It ain’t easy doing stunts in a wookie suit.

If you watch enough Star Wars stuff, it can be easy to forget that a lot of the alien species are just people in suits and makeup. Take Chewbacca for example; to the theater-going public, he’s the big growly dog-man who hangs out with Han Solo. Underneath that fur, though, is professional suit actor Joonas Suotamo. You can’t just don a Wookie pelt and call yourself Chewbacca, however. Because Chewbacca is such an active character, carrying actors and running through firefights, Joonas needs to be in primo shape.

Joonas starts with cardio to get his heart rate up in preparation for the rest of his workout. A wookie walks with a strong, powerful gait, so to keep that walk up for a 12-hour shoot, Joonas absolutely cannot skip leg day. In order to lug his co-stars around, Joonas prioritizes deadlifts over all other exercises to keep his back strong. For hand-to-hand combat scenes, Joonas preps with pull-ups to build strong arms for powerful Wookie claw swipes. After all that comes the chest, neck and shoulders. While these muscles aren’t impacted as heavily physically, they do need to be in good shape to give Chewbacca his proud, imposing stature, as well as his quirky neck tilts.

Joonas’s face may not be the one you see on the silver screen, but it’s thanks to his vigorous exercise that the Chewbacca we know today is the big, tough hairball he is. If you want to be as strong as a Wookie (and really, who doesn’t?), take a little inspiration from Joonas Suotamo.