From her oh-so-fit visuals as Anastasia in the Fifty Shades trilogy to a sculpted, Spider-Woman avatar in Marvel’s Madame Web – Dakota Johnson has been shelling out fitness goals with every project. Not to miss her endless red carpet appearances wearing body-hugging, sheer dresses that flaunt all those enviable curves we so wish we had! There’s plenty of reason to be inspired by her exercise regime, a sustainable less-is-more mantra that is easy to emulate if you’re starting out your fitness journey. Let’s take you through Dakota Johnson’s workout routine and diet plan, as revealed by her trainer.
Months before the filming of Madame Web started, Dakota started training with its instructor and founder of The Sculpt Society, Megan Roup. For acing the role of Cassandra Webb, Johnson had two main demands: to feel strong and build her endurance for the long, physically demanding hours on set. Megan Roup sat down with Women’s Health to discuss how she prepared Dakota for her Madame Web debut. Keep reading.
Here’s how Dakota Johnson got into shape for Madame Web
The actress and her trainer met two to three times a week to workout together. They followed a 45-minute ‘full-body, low-impact workout’ which included dance cardio, strength, and toning moves with light weights that fell in tandem with Dakota’s fitness requirements. On days when the duo couldn’t sweat it out IRL due to the actor’s very busy filming schedule, they stuck to online workout videos. These could be 20, 30 or 45-minute classes depending upon how intense her filming schedule was.
The best part about Roup’s sessions is that they’re low maintenance, not requiring fancy equipment or a lot of space to move around. If you want to achieve more results with less efforts, let’s take you through Dakota Johnson’s workout routine in detail.
Dance cardio sessions
Dance segments were Dakota’s favourite bit of the workout sessions. These little dance cardio sessions warm up your body nicely before you dive into intense full-body training. Dakota’s sessions began and ended with a cardio dance. Out of the 45-minute session, the cardio sessions only spanned about two to three songs. Roup revealed that the actor, who has grown up dancing really had fun during these moments. The trainer added, “Just being able to feel that energy between us and be able to have that really fun last song, that was always great”.
Just like any other cardiovascular exercise, dance workouts make you sweat, raise your heartbeat and help burn calories. You can easily burn 300-400 calories during a 30-minute dance workout session and depending on how intense your workout is, you can burn more calories too. It’s time you turn up your workout playlist and get grooving!
Full-body, low-impact workouts
Low-impact workouts don’t mean lesser results or low intensity. These workouts will give you all the endorphin-pumping benefits you expect from your sweat session, but without adding extra burden/ stress on your joints or ligaments. According to Health, you must perform these exercises with the appropriate techniques to reduce the risk of injury.
Some of the low-impact workouts include High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) (don’t worry, they’re not necessarily high-impact as the name suggests), brisk walking, swimming, cycling, rowing, Barre, Pilates, Kettlebell and Circuit training.
When it comes to Roup, she makes sure that her workouts evolve and change to keep things interesting. Mentioning that no class is exactly the same, she added, “Some days, we’re going to do some outer thigh, inner thigh, and then the other days it’s going to be more (glute focused).”
The longer her session with Dakota, the more add-ons she started incorporating: light booty bands, a pilates ball, sliders and more. Giving an example, Roup said that Dakota would start with a simple plank, and eventually add a slider under one foot. To make it advanced, they worked up to two sliders.
It’s all about enjoying the movement, allowing your body to rest and recover
Roup exclaimed that it was such a joy to workout with Dakota because she really enjoyed the process. Even when Roup put the actor through advanced-level, challenging workouts, Dakota made sure that they were fun and enjoyable. The trainer further stressed that the idea is to be happy. “I’m always reminding my community: It’s not that serious. We’re just moving our bodies; let’s have fun with it,” she stated.
Additionally, rest and recovery were ‘a really big aspect’ of Dakota’s training schedule. Roup revealed that the star would opt for gentle yoga on her off days. She also enjoyed some infrared sauna sessions that offer great relaxation in addition to improving heart and mental health. “I’m always an advocate for a minimum of one rest day, ideally one to two a week for my clients but I never really needed to educate her on that,” Roup said.
Dakota Johnson’s trainer believes in ditching restrictive diets
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In another conversation with E! News, Roup said that her mantra is to get in touch with your body cues to understand your dietary needs. “I’m sick of following a stupid diet and feeling s–tty,” she later added. While it’s pretty unusual for a celebrity trainer to be so openly critical of diets, Roup isn’t one to follow the herd. She mentioned how overwhelming it was to constantly think about everything you’re eating and how will you burn it down.
Roup spent the last decade really understanding her body cues, like when was she actually hungry, what was she craving, what foods could give her energy and what items would just make her crash and not feel good. “When you start to lean into that, it really simplifies food,” she explained.
Why restrictive diets aren’t that effective?
Multiple studies have shown that restrictive diets don’t actually work and can be harmful instead. So many times, you deprive yourself of nutrients your body needs and you’re essentially fighting against nature by cutting off foods that your body so craves. The key is to limit, and not completely restrict foods that contribute to health problems.
Also, since you’re constantly denying your brain and body the things they want, dieting can be stressful and affect your mental well-being. If you’re someone who connects weight loss to your self-worth and not sticking to a diet as a personal failure: then you’re at an unhealthy place mentally.
Will you try out Dakota Johnson’s easy-to-emulate workout routine?
Hero image: Courtesy madameweb/Instagram; Feature image: Courtesy dakotajohnson/Instagram
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– Does Dakota Johnson go to the gym?
For her role in Marvel’s Madame Web, Dakota worked out with her trainer in person two to three times a week. On her busy days, she stuck to online workout videos.
– Who trains Dakota Johnson?
Megan Roup is Dakota Johnson’s fitness trainer, who helped her get in shape for Madame Web.
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Written by
Kriti Nayyar
Senior Digital Writer, Wellness, Culture, Astrology, Tech
Kriti is a stay-at-home dog mama, whose knack for telling interesting stories keeps her erstwhile monotonous life sane. A literature & journalism degree holder, you'll find her binging on Agatha Christie novels while critiquing the everyday state of affairs. On Kriti's seldom social outings, she's seen devouring coffee sangria with appetizing bread on the side.
