Quick answer: Scarlett Johansson got Black Widow-strong by training like an athlete, not by dieting. Trainer Eric Johnson of Homage fitness programmed strength, plyometrics and gymnastics with performance milestones every 12 weeks. Seventy years earlier, Marilyn Monroe kept fit with 10 minutes of light dumbbells and a plate of protein and raw carrots. Here’s what still works today and what to update.
Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow training: performance first
Eric Johnson has trained Johansson since Iron Man 2. For Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, which were filmed back to back, the goal was never a number on the scale. As The Hollywood Reporter put it, “neither weight loss nor body fat percentage was of interest.” The focus was moving well on set and fitting the costume.
Johnson asked one simple question: what would Black Widow be able to do? Then he set real milestones every 12 weeks, including a 245-pound deadlift, pull-up series, single-leg pistol squats, and push-ups with a 45-pound plate on her back.
“I am stronger and more capable now than I was 10 years ago, which is so awesome to be able to say.” Scarlett Johansson, The Hollywood Reporter
How a typical week looked
- 45 to 60 minute sessions, four to five days a week, starting at 6 a.m. before her daughter woke up.
- Phases of three to six weeks each: movement control and holds first, then strength, then leaning out before shooting.
- No boring cardio. She “hates” it, so conditioning came from sprints, battle ropes and kettlebells.
- Plyometrics, Olympic lifting and gymnastics to stay explosive. As Eric Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter, “you want to be as fresh and powerful in the first take as you are in the 20th.”
- Classes to find weak spots: hot yoga and Pilates.
- Breath control between intervals to bring her heart rate down quickly, a technique shown in a Business Insider training video.
“She’s very consistent,” Johnson told People. “We go anywhere from two to three days a week when we’re maintaining and up to five, six days a week.” His favourite part? “What’s amazing with Scarlett is that she really loves the process.”
Real life still applies, even for an Avenger: “It’s hard to fit everything in when you try to balance motherhood, training and work… That balance is a myth!”
Her real-food plate
The sample “Marvel food plan” published by The Hollywood Reporter is refreshingly ordinary: eggs and avocado with greens before training, a spinach, banana and peanut-butter smoothie afterwards, chicken or turkey with rice and vegetables at lunch, and wild salmon with salad at dinner. Protein stays steady while carbs rise and fall with training load. No meals are skipped.
Golden Age flashback: Marilyn Monroe’s 1952 routine
In the September 1952 issue of Pageant magazine (quoted by British Vogue), a rising Marilyn Monroe shared how she stayed in shape. Her approach was short, self-taught and joyful.
- Training: about 10 minutes every morning with 5-pound dumbbells: 15 slow lifts from arms spread wide to overhead, 15 more from overhead, then arm circles “until I’m tired.” In her words: “I couldn’t stand exercise if I had to feel regimented about it.”
- Breakfast: “I start warming a cup of milk… I break two raw eggs into the milk, whip them up with a fork,” plus a multivitamin.
- Dinner: “a steak, lamb chops or some liver, which I broil… I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat.” She joked, “I must be part rabbit.”
- Treat: a hot fudge sundae, which she felt she’d earned because her meals were “almost totally of protein foods.”
Then vs now: what science says today
| Category | Marilyn (1952) | Scarlett (2018 to 2019) | Smart move today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training | 10 min, light dumbbells, self-taught | Coached, phased strength + plyometrics | Strength train 2 to 3 days a week and progress gradually |
| Protein | Eggs, milk, steak, liver | Steady protein at every meal | Spread protein across breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| Eggs | Raw, in warm milk | Cooked whole eggs and whites | Cook until firm. FDA egg-safety guidance warns about salmonella |
| Vegetables | Raw carrots | Greens at most meals | Half your plate from vegetables, raw or cooked |
| Recovery | Not mentioned | Rest days, breath work, yoga, Pilates | Sleep 7 to 9 hours; add grocery-store helpers (below) |
Monroe’s idea of putting protein and vegetables at the centre of the plate still holds up. Two updates: cook your eggs, and eat regular meals rather than skipping them. For more food-first habits, read Our Food Is Our Medicine and our vitamin D guide.
Your grocery-store recovery kit (the catalyst effect)
Some everyday foods work better together. They are simple, inexpensive and backed by human studies:
- Eggs, lean steak or lamb, and liver (in moderation): Marilyn’s protein staples, cooked properly, give you complete protein plus iron and B12.
- Carrots and leafy greens: fibre, beta-carotene and folate. Raw carrots make an easy snack.
