The Exact Strength-Training Exercises Alicia Vikander Did to Prepare For Tomb Raider

TOMB RAIDER, Alicia Vikander, 2018. ph: Ilze Kitshoff. Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection

If you haven't seen the trailer for Tomb Raider yet, you're seriously missing out. Alicia Vikander revives the beloved, badass character Lara Croft, and she looks absolutely ripped. Pretty much every inch of her body is toned, and we're especially in awe of her back muscles.

We spoke with Magnus Lygdback, celebrity trainer and wellness expert, who trained with Alicia for seven months before she started filming Tomb Raider. He said Alicia is one of the most hard working women he's ever worked with - and he's worked with some pretty amazing women, like Gal Gadot and Katy Perry.

"She gained 12 pounds of muscle," Magnus told POPSUGAR. Their biggest focus was building muscle and getting strong, so they did good old-fashioned strength training, but also incorporated MMA HIIT into the mix.

We asked Magnus what kind of strength-training movements they did together, and luckily he gave us all the gory details. "I like to switch it up, so we did everything from squatting heavy and doing deadlifts to pull-ups, push-ups, training with machines, training with bodyweight, plyometrics, explosive training," he explained. "We covered it all - everything from classic lifting and strength training to more functional stuff."

You might be picturing Alicia in the gym for several hours a day to do all these workouts to earn that bangin' bod. But Magnus said she would only work out for one hour at a time, because "what doesn't happen in the first hour won't happen in the second hour." They trained together five to seven days a week, and they also did a lot of core work to help her nail down that six-pack.

Alicia has always been slim and toned, but her background was more in ballet, Magnus said. So upping the strength training to this degree was certainly a change for her, but it's nothing you can't also accomplish. "Every woman can do strength training," Magnus shared. "I love to try to help women get into the gym and start lifting."

So even if you have no prior experience at the gym with dumbbells or barbells, Magnus insists you can learn and work your way up to heavy lifting. If you're looking for some more inspiration, here's a great introductory plan to weightlifting.

Check out the trailer for Tomb Raider (and Alicia's ripped arms!) below. It releases on March 16.

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