength training regimen — he focuses
specifically on what will get him the best results.
His trainer Dalton Wong focuses specifically on training Harington according to his largest
muscle groups, developing routines that strengthen his back, legs and glutes.
These exercises — largely deadlifts, lateral lunges, and upper body push and pull movements
— are done for 45 minutes to an hour, at a pace so intense the exercises double as
cardio.
As anyone who's seen his muscled physique on screen can attest, this routine is clearly
working.
Always warming up
It's not enough to push one's body to the absolute limit.
The serious athlete has to spend time warming up.
Harington is dedicated to what is an essential part of any routine, and warming up has kept
him in fighting shape.
Wong shared one of the workout routines he developed for Harington, and a good third
of it focuses solely on warm-up exercises.
Warming up is the kind of thing that novice gym rats often skip, since it can seem like
such a waste of time.
But the consequences of diving right into training without warming up can be devastating.
Instead, be like Harington.
Be committed to getting your body ready for the thorough workout that ensues.
Changing up his routine
When all is said and done, even the most perfectly calibrated routine can't trump stagnation.
That's why having a variety of activities is so important to staying in shape — a
tenet that Harington lives by.
In 2016, he noted:
"The physical stuff is very much a part of who Jon Snow is.
I've got into rock climbing, ice climbing, sword fighting, and horse riding."
So what have we learned?
One cannot live by squats, pull-ups, or diet alone.
We have to adapt, shake it up, and try new things.
"High intensity interval training keeps me in shape for fighting wildlings, while they
increase muscle mass.
Helps me defend the Seven Kingdoms against 55-foot giants."
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