Natalie Portman’s personal trainer reveals exactly how she got so ripped for Thor: Love and Thunder

Natalie Portman’s trainer for Thor: Love and Thunder has revealed how she got in shape to play her returning role as a muscular Jane Foster.

Naomi Pendergast said the Oscar winner, 41, trained for 10 months and stuck to a strict high-protein diet.

‘Natalie did five sessions a week and did not miss one session for the whole time period we trained,’ the director of RPX Fitness told Us Weekly on Thursday.

The personal trainer said the main goal was to bulk up the actress’s arms and abdominal muscles.

She added: ‘We also worked on stability and agility for injury prevention as Natalie had some dynamic stunt scenes that required her to move, twist and land in various positions.

‘I was also really pleased she got through the challenging stunt process without any injuries.’

Natalie’s workouts are primarily of boxing, skipping, core work and weightlifting, with a dramatic increase in her protein intake.

Since she was a vegan, she would eat a vegan-based breakfast of oats and berries along with a protein shake while her snacks on set included fruit, nuts and salads.

Naomi explained the actress would then have a vegan falafel dish at lunch with another protein shake, and a vegan curry and third protein shake for dinner.

‘This amount of food was obviously way more than Natalie normally eats, but it was essential for her to maintain this throughout filming to keep the muscle she had developed,’ she said.

The fitness instructor added that while she provided guidance, it was Natalie’s dedication that helped her meet her fitness goals for the Marvel movie.

Natalie told Variety her new muscular figure gave her a fresh perspective on how body type can change a person’s perception of themselves.

She said: ‘On Black Swan I was asked to get as small as possible. [For Thor] I was asked to get as big as possible.’

She continued: ‘That’s an amazing challenge – and also state of mind as a woman. To have this reaction and be seen as big, you realise, “Oh, this must be so different, to walk through the world like this.”

‘When you’re small – and also, I think, because I started as a kid – a lot of times I feel young or little or a pat-on-the-head kind of person. And I present myself that way because of it.’

Natalie’s co-star Chris Hemsworth, 38, also had to go the extra mile to prepare for his role as Thor, eating eight meals a day to look like the God of Thunder.