- Tart cherry juice for sleep: in a 2012 trial, tart cherry concentrate raised melatonin and improved sleep time and efficiency (Eur J Nutr, 2012).
- Ginger for sore muscles: 2 g a day for 11 days reduced exercise-induced muscle pain by about 25% (J Pain, 2010).
- Turmeric + black pepper: piperine raised curcumin absorption by about 2,000% in humans (Planta Med, 1998). This is the catalyst effect in action. Try it in eggs, soups or golden milk.
- Sleep, the free hormone regulator: one week of five-hour nights lowered testosterone by 10 to 15% in healthy young men (JAMA, 2011). Eric Johnson’s early starts only work with early nights.
Editor’s Picks: train like Black Widow, recover like a pro
Disclosure: some links below go to our partner store Buy Epic Deals or to Amazon. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
- #1 Best Value (our store): Xiaomi Smart Ring: sleep, heart rate and blood-oxygen tracker ($99). Track whether you’re getting the 7 to 9 hours that recovery needs. Use code HEALTH10 for 10% off, or BUNDLE15 for 15% off 2+ items.
- Kitchen recovery: Tart cherry juice concentrate on Amazon
- Home strength, Marilyn-style: 5-lb dumbbell pair on Amazon
New to sleep tracking? Read how to track sleep stages and SpO2 at home, or start strength work with our glute and core band routine.
Gallery: The Stars of This Story
The takeaway
Marilyn showed that 10 consistent minutes and a protein-and-vegetable plate go a long way. Scarlett shows what happens when you add coaching, progressive strength goals and planned recovery. Pick a performance goal, train two to three days a week, cook your eggs, eat your carrots, and protect your sleep.
Key Health Terms Glossary
- Plyometrics
- Jumping and bounding exercises that train muscles to produce force quickly.
- Olympic lifting
- The snatch and clean-and-jerk, plus their variations, which build explosive full-body power.
- Pistol squat
- A single-leg squat with the other leg held straight out in front.
- Progressive overload
- Gradually adding weight, reps or difficulty so the body keeps adapting.
- Melatonin
- A hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Tart cherries contain small amounts.
- Piperine
- The compound in black pepper that helps your body absorb curcumin from turmeric.
- Salmonella
- Bacteria sometimes found in raw eggs that can cause food poisoning. Thorough cooking kills it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who trained Scarlett Johansson for Black Widow?
Eric Johnson, co-founder of Homage fitness, has trained Scarlett Johansson since Iron Man 2 (2010). He built her Black Widow programme around strength, plyometrics, Olympic lifting and gymnastics, and set new performance goals every 12 weeks.
Did Scarlett Johansson train to lose weight for Black Widow?
No. According to The Hollywood Reporter, neither weight loss nor body fat percentage was the goal. She trained for performance on set and for the fit of her costume.
How many days a week does Scarlett Johansson work out?
Her trainer told People she trains two to three days a week to maintain between films and up to five or six days a week while preparing for a role.
What did Marilyn Monroe eat to stay in shape?
In Pageant magazine (September 1952), Monroe described two raw eggs whipped into warm milk for breakfast and a broiled steak, lamb chops or liver with four or five raw carrots for dinner. Today, cook your eggs to avoid salmonella.
Are tart cherry juice, ginger and turmeric good for workout recovery?
Small human studies suggest tart cherry juice can raise melatonin and improve sleep, daily ginger can reduce exercise-related muscle pain, and black pepper (piperine) can raise curcumin absorption. They support, but do not replace, sleep, protein and rest days. Check with your doctor if you take medication.
Sources, Image Credits & Affiliate Disclosure
Disclosure: Some links in this article point to our partner store Buy Epic Deals or to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. This article is for general information and is not medical advice.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter (2019); People (2019); Business Insider; British Vogue, quoting Pageant, Sept 1952; U.S. FDA egg safety; PubMed 22038497, 20418184, 9619120, 21632481.
Image credits: Training-days chart by Beauty of Health (data: People, 2019). Gallery: Scarlett Johansson by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized from Wikimedia Commons). USO Kuwait photo by Sgt. Bryson K. Jones, U.S. Army (public domain). Scarlett story card by Beauty of Health using a photo by Harald Krichel / WikiPortraits (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons). Marilyn Monroe 1952 card image: RKO Radio Pictures publicity still for Clash by Night, public domain. Marilyn Monroe at Amagansett beach, 1957, attributed to Sam Shaw (© Shaw Family Archives).