Scarlett Johanson first joined the Marvel movies back in 2009 when she starred in Iron Man 2 as the Black Widow. Ever since her health and fitness routine has changed to help her really get into character. She recently shared her workout and diet regimen which helped her transform again into a superhero in Avengers Endgame.
You could never tell, but Scarlett said before joining the Avengers cast, she had never gone to the gym. She told The Hollywood Reporter,"the gift of fitness has been one of the best parts about working for Marvel. I am stronger and more capable now than I was 10 years ago, which is so awesome to be able to say."
As if being a superhero on the big screen isn't enough, Scarlett is also a superhero in her own home as she is a mother to 4-year-old daughter Rose. Scarlett doesn't have time to mess around so in order to get a workout in she has to do it before Rose wakes up. Her 45 to 50 minute workouts usually start around 6 AM. She said that by working out in the morning, she has more time in the evenings to cook dinner, bathe Rose and put her to sleep.
Scarlett's Exercise and Training Routine
Scarlett has been working with her trainer, Eric Johnson, since 2009. In preparation for Endgame, Eric created a three-phase training schedule for Scarlett. Each phase lasted from 3 to 6 weeks. The purpose of phase one was to help her hone the mind-body connection. Eric wanted to increase Scarlett's agility and sharpen her reflexes. Scarlett practiced muscle-burning isometric holds and plyometric movements.
During the second phase, they focused on increasing her strength by incorporating weight lifting and gymnastics into her routine. Scarlett went all in and really dedicated herself to this training. She was able to accomplish a 245-pound deadlift and single-leg pistol squats. Eric told The Hollywood Reporter, "What is the Black Widow able to do? Lift 500 pounds. We're trying to create this crazy comic book hero in real life with somebody who's normal."
The third and final phase was created to help Scarlett get lean before shooting. She mainly focused on her diet and increasing her cardio training. Eric wanted her to do exercises that increased her heart rate but also helped her build muscle simultaneously. He had her doing sprints, kettlebell and battle rope exercises. Eric wanted Scarlett to have a well-rounded fitness regime so he also had her attend many hot yoga classes, fight training, and pilates classes.
Scarlett's Diet
Eric encouraged Scarlett to practice time-restricting eating and low-carb/high-carb cycling. Scarlett would only eat during a 12-hour window and then would fast for the remaining 12 hours. This helped keep her energy stable and prevent her from crashing. As for carb cycling, Scarlett would eat a low-carb diet two days in a row and then would eat a high-carb diet the following day. Just before shooting, Scarlett mainly ate small amounts of carbs to accentuate her muscles.
When it was a low-carb day, Scarlett ate 75 grams of carbohydrates. Protein and healthy fats were also an important part of her diet. She sourced protein and fat from fish, chicken, eggs, avocados, and nuts. Every meal also included greens like spinach or other veggies.
High-carb days were a bit different. Instead of eating just 75 grams of carbohydrates, Scarlett would eat 125 grams of carbs. The additional carbs usually came from toast and white rice.
Scarlett's end goal was to increase functionality. Losing weight or getting abs wasn't her main focus. She wanted to be able to perform her stunts to the best of her ability and that she did!
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