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Alexander Skarsgård pushed himself to the limit to transform his body for his new film The Northman.

In an interview with 'This character, his spiritual animals were a bear and wolf. So that is exactly what we were trying to embody in terms of Alex's build and movements,' Lygdback told the media outlet. 

Getting into character: Alexander Skarsgård pushed himself to the limit to transform his body for his new film The Northman. Seen in April 2022

He continued, 'The wolf is really agile, and then you have the size of the bear in this Viking. You can just get one look at him and get scared. That was [the elevator pitch] for what we were trying to achieve [with Alex's transformation].'

Lygdback is a renowned Swedish health and wellness expert and movement coach who previously worked with Skarsgård on the 2016 adventure film The Legend of Tarzan.

He explained that his aim was to help the Sweden native shape his trapezius muscles so that they were bulging and defined through the process that he called 'postural manipulation.'

Bulking up: In an interview with Variety, the 45-year-old actor's trainer Magnus Lygdback described the grueling fitness and diet regimen that the True Blood star undertook to play the role of the Viking Prince Amleth in Robert Eggers' action/adventure movie

Lygdback trained Skarsgård six days a week in the three months leading up to The Northman's production start date, which was originally in March 2020.

Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, production was delayed until September 2020 so the pair resumed their six-days-a-week schedule beginning in June.

From March until June, Skarsgård worked out in the gym three or four days a week while under lockdown in Stockholm.

 Lygdback explained that he only trains actors for one hour each day as he has found that workouts exceeding one hour are not necessary.

'You see it in interviews all the time where an actor says, 'I trained for multiple hours a day.' That's not necessarily true,' Lygdback told Variety.

'They might have been moving around for four hours a day, let's say, but the actual gym session? I never train my clients for more than an hour because what doesn't happen in the first hour will not happen in the second hour at the gym. All you do after the first hour is just start to break down your body. So one hour a day, six days a week. While filming, five days a week.' 

Grueling: Lygdback trained Skarsgård six days a week in the three months leading up to The Northman's production start date, which was originally in March 2020

Lygdback said that the Big Little Lies actor's regimen was  'a hybrid between plyometrics training and old-school bodybuilding philosophy.' 

For the first 10 minutes of each session, Skarsgård would use free weights and resistance bands to activate his shoulder and glutes.

He also underwent bear-crawling exercises in order to prepare for climbing stunts and throwing exercises for the scenes in which he was using an axe or spear.   

'We knew Alex was going to be moving a lot, from running around to swinging axes, so we took a lot of attention to shoulders and hips,' Lygdback said. 

'I did a lot of band warm-ups for his shoulders and hips, and then that was followed by pretty intense strength training. It was a four-day split, meaning you're working different muscles each day and and then you've covered the whole body in four days. Then you start over.'

The regimen: Lygdback said that the Big Little Lies actor's regimen was 'a hybrid between plyometrics training and old-school bodybuilding philosophy'

 Lygdback planned Skarsgård's diet so that he was eating around 3,700 calories a day and consuming more calories than he was burning in order to bulk up muscle.

The trainer said that he instructed the performer to eat every two to three times five times a day. 

'This will keep your energy up and your metabolism burning,' Lygdback said.

Lygdback said that he advises his clients to 'eat clean 17 out of 20 meals in a four-day cycle.' 

Three of the 20 meals consist of 'treat meals' when Lygback's clients can eat anything that they are craving.

According to Lygdback, a clean meal includes a protein, which could be chicken, fish or beef, a leafy vegetable and a slow carb or fat like quinoa or avocado. 

Diet: Lygdback planned Skarsgård's diet so that he was eating around 3,700 calories a day and consuming more calories than he was burning in order to bulk up muscle. Pictured here with previous client Gal Gadot

Skarsgård maintained this diet throughout his two three-month prep periods and during the six-month shoot for The Northman.

Lygdback said that Skarsgård favored fish as his protein of choice. He typically ate four eggs for breakfast, which he later followed up with a protein-based snack.

The coach said that the snack 'could be anything from smoked fish salad, to some chicken or beef skewers.' 

Lygdback told Variety that Skarsgård ate a clean meal for https://droidoo.com/korea-bodybuilding-for-bodybuilders/ lunch and particularly enjoyed eating salmon with asparagus.

He then would have another snack and a clean meal for dinner. Skarsgård occasionally added a protein shake to his diet but that was not part of Lygdback's regimen. 

Lygdback, who will next be working with Anya Taylor-Joy as she prepares for to play a warrior in the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa, has detailed Skarsgård's full exercise and diet regimen on his app. 

In an interview with  

Going the extra mile: In an interview with Empire magazine, Skarsgård said that he does not usually train or diet for roles but realized that he had to put on weight to play Amleth

'When you're an actor, you're spoiled,' he said. 'You have a lot of help. The studio will get you the best trainer and the best nutritionist and the best plan. They organize everything. 

'So you don't really have to do much. They tell you what to do and when to do it. Of course, you've got to put in some work yourself. But for The Northman, I was very excited about finally making the movie after years of pre-production, and planning, and talking to Rob about the character and the story. 

'There's so many months and years of just hypothetically talking about the character in loose terms. But then when you start training, that's the first day when you go into real pre-production, at least for me as an actor. And it becomes very real that you're actually getting ready to do it.'

Skarsgård added, 'I was incredibly excited and motivated to actually start that journey, putting on some weight. It felt important. 

Shopping: The actor was spotted stepping out for a solo shopping trip in New York City on Friday

Casual cool: He sported a laid-back look, wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans, and black Converse sneakers

'My character's name, when he's a berserker at the beginning of movie, is ‘Bjorn Ulfur', which means Bear Wolf. There's a scene at the beginning of the movie in which he transforms - he sheds his human shape and becomes this spirit animal, a hybrid of a wolf and a bear. 

'I'm a bit too lean for that character, so it was important to have a bit more bulk and be slightly more bearlike in my posture and size.'

The actor was spotted stepping out for a solo shopping trip in New York City on Friday. 

He sported a laid-back look, wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans, and black Converse sneakers. 

New York City sights: The handsome star appeared to pause and take in the sights of New York City during his trip

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Read more:

• Alexander Skarsgård Interview: The Northman, Robert Eggers, And Viking Mythology | Movies | Empire
• Alexander Skarsgard's 'Northman' Training, Diet Plan Explained - Variety