Scarlett Johansson Workout and Diet Program

Scarlett Johansson is known for her role in the Avengers where she plays Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow. While most of the Avengers have superpowers of some sorts or super suits, Black Widow earns her spot in the group by being one of the best assassins in the world.

What makes her the best person for that role apart from her great acting skills of course, is her physique which she works on consistently. Do you think it is easy fighting against villains who are twice your size or sometimes, three times your size, like Thanos? All the flips and nose breaking kicks are also not easy. Even though most of them are stunts, you have to look the part and Scarlett Johansson does look the part.

For Black Widow to be as strong as she is and as fit as she is, she has her own personalized workout program as well as a diet program to go with it. Scarlett Johansson’s workout and diet program is quite different from most of the workouts you may have come across. We guess that is why she is the Black Widow and we are just ordinary people who sit behind our television sets and admire her magnificence. 

Things To Know About Scarlett Johansson and Her Workout Routine

Before we get into the workout program that makes Scarlett the baddie she is, there are a few things that make her workout program quite effective and it would be a misjustice not to mention these things.

1. Scarlett is Consistent With Her Workout Routine

Anyone who exercises knows consistency is key. In order to achieve the results you want, you have to keep going at it until you get where you need to be. Consistency means showing up even when you are tired, busy, lazy and even all in your feelings. Scarlett Johansson is consistent not only with going to the gym but also with the type of workouts she does. 

Her workout program is mainly centered on losing fat while gaining muscles. This is mainly referred to as body recomposition or the holy grail of fitness. Body recomposition is quite difficult to achieve as both losing fat and gaining muscles have to happen simultaneously. 

Scarlett Johansson is a creature of habit. This is seen when it comes to her training program as she uses the same training program every time she has to get ready for a movie role. Her workout program mainly includes strength-training, circuit training, mixed martial arts training, flexibility training and some yoga. She trains 7 days a week. Yes, let that sink in. She does not wake up looking drop dead gorgeous as you see her in the cinemas. She works extra hard to fit into the Lycra suits she is always in.

What is even more interesting about her exercise routine is the variety in it. I guess they don’t call variety the spice of life for no reason. Everyday she has something different she is doing. This helps keep her engaged and prevents her from getting bored with her training sessions.

This is something most athletes know. Even though it is working out, you should make it interesting. Once it starts becoming monotonous, you will lose interest and it will be hard for you to be consistent. She either changes her workouts weekly or daily while still sticking to her original individualized workout plan.

2. Scarlett Johansson Works With Instructors and Trainers

Throughout her career, Black Widow has worked with some of the best trainers and instructors. Yes, even the Black Widow does need help. Scarlett always knew that getting the body she has now would not be easy, and she could not do it alone and that is why she works with instructors and trainers.

Working with a trainer is a good thing as it comes with so many advantages. For instance, a trainer knows their way around a gym hence they will point you to the right exercises for you and even help create an individualized workout routine to get you to where you need to be. Another advantage of working with a trainer is that they will show you the right form for doing the different exercises that you will be doing. As we all know, form is very important when it comes to working out. Having the correct form will prevent you from getting injured and it will also help you to get the most out of a workout. 

Some of the trainers Scarlett has worked with are Duffy Gaver, Bobby Strom and Eric Johnson. These trainers are well known in the movie industry as they help most celebrities get in shape for the various roles they are playing. The three trainers are known for using different approaches while training the different clients they have. 

Duffy Gaver, who is also mostly referred to as ‘The Trainer of the Super Heroes’ or the ‘Hero Marker’, is an ex-Navy SEAL sniper who has now made a name for himself by training celebrities. Apart from Scarlett Johansson, he has worked with many renowned actors like Scarlett Johansson’s fellow Avenger, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Chris Pratt and many others. Duffy is mostly tasked with getting his high end clients ripped so that they can look good in the different roles they play. 

Bobby Strom is yet another retired vet with quite the clientele. He has worked with some big names like Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and others. He is known to focus more on circuit training. He trained Scarlett for her roles in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. 

Eric Johnson is Scarlett’s newest trainer.  He is the one who trained her for her role in Avengers Endgame. In an interview, Eric Johnson discussed some of the things he and his team had to do to Scarlett ready for what many still call the greatest Marvel movie. 

“We treated the process like an athlete preparing for competition. By placing more emphasis on her performance, her physique just followed.”

He went on to say that her workout schedule mainly focused on integrated foundational strength training. What this means is that the training combined a lot of movements from plyometrics, yoga, Olympic weight lifting, kettlebells and gymnastics. That is not all he revealed about Scarlett’s workout. He also shared that every morning Scarlett would start with a little mobility work, followed by circuit training. Eric also revealed that Scarlett’s favorite moves include deadlifts, pull-ups, military press, pistol squats and kettlebell swings. 

Scarlett Johansson Workout Program

Scarlett Johansson works out 7 days a week. She is always in the gym getting fit and strong. The main challenge she has when it comes to working out is finding the balance between losing fat mass and gaining muscle. As we explained earlier, body recomposition is not the easiest to achieve.

