Portraying the most iconic female superheroine of all-time in her big screen movie debut is no easy task and it takes months of training to look the part. The Gal Gadot Wonder Woman workout and diet program below can give you an idea of just how difficult it really is.
Wonder Woman is an Amazonian warrior who possesses superhuman strength and speed. Her superhuman abilities come from being an Amazonian and Demigod who is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and Zeus. So, like Superman, her strength doesn't come from muscle, but looking strong is usually a requirement for any superhero.
Wonder Woman Poster for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice - Photo Credit: Warner Brothers
Gal Gadot is set to portray Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in 3 films in the next year and a half - first being introduced in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, then starring in her own Wonder Woman film, and finally, teaming up with other DC Comics heroes for Justice League.
Despite being a pop culture icon and the most well-known female superheroine since her debut in 1941, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman had never appeared in a live-action big screen film before. Her much-anticipated debut comes with heavy expectations and looking the part is a big part of the role for Gadot.
Gadot spent 2 years as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, so she is no stranger to hard work and fitness. However, most of her career has been spent as a model and actress and she wanted to bulk up to look the part of the greatest fighter in DC Comics.
Gal Gadot Wonder Woman Workout
The March, 2016 issue of Muscle & Fitness to a peak into how Gadot was able to bulk up for the role. As a former model, Gadot was hesitant to put on significant weight, but her trainer, Mark Twight, helped to convince her it was OK by taking it step-by-step.
Mark TwightGal Gadot's Trainer
Anytime you present someone with a really radical change, it's hard to get them buy in 100% to the idea. So we took it in incremental steps. We went from a model to a high jumper, in terms of an athletic look. And then once she was comfortable with that, then we'd go a little bit further.
Below is a sample training session that Gadot would go through in her Wonder Woman training. You can see how a workout program like this would challenge the entire body and stimulate it to change.
Exercise | Time or Distance | Rest |
|---|---|---|
Rowing Machine - Easy | 5 minutes | 1 - 2 minutes |
Rowing Machine - HIIT | 5 minutes | 1 - 2 minutes |
Bear Crawl | 30 meters | 0 |
Backward Bear Crawl | 30 meters | 0 |
Burpee Broad Jump | 30 meters | 0 |
Crab Walk | 30 meters | 0 |
Burpee Broad Jump | 30 meters | 0 |
Pullup | 7 sets x 3 | 1 - 2 minutes |
Ring Pushup | 5 sets x 3 | 1 minute |
This isn't the only workout she would perform, though. After completing the exercises above, she would do a barbell complex with a fat bar. This complex would consist of Romanian deadlifts, bentover rows, reverse curls, push press, and squats.
The complex performs all of the exercises - Romanian deadlift, bentover row, reverse curl, push press, and squat - in a row followed by a rest after completing all of the exercises. She would perform 5 reps of each lift for 6 sets, and then 3 reps of each exercise for 4 more sets.
That would give her 10 total sets of the barbell complex, which would really work both the upper-body and the lower-body for a total body workout. She would progressively increase the resistance on the lifts, so the first 2 sets were mostly warm-ups and the rest would be more challenging.
A fat bar is a barbell that is thicker than standard barbells and really challenge the grip and can increase the difficult of lifts. Many people use Fat Gripz in their own training as an alternative to a fat bar, because they have the same effect, are cheaper, and can be carried with you in your gym bag without taking up much space.
You can see how Gadot was able to bulk up with the workout above. There is a tremendous amount of volume in exercises for both the arms and legs, which is great for muscle-building. Pull-ups, pushups, deadlifts, and squats, all of which she does in this workout, are some of the best overall exercises for building muscle.
While the upper-body is what people always look at on superheroes, the legs can't be avoided. A strong lower-body helps to give an overall look of strength and athleticism that a comic book character needs. Squats and deadlifts are also some of the best exercises for increasing muscle mass.
Wonder Woman Diet
Nutrition is obviously a crucial piece in body transformation. To increase overall size and muscle mass, Gadot obviously had to increase her overall consumption of quality calories to her highest level ever.
While many women are afraid of having too many calories, there is no way around it - to support this kind of training and to build an athletic body, you need to fuel your body with high quality protein and all the other vital nutrients your body needs.
Females inherently have a tougher time building muscle than men, due to the hormone testosterone. This hormone is crucial for building muscle and, basically, women are unable to naturally create it at the same levels as men.
What does that mean? Building muscle is hard, but especially so for women. So any women who are worried they will get to bulky if they strength train don't need to be. Even with a great lifting program and excessive calories, it is a very slow process to build lean muscle.
Recap
It took several months of training and diet for Gadot to achieve her superheroine look and get ready for the big screen. While she won't be confused with a bodybuilder anytime soon, she was able to pull off the look of one of the most iconic female heroes of all time.
Looking like you fit in with the rest of the cast of the Justice League is no easy task. This Gal Gadot Wonder Woman workout and diet plan helped her to achieve the look of the fierce Amazonian Warrior Princess that her character is.
