Blake Lively Exercise Routine

'Blake hadn’t done much training before but when she saw me training her co-star Ryan Reynolds, she wanted to take advantage of my services,' he says. The willowy blonde already had a beautiful figure but, for Blake, training was more about improving her strength, core and aesthetics. Blake had to perform some of her own stunts on the film, so turned to Strom to help her achieve strength and flexibility. 'She knew if she trained with me she could master these stunts amazingly,’ he says. And with Strom as her taskmaster, Blake says she's being tested more than ever. ‘I’m working out harder than before,’ says Blake. ‘With all those stunts, it makes sense to be well-prepared.’ BLAKE'S SCHEDULE Strom trained Blake for 60 to 90 minutes four times a week, depending on how her shoots were going. ‘Ryan and Blake normally both had day shoots but because Blake started shooting her scenes later in the day, I’d train Ryan at 5.30am and then Blake around 9am. Sometimes there were night shoots, so it was quite tiring,’ he explains. On top of that, Blake had a lot of massages to help her get through. ‘It really helped her back,’ says Strom, ‘while helping to break up all the tight muscle tissue so she could relax and get stronger.’ So exactly how did Strom whip Blake into tip-top shape? ‘We started with functional training,’ says Strom. ‘Because of the way you’ve been conditioned to use your body in life, your dominant body side means you have weakened, underdeveloped areas, which prevents you from making muscle and strength gains. This training targets weak areas and activates other muscles to adapt and grow. It also helps stability and core strength too,’ says Strom. The trainer also did unilateral training with Blake. For example, while standing on your right leg (soft knee), lift your opposite foot in front of you, then lateral lift a 5lb dumbbell with your left arm. Do this for 20 reps and switch sides. ‘Using opposite sides of the body destabilises it,’ he says, ‘so you have to use new muscles to stabilise.’ This exercise improves balance and co-ordination while building up muscle but not bulk.