Image Source: Getty Images / Roy Rochlin [1]
In his run thus far on Netflix's "Stranger Things," [2] David Harbour — who plays the beloved Jim Hopper — has become a monster-fighting, lovable parental figure and town hero. In season four, specifically, we get to see Harbour as one hell of a fighting machine. (Seriously, the willpower!) Turns out, that's not just the work of special effects, great screenwriting, or skilled stunt doubles. According to a recent TikTok [3] posted by Harbour's trainer, he's quite a beast IRL, too.
The TikTok was first posted on June 8 by "real life superhero trainer" Don Saladino [4] (who also works with the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively [5], Jake Gyllenhaal, John Krasinski, and Emily Blunt, just to name a few), but it's now making the rounds on many people's For You pages following the release of "Stranger Things" season four, volume two [6] on July 1.
The workout montage is set, rather fittingly, to the now-notorious "Vecna song" [7], Kate Bush's 1985 single "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)." It shows Harbour crushing it in the gym, doing what appear to be deadlifts of 300+ pounds, medicine-ball slams, heavy kettlebell farmer's carries [8], and sled pushes at an impressive pace. In other words, all the necessary functional training exercises you need to fight scary things from the Upside Down.
Throwback to making David a beast! Congrats on the #strangerthings4 [10] !
"Throwback to making David a beast! Congrats on the #strangerthings4!" Saladino wrote in the caption. Though he posted it in honour of the new season, Saladino did reply to a comment on the video confirming that this training was actually for Harbour's title role in the 2019 movie "Hellboy." [12]
These exercises are all incredible for building functional total-body strength, since they replicate movements you might need to do in your day-to-day life. They're also great at getting your heart beating (looking at you, sled pushes [13] and ball slams [14]).
If you needed some workout inspo for today, well, what are you waiting for? Queue up your Vecna playlist [15], grab some weights, and get to work. Hawkins won't save itself.