THE ULTIMATE LARA CROFT WORKOUT
Abhinav Verma
Apart from those thrilling fight scenes, what got everyone talking about the recently released movie, Tomb Raider, was its leading lady, Alicia Vikander’s mind-blowing level of fitness. Alicia, who undergoes all sorts of challenges and ordeals playing bada*s Lara Croft was trained by world-renowned Swedish fitness expert — Magnus Lygdbäck.
Reportedly, the Swedish actor underwent intense workout sessions for seven months straight, followed a specific diet plan provided by Magnus comprising three meals a day along with two snacks, lunch and dinner each inclusive of 40 grams of protein and carbohydrates, 30 grams of healthy fat and no sugar and fast carbs.
Magnus put Alicia on a fitness regimen that focused on combination weight training [training two body parts a day] combined with movement training that included rock climbing and mixed martial arts to get the desired result — lean, athletic and ripped body. However, if you are under the impression that how can a working woman get this fit and ripped after managing a crazy office schedule and unbelievable deadlines? Well, fitness experts Jinnie Gogia Chugh and Sachin say nothing is impossible. But be forewarned that patience, dedication and tremendous hard work is needed to reach the goal.
THE DIET PLAN
For women who have a hectic work schedule, getting adequate nutrition to fuel one’s workout and for a postrecovery can be tricky. The minimum requirement is four meals a day — breakfast, lunch and dinner along with one big snack — which could either be in between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. However, what you got to make sure is to opt for slow carbohydrates such as legumes, beans and nuts, which are readily available, and don’t require much time to prepare. Slow carbs are carbohydrates that have a low glycaemic index (GI), which means they provide energy over a more extended period to your body. They also are high in fibre content.
As for the heavy snack, opt for something that’s easy to prepare like a peanut butter sandwich. It’s nutrient and calorie-rich and is essential for gaining muscles. However, if you are allergic to peanut butter, then a couple of bananas can do the trick.
Apart from this, it goes without saying that a high protein and carbohydrate diet is a must, so is a minimum seven hours of sleep for muscle recuperation.
THE WORKOUT
Focus on weightlifting, strength and movement training and not on cardiovascular training. Assuming that you will work out five days a week, here’s how your workout plan should look like:
Three-day dual body part training: Train two body parts a day, such as the chest and the back on one day, biceps and triceps on another, and shoulder and legs the next. Focus on traditional lifts such as bench press, squats, and deadlifts. Change the muscle combination every week to prevent your body from getting used one particular kind of a workout. Abdominal training: After three days of consecutive weightlifting, day four of the training should be abdominal training. Focus on exercises such as leg raises, hanging leg raises, dumb bell side bend along with planks. Strength and movement training: To get that athletic frame and the agility, you need to devote one day to strength and conditioning. Focus on tire flipping, battle ropes along with crawling exercises such as bear crawl, crab walk, and spiderman crawl. You also need to be flexible, therefore make sure that you stretch before and after the workout.