Table of Contents
There’s no doubt that the women of Hollywood served up some stunning looks at last night’s Oscars.
And there seemed to be something of a theme among many of their chosen outfits – bare shoulders.
From Best Actress winner Emma Stone’s strapless peplum dress, to Margot Robbie’s Versace chain mail column to Emily Blunt’s flowing straps, many of the stars showed off their upper bodies.
Bodices that were enviably toned and sculpted while still appearing light and feminine.
But just how do they do it?
DailyMail.com has sourced testimonials from some of the country’s most sought-after celebrity trainers to reveal exactly how you could copy their look in time for your big day.
Emma Stone
Stone lifts weights to tone her muscles, and cardio comes second
Emma Stone’s trainer Jason Walsh wants more women to deadlift. This seemingly simple exercise – which involves lifting a barbell off the ground – has helped Emma achieve her long, lean arms. It has previously been reported that the Poor Things actor can lift about 185 pounds.
Walsh said: ‘It is, and always will be, deadlifts and variations of deadlifts. It is a complex movement that incorporates all major muscle groups working together. It is very important.’
Walsh emphasizes strength training when helping his clients secure roles or live healthier lives.
He said: ‘Staying strong supports the skeletal system, stabilizes the joints, makes your cardio safer and more efficient.
‘If the strength training is done correctly, you also get lots of cardio from lifting. Cardio comes second.’
To play tennis superstar Billie Jean King, Stone lifted weights to hone her upper body strength five days a week and did cardio two days.
Walsh said: ‘To build muscle, strength needs to be the foundation of your training. Keeping your muscles strong makes everything better.’
Margot Robbie
Robbie is a master at holding planks, a testament to her upper body strength
David Higgins, Robbie’s longtime trainer, described how she jumped on the Pilates reformer machine in full Barbie regalia while filming.
The Pilates reformer machine uses a series of pulleys, ropes and springs to act as dumbbells, allowing the user to do bicep curls, flying arms (pushing the hands back and maintaining their height) and tricep extensions (pulling a tight rope behind the head) , downwards).
Robbie also beat the rest of her Barbieland residents at the plank competition, holding her position for four minutes and 10 seconds in a performance of impressive arm strength.
According to Higgins, so did Mrs. Robbie using dumbbells to achieve her sculptural appearance.
This includes 15 reps each of the following: chest presses (pushing weight away from the body while lying on your back), bent-over rows, bicep curls, seated shoulder presses, and skull crushers, where you bring a weight overhead while lying on your back.
She also does 100 reps of seven different ab exercises, including crunches, toe flips on each side, and curtsy lunges on each leg.
And she doesn’t do cardio. At least not on purpose. Strength training provides its own fitness training, as the heart has to work harder to pump blood to the muscle groups being trained, such as the upper body.
She didn’t exercise for hours. Sir. Higgins said they would practice when the cast took breaks, sometimes for 30 minutes or an hour.
Florence Pugh
Pugh is a fan of kickboxing, which requires strong arms to deliver hard punches and punches
British actress and Oppenheimer co-star Florence Pugh has had to undergo physical transformations for previous roles, including Black Widow and Fighting With My Family, the latter of which required her to train as a wrestler.
Pugh adopted kickboxing into her workout routine, saying she would work out for two hours at a time.
Aerobic kickboxing, which uses the arms to perform quick punching and punching movements, defines the biceps and triceps and strengthens the shoulders. The forearm and hand muscles also become stronger.
She also does CrossFit, a form of high-intensity interval training, with physical trainer James Shields, who says it helps her feel more ‘solid and confident’, but she added: ‘The CrossFit sessions are hard. You have to push yourself.’
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning workout focused on functional movements that mimic things we do every day, like lifting boxes or carrying children. Think big squats, deadlifts and shoulder presses.
Emily Blunt
Blunt credits her trainer’s philosophy of favoring ballet movements that improve strength and fluidity
The Oppenheimer actor prefers workouts that consist of ballet moves that improve strength and stability while working as many muscle groups as possible.
Her coach, Monique Eastwood, draws from her background in dance to walk Emily through movements such as narrow arm rotations which may look easy, but will have you feeling the burn after just a handful of circles.
Blunt said of her trainer: ‘What she does revolutionises the way you look, the way you move, your depth of strength and ability.
‘Not to mention, it gives you those long, long, lean muscles that we’re all after.’
Eastwood’s method, Blunt continued, is ‘fluid and high-octane, but without heavy weights.’
Anya Taylor-Joy
A former ballet dancer, Joy draws on classical ballet to inform her physical fitness
Anya, who used to be a dancer, is a fan of ballet style movements that works her arms and other concentrated muscle groups.
Ballet training prioritizes building long, lean muscles using repetitive movements that work small muscle groups in the arms and legs.
She told Harper’s in 2019: ‘I used to be a ballet dancer. I haven’t danced properly now for a couple of years, but I do an exercise class and immediately my balance comes back and my muscles remember.’
She also incorporates pilates and kickboxing into her physical training and weightlifting.