Margot Robbie is known for taking on challenging roles that portray fascinating characters, so it should be no surprise that she had a specific condition for playing the most recognizable doll in the world.

Robbie's transformation did not happen overnight; she had her longtime trainer build a routine around strength and function, with no specific look in mind.

David Higgins, Robbie's personal trainer and a qualified nutritionist, told Women's Health about the start of their regimen.

He described a full-body session done "every time," starting with 15 reps each of supine chest presses, bent-over rows, standing bicep curls, seated shoulder presses, and supine skull crushers.

For Robbie, dance was the only cardio in her routine. The Barbie crew had 2-4 hours of daily dance sessions planned as the movie demanded a lot of dance sequences.

As per Women's Health, Higgins also modified a lot of Robbie's workouts, like he made sure that dumbbells were at chest height during curtsy lunges to elevate heart rate further.

Higgins had the perfect active recovery routine for Robbie using reformer Pilates, targeting unilateral movement to protect joints and correct mechanics.

The Barbie training schedule ran 12 to 15 weeks, with sessions of 45 to 60 minutes, five days a week.

Robbie's trainer reveals there was no aesthetic goal for Barbie

David Higgins had no desire to make Margot Robbie achieve any aesthetic look for Barbie.

Higgins told Women's Health he wasn't given any physical brief. And he was not told about how the body needs to look for the movie.

"I wasn't briefed; I was there simply to keep the cast fit," Higgins said. "There wasn't an aesthetic goal."

Her training, as mentioned above, looked like how she felt day to day. Five days a week for 45 to 60 minutes per session across a 12- to 15-week period.

That is much less than how she trained for her role as Harley Quinn under trainer Andie Hecker.

"If we could do an hour, we would. If we could only do half an hour, we'd do that. 45-60 minutes was ideal," said Higgins.

A timeframe of 6-8 weeks is required for muscles to grow with consistency. And according to Higgins, Barbie's schedule was curated keeping these principles in place.

Do you think training without an aesthetic target changes the results?

Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi