Jennifer Lawrence always looks amazing, but she had to get in fighting shape for her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Her trainer, Joe Horrigan, says although Jennifer was already in good shape, she needed to get leaner without looking gaunt. A boney Katniss? I don’t think so!
Here’s how he transformed her into Katniss:
“To help her get ready for the film, [we helped] improve her agility, her running, her speed and her technique. Then we knew what the goal was and we were able to work towards that goal.
On the stationary bike, it was a blend between anaerobic rides with sprint interval and other time anaerobic endurance, where the sprint be a little longer. Other days, it would be a steady state of traditional cardio rides.
We would hit the track around 10 a.m. and after a long warm up we did track drills, agility drills, medicine ball, sprints, and runs. This would last about an hour and half. Several days per week she would drive out to the archery range and the archery coach was waiting for her. That was a chore in itself. Then agility work again with the stunt people, but that was a bit later. We were careful not to have her do too much. Then in the evening, it would be a stationary bike ride.”
He says, believe it or not, her diet wasn’t all that strict, explaining:
“We had a certified clinical nutritionist look at the diet and it need very little modification. But we had a new goal so a little modification was necessary. She was very happy that it wasn’t strict, fanatic or excessive. She said “I can do this.” And she did. She stuck to the diet and she didn’t cheat and was never late for a workout. She never complained and was very humble. I think she was looking forward to this film and this role so much, that she never took it as a chore. She was always upbeat. She said it was her privilege to do this and it reflected in her work.
The calories had to come down. There had to be a cap and we tried to use a food service that could deliver the calorie range that were looking for. And our nutritionist talked to the group and we reduced the saturated fats. She had to have enough carbs to train. If you put her on too low of carb diet then she wouldn’t have the energy and would affect her ability to perform.”
A mix of resistance training and the stationary bike is a great tool for anyone looking to lose weight and feel better, he says. BEtter yet – go to a track or open field and do some sprints!