How Alicia Vikander Gained 12 Pounds of Muscle for Tomb Raider
Updated: Mar. 16, 2018
She’s a tiny woman, but thanks to her Tomb Raider trainer, Alicia Vikander is ripped. Find out how she developed the strength to lift 35-pound dumbbells.
Alicia Vikander looks seriously strong playing Lara Croft the lastest reboot of the Tomb Raider movies
She’s no stranger to a good workout — she is a former ballerina after all — but she managed to put on an impressive 12 pounds of muscle for this role. worked with celeb trainer Magnus Lygdback, who’s currently training Gal Gadot for Wonder Woman 2, to get in action-star shape. Here’s how Alicia Vikander got in Croft condition for the role.
Schedule
Lygdback says that for almost seven months, they worked together five to seven days a week but never for more than an hour at a time. The logic? “What doesn’t happen in the first hour won’t happen in the second hour,” he told Popsugar.
Moves
Lifting, squatting, jumping — you name it, she did it. “I like to switch it up,” Lygdback told Popsugar. “So we did everything from squatting heavy and doing deadlifts to pull-ups, push-ups, training with machines, training with bodyweight, plyometrics, explosive training.”
Core
Alicia has something akin to a 6-pack in this movie (it might even be an 8-pack), which translates to serious core strength. Lygdback told Popsugar they built this by by dividing the core into three different days and taking a different approach each day. One day is dedicated to dynamic, static or isometric ab moves like planks or leg raises, the second with rotational moves that work the obliques (think: wood-chopping moves) and the third day is for beefing up core strength with weighed exercises.
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Diet
Alicia adopted the Keto diet — a high-fat, no-carb way of eating — for two months before filming to get in stellar shape. Lygdback says she ate a lot of fish and seafood for protein, MCT oil, avocado and coconut oil as fat, and didn’t eat over 25 grams of carbs a day (even including carbs from veggies).
Attitude
Even on a strict diet, Alicia’s pro attitude was present. “It’s always tricky the first couple of days, but [Alicia’s] willpower is just unbelievable, and she didn’t complain, even though I could see she was struggling a little bit.”
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