Brie Larson’s Diet and Workout Routine
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how Brie Larson managed to bring the character of Carol Danvers, a Marvel superhero, to life so perfectly.
She literally embodied the physical appearance of the ideal superhero in the movie. And her acting skills made me REALLY enjoy watching it.
But it took tons of work. Brie Larson’s diet and workout routine is seriously intense. Let’s dive right in and see how she did it.
BRIE LARSON’S DIET
To get ready for Captain Marvel, Brie needed to lose body fat. And when you’re squeezing into a tight leather/spandex hybrid costume, who wouldn’t have to?
Her initial diet was strictly monitored. She had to count calories while working out hard to get her body fat levels down to where her personal trainer wanted them.
But once she hit that ideal level, her diet shifted. The goal was to help her pack on solid muscle, in true superhero fashion. Her workouts caused her to blow through tons of calories every day which meant she needed to eat right to keep from getting dangerously thin.
Though her diet was full of clean foods and lean proteins, she never felt like she was depriving herself. This is what she ate most days.
BREAKFAST
Brie likes to keep her breakfast fairly simple. Most days, she grabs a protein shake which is enough to give her the energy boost she needs to tackle her intense workouts.
Her favourite involves whatever protein powder she has on hand, a generous helping of almond butter, fresh fruit, a cup of ice, and a bit of water to make everything blend together.
The combination of sugar and healthy fat lets her focus on her workout and makes things more intense during each session.
LUNCH
For lunch, Brie isn’t so focused on cutting things out of her diet. Instead, she tries to focus on eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods. Her standard lunch varies from day to day and depends on the movies she’s shooting.
While filming Room, Brie ended up eating a lot of fresh vegetables and lean proteins. Her go-to lunch was something like a salad. However, when filming Captain Marvel, Brie was able to eat whatever her body was craving.
Some days, this meant grabbing a sandwich while others, it meant eating salads packed with tons of fresh veg and lean proteins like grilled salmon or chicken. When she feels like indulging in a treat, she’ll order tacos from local restaurants around LA.
DINNER
Dinner is when Brie gets to really indulge, especially when she’s training super hard. Her favourite recovery meal is pasta. Who doesn’t love a good lasagna?!
But she’s still careful to only indulge in those carb-heavy meals when she’s getting regular intense workouts in. Otherwise, those carbs can turn to fat in no time flat!
SNACKS
The secret to Brie’s success is in her snacks. She follows the concept of “bridge meals.” Bridge meals are small, micro-meals that help you make it from one meal to the next without overeating.
It makes it easy to keep your weight loss on track without making you feel like your body is running short on energy.
FOODS SHE AVOIDS
When she was filming Room, she cut out almost all carbs. It allowed her to drop serious poundage and get into fighting shape quickly. But while filming Captain Marvel, Brie didn’t cut anything out.
She instead focused on indulging in things in moderation. If she had an intense workout session, she’d reward herself with a cookie or a donut. Some nights, she’d celebrate a successful shoot with pizza. Nothing was off-limits.
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BRIE LARSON’S WORKOUT
Brie Larson’s workout routine isn’t something for the faint of heart. It’s incredibly tough and involves TONS of heavy lifting.
If you’re thinking that this will build bulk and make your muscles visibly bigger, you’re right! But that’s exactly what they were going for when Brie was training for Captain Marvel.
Like any good workout, Brie changes things up, switching between intense cardio days and strength training.
CARDIO
Much of her cardio while filming came not from running on the treadmill, but from fight choreography training. She had to learn how to fight effectively for it to translate on-screen.
Leading up to filming, she went through fight training twice a day, four days a week. Each session lasted for about 90 minutes.
When she’s not getting tons of cardio in through fight training, she LOVES to dance and ride her bike.
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STRENGTH TRAINING
Hands down, the biggest component of Brie Larson’s workout leading up to Captain Marvel was her strength training. She and her trainer, Jason Walsh, pushed her body to new extremes.
At first, they focused on building rapid strength to help get her body ready for the film.
During this phase of her workout, Jason would get her to perform these exercises regularly:
- Pushups with chains
- Standard pushups
- Barbell hip thrusts
- Deadlifts
- Pullups on bar
- Grip-strength pullups
- Walking lunges with overhead lift
This helped her pack on the muscle quickly. However, it’s not the best option for people looking to stay lean. Her workout is designed to build bulk and tone because that’s what you expect in a superhero.
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POST CAPTAIN MARVEL
After building her strength and getting her muscle tone where they wanted it for the film, Brie was able to focus on maintenance rather than building more bulk. This gave her more freedom to focus on functional training between her lifting sessions.
Instead of training with weights all the time, she shifted to bodyweight exercises and incorporated exercise bands, BOSU balls, and medicine balls into her routine more frequently. She’s also a huge fan of rock climbing and tries to get sessions in at the local climbing gym when she can.
BRIE LARSON’S DIET AND WORKOUT ROUTINE IS INTERESTING
I say her diet and workout routine is interesting because it’s definitely not the norm in Hollywood. Instead of slashing calories, she’s able to eat what she wants (within reason) and instead of toning up and slimming down, she built bulk.
If that’s the look you’re going for, by all means, follow her diet and workout routine. Just be prepared to put in the work. It took her MONTHS to see results and get the look the directors had in mind for the character of Carol Danvers. But if you’re looking to slim down, tone up, and stay slender, then her workout might not be the best for you.
Love Rachael xx
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Rachael is an Australian born certified personal trainer and nutritionist who holds a Bachelor degree in Science.
After struggling for years to find an exercise and diet program that is tailored to women striving for lean and toned body with no bulk she designed her Lean Legs Program. This program is tailored to each body type and focused on helping women get toned but feminine bodies, without getting bulky.
Her mission is to empower women and help them stay in shape in a healthy and balanced way.
Hi Rachael! Live your blog! Could you do Jessica Alba and cate blanchett next?
Hi lovely,
Thank you for these great suggestions. We will make sure to forward it to Rachael for a future review. :)
Love,
Len