ActiveWorkoutsI tried Avatar: The Way of Water star Zoe Saldana’s workout and it nearly finished meWant a strong, flexible body like Avatar: The Way of Water actress Zoe Saldana? Here’s how she does itWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ActiveWorkoutsI tried Avatar: The Way of Water star Zoe Saldana’s workout and it nearly finished meWant a strong, flexible body like Avatar: The Way of Water actress Zoe Saldana? Here’s how she does itWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Want a strong, flexible body like Avatar: The Way of Water actress Zoe Saldana? Here’s how she does it
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jump to category:Who trainer her for the movie?How does she keep fit?How does she train?The workoutMy verdict
Jump to category:Who trainer her for the movie?How does she keep fit?How does she train?The workoutMy verdict
I love my films to come with a strong fix of sci-fi, action or fantasy (preferably all rolled into one), which probably explains why I adore Zoe Saldana. As far as I’m concerned, the 44-year-old actress and mum-of-three is the kick-arse queen of the galaxy, whether she’s going green to play Gamora in the Marvel Universe franchise, slipping into a little red number to become Lt. Uhura in the Star Trek reboots, or turning blue again to reprise her role as Avatar’s Neytiri in the newly released sequel Avatar: The Way of Water.
When Saldana’s not kicking alien butt, however, she’s also slaying the box office. You might not know it, but Saldana is the second highest grossing film actress of all time, having appeared in three of the five movies to ever make $2b worldwide (Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and Avengers: Infinity War). And that record could be bettered thanks to the release of the Avatar sequel and her forthcoming role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 later this year.
Clearly, Saldana is a force to be reckoned with. Which raises one question: just what is her secret to success? Well, aside from her willingness to be covered in body paint, prosthetics, and CGI tracking marks, I’d say a sizeable portion of it can be attributed to her killer bod.
I’m not talking about her long, lean physique with curves in all the right places, though. I’m talking about her decades-long dedication to maintaining a fit, healthy body that boasts the strength, athleticism, flexibility, and endurance to help her go the distance and power her through super-long days of stunt training and filming. Want to know the exercises she uses to stay in superhero shape? Me too, so I did a bit of digging and the results are in…
Who is Zoe Saldana’s personal trainer?
Saldana has trained with various trainers throughout her career - including A-list PTs Steve Moyer and Romana Braganza – to help her get in shape for roles and regain her fitness after giving birth to twin boys in 2014 and another boy in 2017.
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How does Zoe Saldana stay fit?
How does Zoe Saldana train?
Saldana posted the below video as ‘an example of one of my workouts focusing on functional strength and movement. Doing workouts that get my neuromuscular system to activate has helped my body to work even more efficiently. Nothing better than feeling strong!'
I’ll admit this workout (split across seven clips) didn’t make complete sense to me on first viewing as several upper-body mobility exercises follow a series of lower-body exercises, which I thought kind of disrupted the flow. But then I read anarticleon Saldana’s trainer that explained how Karram likes to train herself, and everything fell into place.
After reading this and rewatching the workout, it’s clear that the first four clips - comprising of glute bridges and pulses with a BOSU and resistance band; standing leg pulses and mini squats with a resistance band; and various upper-body movements using a resistance band to wake up the arms, shoulders, back and wrists - are all warm-up exercises.
And these warm-up moves, as Saldana says, help to ‘activate’ certain muscle groups such as the glutes, shoulders and back to help her ‘body work even more efficiently’ during the exercises that come later in the main workout, such as press-ups, kettlebell swings and split squats.
There are no reps or sets given for this workout, so I called upon my PT qualification and workout knowledge to assign reps and sets for each exercise so you can try it for yourself. I also took it upon myself to split the moves into groups to form circuits, but this makes sense if you watch some of Jason Walsh’s workout videos that show he often breaks his workouts down into circuits.
Zoe Saldana Avatar: Way of the Water workout
This full-body workout is tough, so if you’re a beginner or returning to exercise after a break, you should only try to do one set of moves instead of two.
WARM UP
MAIN WORKOUT – 1st circuit (core)
Get on your hands and knees with a resistance band just above your knees. Keeping your arms straight and core braced, raise your knees a few inches off the ground. In this position, do…
MAIN WORKOUT – 2nd circuit (lower body)
Lying on your back, bend your right knee and place your right foot on a BOSU. Raise your left leg straight into the air to perform…
MAIN WORKOUT – 3rd circuit (upper body)
MAIN WORKOUT – finisher (full body)
My verdict on Zoe Saldana’s workout to get fit, strong, and flexible
Even though this workout isn’t a cardio workout as such, I worked up a massive sweat thanks to the many full-body compound moves, so while this workout has a focus on functional strength and mobility, it also gets your heart rate up to burn lots of calories. Best of all, it’s creative, a bit different, and you never stop moving, so it’s guaranteed to give you an exciting, fast-paced challenge if you give it a go, too!
