'Game of Thrones' Workout: Kit Harington's Muscle-Building Training

Kit Harington’s Muscle-Building ‘Game of Thrones’ Workout

This article was originally published in 2016.

While we know nothing about whether Kit Harington’s Jon Snow will be back for Season 6 of Game of Thrones, we are certain about one thing: He’s physically ready for it. (Spoiler alert: Harington did return in a big way in Season 6 and he’s still kicking at the start of Season 8.) To get Harington in the kind of shape to sword-fight White Walkers while wearing what looks like 100 pounds of fur, celebrity coach and author of The Feelgood Plan, Dalton Wong converged on compound workouts that mimicked the on-set moves.

“We were doing a lot of full-body actions, rather than the typical isolation workouts,” Wong says. “Lots of cable routines that would allow his body a fuller range of action, because he would have to get that sword around the head.”

Wong also concentrated on strength-training workouts that honed in on the largest muscle groups in the body the back, glutes, and legs and were intense enough to double as cardio, too. This meant 45 minutes to an hour of lateral lunges, deadlifts, and upper body push and pull movements.



He shared one of Harington’s go-to workouts below. Try it two or three times a week, and get fit enough to fight the undead.

Warm-Up

• Knee Hugs: Lie on your back and hug your left knee to your chest, while keeping right leg flat. Repeat four times, then switch legs.

• Thread the Needle: Position yourself on your hands and knees on the floor. Thread your left hand over to your right side, so that it hovers an inch above the floor. Lift the same arm toward your left shoulder and lookup. You should feel your chest opening. Return to begin and repeat on the opposite side for 1 rep. Do 10 reps.

• Lunge Stretch: Start in a forward lunge on the right leg, and plant hands on the floor on either side of the front foot. Use your right elbow against the inside of the right knee to deepen the stretch. Raise your hips high to straighten the right leg and stretch the hamstrings. Repeat four times, then switch sides.

The Workout

You’ll need a heavy set of dumbbells (Harington uses 20- to 30-pounders). Complete four rounds of the following four exercises, resting one minute after each round.

• Pendulum Lunge: Holding dumbbells at sides, take a big step backward with the right foot and lower right knee to the floor. With your weight in your left heel, take a big step forward with the right leg and bend your left knee so it just hovers above the floor. Repeat on the left leg, and continue alternating for 1 minute.

• Weighted Push-Up Rows: Get in plank position gripping a dumbbell in either hand. Bend elbows back and close to the body to lower chest to floor, then press back up, locking elbows at the top. Keeping a perfect plank position, row your left hand up to your left ribs, elbow back and tight to the body. Reduce the weight, and repeat on the right side. Continue alternating for 1 minute.

• Lateral Dumbbell Lunge: Stand holding dumbbells at sides, and lunge laterally to your right (if you were standing in the center of a clock, this would be like lunging to 1 o’clock), and placing 80 percent of your weight in your right heel. Press through your front foot to return to start, and repeat on your left side (imagine lunging to 11 o’clock). Continue alternating sides for 1 minute.

• Kneeling Curl and Press: Start in a kneeling with arms straight at sides and a weight in each hand. With palms trimming out, curl weights to shoulders, then use palms in to press the weights overhead. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to start, and repeat for 1 minute.