Who wouldn’t want to be as strong as Captain Marvel herself? Brie Larson had an extremely intense 9 month training period with celebrity trainer Jason Walsh for her role and by the end of it, she was able to push a nearly 5,000 pound (2,267.962kg to be exact) jeep up a hill.
Now, finding a video of her training programme wasn’t easy as a lot of her training leading up to the movie required weights and gym equipment – not stuff one would have lying around at home, let’s be honest. So imagine my surprise when the ‘Captain Marvel’ actress posted a video titled “My first workout in quarantine…” on her Youtube channel. The best part? She doesn’t use any equipment.
No equipment = should be a breeze right? WHY AM I SO NAIVE?!
Larson uses her body weight in the video and there are tonnes of benefits to bodyweight workouts. Studies have repeatedly shown that bodyweight workouts can be both effective and efficient for building strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. With that being said, bodyweight workouts do also require higher repetitions than working out with weights.
Now, the video that Larson shares is cut up to show each exercise but does not follow Larson through the whole hour-long routine. In essence, the workout is split into three parts: the warm-up, “the flow” and “the finish”. She doesn’t specify the reps that she does either so I (foolishly) decided it would be a good idea to do 40-seconds of each exercise.
Since this is a whole “experience ‘Captain Marvel’s workout” and she starts by munching on a cookie as she listens to trainer Jason Walsh talk about what they’re about to do…
For the warm-up…
Anyway, before the cookie even digests, Larson is put through a series of four different exercises: Sumo Stance, Lateral Shifting:
Sumo Stance, Squats / Squat with Lateral Knee Push Into Reach:
And then a Lateral Roll to Straight Leg. By the end of this, I was sweaty – which is, I guess, the point of “warming” up but…
Then we moved on to the Flow…
There are a total of 15 – FIFTEEN – different exercises.
Starting with the Body Saw:
Moving on to the Plank with Knee to Elbow:
And then it goes on to: Plank to Single Arm Push / Upward Dog to Push Back / Pike to Half Moon Extension / Crab Position / Butterfly Extension / Plank to Reach Through / Plank to Lateral Hip Drop / Push Up to Sit Through / Cross Over Lateral Lunge / Standing Leg Hip Extension To Squat/ Single Leg Toe Touch to Forward to Reverse Lunge / Lateral Skater Jumps / Squat Jumps.
In all, the flow took me roughly 11 minutes to complete, with 10-second breaks between every two exercises.
And finally, we move onto “the finish”…
This is essentially two quick, basic yoga moves for cooling down: the pigeon pose on both sides and a wide-legged child’s pose (my fave for obvious reasons!).
How I Did
At the end of the video, Larson says: “It’s unclear if anyone is going to do the workout with us, or just enjoy watching me struggle,”. Well, this was me by the end of it:
In all honesty, the workout is great. The mix of core work, balance and cardio (squat jumps ftw!) is ideal for people who may have fallen out of a workout regime or have found themselves taking an extended break over the course of the pandemic. This is because the workout does require a bit of core and leg strength, ngl and some of the moves may be difficult if you struggle with balance (the number of times I fell over/was scrambling to hold onto the wall…). With that being said, it is for this exact reason that the repetition of this workout can build a good foundation for beginners. Most of all, I love how you’re working on your body by using your body. There is a different sort of satisfaction in knowing that you’ve moved your body in ways you wouldn’t usually have used it – especially knowing that by the end of it, you’re only going to come out stronger!
As Larson said by the end of the workout,
“I feel my mortality in a way that I haven’t for a while,”
In all the good ways!
Try out the workout and let us know how you feel by the end of it!
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