With that said, here is Scarlett Johansson’s workout program:

Day 1: Total Body Circuit 1 

On the first day of the week, Scarlett starts on a high note where she does a total body circuit routine that consists of 8 different workouts. Here is what she does on Monday:

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 20 reps of speed lunges
• 10 reps of reverse lunges
• 10 reps of jump squats
• 10 reps of jump split squats
• 10 reps of medicine ball slams
• 10 reps of lateral pull downs with resistance band
• 20 reps of both sides up ball hip abductions

Day 2: Total Body Circuit 2

On the second day, Scarlett does yet another total body circuit routine. The difference between the second day routine and the first day routine is that the second day consists of 10 different exercises.

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of squats
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of bicep curls
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of shoulder press
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of front kicks
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of swiss ball alternating dumbbell chest press
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of superset with tricep extensions
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of weighted walking lunge with glute squeeze
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of band rows
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of stiff-arm press downs or butterfly rows

Day 3: Core and Legs 

On the third day, Scarlett chooses to focus more on the legs and the core. A strong core is very important as this is where most of our movements originate from.

A strong core also helps with good posture and reducing back pains. Having strong legs is important for Black Widow as we all know her signature move involves choking bad guys with her legs until they pass out. The legs and core workout routine she does on the third day consists of 9 different exercises that are shown below.

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 3 – 4 sets of 10 reps of diagonal walks with mini-bands
• 3 – 4 sets of 5 – 10 reps of butterfly steps
• 3 – 4 sets of 15 reps on each side of lifted heel squat
• 3 – 4 sets of 10 reps on each side of standing leg rotations
• 3 – 4 sets of 3 – 5 reps per side of cross-back lunge with medicine ball pulses
• 3 – 4 sets of 10 reps of reverse lunge with dumbbell press
• 3 – 4 sets of 10 reps of side to side speed skaters
• 3 – 4 sets of 10 reps of T-push ups

Day 4: Total Body Circuit 3 

On the fourth day, Scarlett goes back to circuit training. Her fourth day workout routine consists of 11 different exercises. Here are the exercises:

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 2 sets of 25 – 30 reps of dumbbell squat and press
• 2 sets of 25 – 30 reps of bicep curls into overhead press
• 2 sets of 25 – 30 reps of push ups in to side planks
• 2 sets of 25 – 30 reps of pull ups
• 2 sets of 25 – 30 reps of dumbbell tricep extensions
• 2 sets of 50 reps of stomach crunches
• 2 sets of 50 reps of alternating bicycle crunches
• 2 sets of 50 reps of plank with knee thrust
• 2 sets of 50 reps of reverse crunches
• 2 sets of 50 reps of core stabilizing hip twists

Day 5: Plyometric Circuit 

On the fifth day, Scarlett usually does a plyometric circuit training program that begins with a short warmup followed by 5 different exercises. Here is what her fifth day looks like:

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of speed lunges
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of reverse lunges
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of jump squats
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of jump split squats
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of kettlebell swings

Day 6: Muscle Building Circuit 

On the sixth day it is all about getting ripped. Here she does 7 different workouts that are focused on engaging the different parts of her body for a full-body strength-training workout. Here are the exercises involved:

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of side lateral raises
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of front lateral raises
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of bicep curls
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of bent-over rows
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of tricep kickbacks
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of V-ups

Day 7: Total Body Circuit 4 

On the last day of the week, we go back to circuit training. Total body circuit 4 consists of a warmup and 6 exercises as shown below:

• 15 minutes on the treadmill
• 10 minutes of shadow boxing
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of T-pushups
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of speed lunges
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of T-extensions
• 3 – 4 sets of 25 – 30 reps of jump squats
• 10 reps of 30 second holds of planks

That is everything you need to know about Scarlett Johansson’s workout routine. If you are keen, you will notice she starts every workout by warming up on the treadmill. Warming up before a workout helps loosen the muscles and this helps prevent injuries from happening.

Scarlett Johansson Diet

Working out is only half the journey. The other half depends on what you eat and that is something Scarlett knows very well.

Although her diet is not really out there, what is known about her diet is that she mostly circles between a high carbohydrate, low fat meal plan and a higher fat meal plan. In both cases, the protein intake remains the same. Choosing between the two diets is mostly influenced by the workout she has to do that week or day. If she is doing a lot of exercises, she will go for the high carbohydrates, low fat diet as this provides her with necessary energy to kill it in the gym. On days where her workout is not so intense, she’ll typically opt for the high fat, low carbohydrate diet.

On top of that, her meals are also time restricted. A time restricted diet focuses more on when you can eat rather than limiting the types of food you eat or the number of calories you take in. This is not to say that you have the leeway to just eat anything you want when you are on this type of diet plan. When you are on a time restricted diet, your day is usually divided into two periods. The first period is referred to as the feeding period, where you are allowed to eat all you want. The second period is referred to as the fasting window and during this time, you are not allowed to eat any food. Most people modify this type of diet according to their needs and weight goals.

Scarlett Johansson has a 12-hour fasting window everyday. This means that she can only eat for 12 hours in a day and then she is not allowed to touch any food for the other 12 hours of the day. There are days when the 12 hours turn to a 14 or 15 hour fasting window. It’s all dependent on her filming schedule.

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In Conclusion 

Highlighted is everything you need to know about Scarlett Johansson’s workout and diet program. As you have seen, she puts work into being the badass she is.

This workout and diet plan is not for everyone and hence if you are thinking of trying it, you should make sure an expert gives you the green light as some of the exercises in her workout routine need someone who knows their way around the gym.

Photos via @scarlettjohanssonworld Instagram.

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