Home>Lifestyle>Fitness

Home>Lifestyle>Fitness

Fitness

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Workout & Diet Plan

---

By Matt Keane - Evidence Based

Published: 17 July 2023, Last Updated: 20 Feb 2024

Copy Link

Share

Despite what you may have thought, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man workout and diet plan was anything but child’s play. The British actor had to put in some serious work to prepare for the role, work which saw him gain 7kg of lean muscle mass in six weeks!

But unlike other beefed-up superheroes, Spider-Man is known for his athletic, mobile physique similar to that of a swimmer or gymnast. Because of this, mobility is as important as muscle for actors who don the red and blue ‘Spidey suit’. So if you want to build a shredded athletic figure like Tom Holland’s body, you need an explosive fitness regime to match. Here is the Tom Holland Spider-Man workout and diet plan to get you in web-slinging, superhero shape.

Who is Tom Holland?

Tom Holland is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Peter Parker A.K.A Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic University. Beginning his acting career in musicals, Holland’s breakthrough role was in the 2012 thriller ‘The Impossible’, starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Holland won a string of awards for his role in the film, including the Hollywood Film Festival Spotlight Award and nominations for best newcomer.

Moving into the Marvel universe, Holland has starred as Peter Parker, the high-schooler turned friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, in five Marvel movies to date. Using his athletic background in dance, Tom Holland has transitioned nicely into the Superhero role and gained praise for his athletic prowess by co-stars and producers alike. Natural talent aside, Holland still had to put in some serious work to play the role, including a muscle building diet and gruelling weightlifting circuit.

Place of Birth: Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
Birthday: 1 June 1996
Height: 5’8″ (1.73m)
Weight: 65kg

Tom Holland Workout Routine

Prior to the first Spider-Man, Holland was coming off filming another project in which he was required to lose weight for the role. With the superhero project quickly looming, Holland had just six weeks to gain some serious muscle. Building on his gymnastic background, he enlisted the help of London-based personal trainer George Ashwell.

The Spider-Man character is known for his lean, athletic figure, so Ashwell set a goal to add 7kg of lean muscle mass to the actor’s frame without adding any body fat. To achieve such a drastic body transformation, Ashwell worked with the actor every day in the six-week window. “Because we weren’t aiming to bulk up too much we could do more muscle groups in one go,” Ashwell told Esquire. “It’d be a whole body circuit split into perhaps a posterior chain legs exercise with a horizontal push and pull, (so chest and back) then anterior legs (like a squat) with a vertical push and pull.”

Tom Holland’s workout program for Spider-Man: Far From Home combined a focus on compound movements and functional exercises. The goal of the program was to ensure the actor not only filled out his suit but that he was mobile enough to perform the physically demanding scenes the script demanded.

You’ll also like:
Hugh Jackman Wolverine Diet and Workout Plan
Chris Evans’ Captain America Workout & Diet Plan
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Diet and Workout Plan

The Spider-Man Circuit

Complete this four exercise circuit for five rounds. Treat the first round as a warm-up and the next four as ‘working sets’, with 30 seconds rest between each exercise and two minutes between rounds. Ashwell also recommends completing one minute of ‘functional range conditioning’ – dynamic stretches and joint mobility movements – before and between each round.

1. Deadlifts

As one of the most important and inclusive compound lifts out there, it’s no surprise that Ashwell added this to the Tom Holland Spider-Man workout. Here’s how to complete a proper deadlift;

1. Step up to and under a barbell with your feet angled slightly outward, at hip-width apart.
2. Hinge at the hips and bend over. Grip the barbell with both hands at shoulder width.
3. Bend your knees until the bar almost touches your shins.
4. Keeping your spine straight, flex your glutes and brace your stomach.
5. Pushing through your feet, pick the bar up off the ground.
6. Continue pressing down with your legs until the barbell passes your knees, then thrust your hips forward until you are standing up.
7. Reverse your movement until the bar returns to its starting place on the ground.

Weight: 2x bodyweight
Reps: 8-10
Rest: 30 secs

2. Incline Press with Pronation

Another solid bodybuilding exercise, the incline press was a major reason why Tom Holland’s body looked the way it did during the first Spider-Man film. It focuses mainly on the upper chest region, helping to build out those pecs. To complete the incline press with pronation;

1. Sit on a bench set to 45 degrees and lean back holding a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Position your hands at your shoulders, elbows bent and angled down below your ribs.
3. Brace your core and press both dumbbells straight up over your chest as you exhale. Keep your wrists straight (don’t let them “cock” backward). At the top of the movement, the dumbbells should almost touch each other and your arms should be perpendicular to the floor.
4. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the top of your chest as you inhale. As you lower the dumbbells, your elbows should come down at roughly a 45-degree angle to your torso.

Weight: 1/2 bodyweight in each hand
Reps: 10-12
Rest: 30 secs

3. Dip Bar Straight Leg Raise

The first isolated movement for the core, the straight leg raise was responsible for the much-talked-about Tom Holland abs photos. To complete.

1. Stand with your body facing away from the dip machine. Grab the handles in each hand.
2. Keeping your legs straight and core tight, raise your feet up to waist height.
3. Hold for a half-second and then lower them back down.

