Despite a busy schedule and long hours filming Netflix’s Persuasion, Johnson has always made fitness a priority.
She’s starred in some of Hollywood’s biggest movies, including The social network and of course the fifty shades franchise. Now Dakota Johnson is directing what is already becoming one of the most talked about movies to come to Netflix: Persuasionoffering a fresh take on the Jane Austen classic through a new-age adaptation that sees Johnson play Regency heroine Anne Elliot.
While Johnson’s performance in the film is nothing short of masterful, hers is also a busy schedule that may leave you wondering how she manages to stay so calm and fit. Surely many of us can relate to the stress that comes with having our work day taken up by endless Zoom calls, meetings and conferences, our fitness plans and workout schedule being the first thing to go out the window. But as Johnson’s personal trainer can attest, it’s exactly in these busy times that the actor makes fitness a priority, knowing that it not only offers physical benefits, but can also be an amazing stress reliever and mental aid.
Personal trainer Luke Worthington shared the secrets of Johnson’s workout routine in a recent interview with voguetelling the publication: “First of all, she wanted to be fit for the movie [Persuasion]. And second, she also wanted to reap the mental benefits of maintaining her exercise regimen during busy filming schedules.
“No matter how long his days were, we would do the training. Dakota is more of an owl than a lark, so workouts were often late at night, rather than early in the morning – we were at the gym quite often by 9 p.m.
Luke Worthington
Although a body transformation wasn’t necessary for the role, Worthington admits that Johnson instead enjoys maintaining her fitness and wellness. Even so, she was going pretty hard in the gym during their workouts, as he explains, “Dakota likes to get her heart rate up and feeling like she’s worked out, so I had to create some structure. that worked for her.”
The pair trained for 80 minutes, four times a week with sessions that had a ‘strength base’. These included a series of mini circuits focusing on upper body, lower body and core exercises. “We did a lot of work on single-leg glutes, which tends to make it a little easier for people to focus on the specific muscles they’re trying to work,” Worthington said.
He added, “Other glute-specific exercises that we used a lot were single-leg hip thrusts, TRX hip abductions, and single-leg deadlifts.” To add some cardio and get the heart rate up during their sessions, Worthington also added bouts of boxing to break up the strength work throughout the session. “[Boxing] is what I call cardio in disguise, because you’re focusing on learning and practicing the skill, rather than how hard you’re working.
Walking is another essential part of Johnson’s fitness routine. “Walking is a great form of low-intensity cardio (or LISS),” says Worthington. “LISS training has been shown to have positive effects on emotional well-being, sleep patterns and even hormonal health. The advantage of LISS over something like HITT training is that there is has a much better risk to reward ratio – we can all enjoy the same benefits with minimal or no risk of injury and no real recovery time required.You can walk every day.
