Like just about everyone else, I started my January fitness routine full blast after being relaxed and over-indulged over the holidays. Unlike everyone else, I looked to the world of celebrities for inspiration and one workout that caught my eye was the one Tom Holland used to get in shape for his role as Spider-Man.
Tom is said to have gained 7kg of muscle mass in the six weeks prior to filming the movie to perfect Spider-Man's athletic physique, so who wouldn't want to give his workout a try?
One thing I would have like know about Tom before taking on this challenge is that he has a background in gymnastics, so he was no stranger to the gravity-defying bodyweight exercises that most gym goers try to avoid.
Tom's goals were to build muscle without getting fat, as Spider-Man is known to be strong, but skinny, so he enlisted the help of London-based personal trainer George Ashwell.
In an interview with Esquire, Ashwell said, “Because we're not aiming to get too big, we could do more muscle groups in one go. This would be a full body circuit split into maybe a rear chain legs exercise with a horizontal push and pull (so chest and back) then front legs (like a squat) with a push and pull vertical.
It also shared the entire Spider-Man circuit, which is what I tried. Read on to find out what happened.
What is Tom Holland Spider-Man training?
Ashwell said Tom completed four to five laps of the following circuit:
Deadlifts
Incline dumbbell press
Leg raise on dip bar
One of the ab exercises that created that famous torso, straight leg raises performed on the dip bar are a killer for the core. This is a bodyweight exercise, and Tom would do 12-15 leg raises.
Dips
Staying on the dip bar, weighted dips work the triceps, shoulder and arm muscles, as well as the upper and lower back. Tom did 15 weighted dips, before resting for 30 seconds.
Thrusters
Bear Crawl
renegade row
pull-ups
Functioning
The cardio element of the circuit involved the following session of sprints:
10 minute jog
Run at 80% effort for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Walk at 3.5-4 km/h 2 minutes
Run at 90% effort for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Walk at 3.5-4 km/h 2 minutes
Run at 100% effort (full sprint) for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Walk at 3.5-4 km/h 2 minutes
Run at 90% effort for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Walk at 3.5-4 km/h 2 minutes
Run at 80% effort for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Recovery walk for 5 minutes
I Tried Tom Holland Spider-Man Training - Here's What Happened
Let me start by saying - this one is tough. I headed to the gym with every intention of training like Spider-Man, but the moment I got to the straight leg bar I realized my own Spider Senses were telling me to walk away and resume my normal workout routine. (It's here only app i always use in the gym ).
Not having the upper body strength of Spider-Man, I found I wasn't able to do a straight leg lift on the dip bar, let alone the 15 that Ashwell had on the plan. .
I wasn't ready to fail yet, so I rolled out an exercise mat and opted for leg raises from the mat, but I felt a lot less like Spider-Man when lying on it. floor. Next came the weighted dips, and I was, once again, defeated by the dip bar. Again, I improvised, opting for triceps dips against a weight bench.
I skipped over the running portion of the workout, and back in my safe zone, I completed one round of the grueling running workout on the treadmill. It's also important to add that I was definitely not benching or lifting the equivalent of my own body weight, sorry Tom.
After three laps, making my changes, I admitted defeat and headed home. I'm sure no one else in the gym knew I was training to be Spider-Man, but it definitely wasn't a challenge I was going to win.
Ashwell said Tom typically spends 30 minutes on the treatment table after each workout, and I can understand why. For now, I'll stick to Pilates and leave the web-shooting, wall-climbing, and superhero antics to Tom.