Weight: Bodyweight
Reps: 15
Rest: 30 secs

4. Weighted Dips

A great bodyweight movement for building muscles in your chest and triceps, weighted dips are a staple for bodybuilders all over the world. Another benefit of weighted dips is the ability to work opposing muscle groups at once. To complete/

1. Wrap a dip belt around your waist, chain side in front. Attach and tighten a weight plate to the dropped side before looping it around, and clip it back to the other side of your belt.
2. Mounting the dip bar facing outward, lock your arms and elbows, keeping your wrists in line with your forearms.
3. Inhale as you slowly start to lower your body. Let your torso move slightly forward and your elbows to flare out to the side.
4. Once you feel a stretch in your chest, breathe out and start to push yourself slowly back up to the starting position.

Weight: Bodyweight – 20kg
Reps: 12-15
Rest: 30 secs

5. Dumbbell Thrusters

A multi-muscle group movement, dumbbell thrusters allow you to work your quads, glutes, shoulders and triceps simultaneously. Some studies have suggested this exercise also helps to boost your metabolism and increase your muscular endurance and flexibility. To complete.

1. Come to a standing position with your feet at shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold a pair of dumbbells just above your shoulders or resting on them.
3. Your palms should be facing each other, and your elbows should be slightly in front of your body.
4. Bending your knees and keeping your back straight, lower your bum to the floor.
5. Hold for a second before exploding through your feet to a standing position.
6. At the top of the movement, perform a press with the dumbells, locking your arms at the top of the movement.
7. Slowly lower the dumbells back to starting position.

Weight: 1/4 bodyweight in each hand
Reps: 10-12
Rest: 30 secs

6. Bear Crawls

While it may seem like a strange addition at first, bear crawls have become a common option for CrossFit fans and those looking to improve lower body mobility. It makes sense that Ashwell would incorporate this into the Tom Holland Spider-Man workout. To complete.

1. Get into a crouching position on all fours.
2. Keeping your back straight and knees as low as possible to the ground, crawl as fast as possible for 60 seconds. Remember to keep your steps short and body low to the floor.

Reps: 60 secs
Rest: 30 secs

7. Renegade Rows

A multi-movement exercise, renegade rows are a great option for increasing mobility whilst also building muscle. To complete.

1. Get in a push-up position holding two dumbbells.
2. Bracing your core, row your right hand up to your right hip.
3. Pause, slowly lower, then repeat with the other arm.

Weight: 1/4 bodyweight in each hand
Reps: 10-12 each side
Rest: 30 secs

8. Chin Ups

Much-maligned but important nonetheless, the humble chin-up was a favourite of Tom Holland in his preparation for Spider-Man. The multi-movement exercise targets your core, shoulders and back in a full-body assault. To complete.

1. Standing under a bar, grab it with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your hands facing away from you.
2. Hang all the way down.
3. Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar.
4. Slight pause
5. Lower yourself all the way back down.

Weight: Bodyweight
Reps: 10-12
Rest: 30 secs

9. Running

Despite what you wanted to hear, cardio is a massive part of n effective workout plan. To remain trim, toned and highly mobile, adding in a mixed sprint and job style running program was an effective method for Ashwell’s Tom Holland workout. To complete the circuit.

1. Start with a light 10 minute jog.
2. Run at 80% maximum for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Walk at 3.5-4 mph for 2 minutes.
4. Run at 90% maximum for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Walk at 3.5-4 mph for 2 minutes.
6. Run at 100% maximum for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
7. Walk at 3.5-4 mph for 2 minutes.
8. Run at 90% maximum for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
9. Walk at 3.5-4 mph for 2 minutes.
10. Run at 80% maximum for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
11. Cool-down walk for 5 minutes.

Recovery

George Ashwell is a physical therapist as well as a trainer, so he puts a big emphasis on recovery after each session. Post-workout, Holland spends 30 minutes on the treatment table.

“Tom is one of the most body-aware people and is very easy to train, but we’re trying to make sure he doesn’t get hurt which is why we don’t tend to do more linear, bodybuilding type movements,” Ashwell said in an interview with Esquire. “We do more functional stuff in order to make sure he doesn’t get injured.”

For those who can’t afford a daily sports massage or the time it takes, a great alternative is a massage gun. You can do it on the go and when multi-tasking, and it has been shown to have great remedial benefits.

Tom Holland Diet and Nutrition Plan

You can do all the weights in the world, your muscles won’t grow unless you give them the right fuel. In conjunction with his intensive daily workout circuit, Holland had to prioritise his nutrition to ensure he hit his muscle-building goals.

But on top of the kilo-a-week muscle gain required, Holland also needed to maintain a single figure body fat percentage for key shirtless scenes within the film. To achieve this muscle-building, fat-shredding objective, Holland needed a lean-bulk nutrition plan without enough carbs to fuel his workouts.

Ashwell chose to build on the actor’s regular diet, adjusting quantities and nutrients as required, rather than prescribe a set meal plan. The result was a ‘two fist’ bulking plan.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Diet

While we don’t know a whole lot about what Tom Holand eats on the daily, it’s fair to say his activity level is extremely high. With a mix of explosive movements and aerobic fitness, the calorie intake has to be significant, with a vast amount of protein filtered throughout. According to Men’s Journal, each meal in the Tom Holland diet plan contained:

• Two fist-sized portions of protein
• Two fist-sized portions of carbohydrates
• Two fists of greens.

Holland was already eating about half that amount but needed to double it to bulk up for the role. The actor also prioritised lean protein and good carbs as much as possible, which sadly means no pizza.

You’ll also like:
Hugh Jackman Wolverine Diet and Workout Plan
Chris Evans’ Captain America Workout & Diet Plan
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Diet and Workout Plan

General FAQs