Margot Robbie’s Gruelling Suicide Squad Workout Plan

By now, you’re probably aware that there’s a new Warner Bros/DC Comics movie in cinemas called ‘Suicide Squad,’ and that its ensemble of supervillains includes Australian actress Margot Robbie as the first live-action incarnation of fan favourite Harley Quinn.

Robbie’s breakthrough turn in Martin Scorcese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ left us in little doubt she’d be ideal to bring The Joker’s equally unhinged girlfriend to life – but as vital as her acting ability was, there’s also little question that her casting had a lot to do with her inherent sex appeal.

Unsurprisingly then, ‘Suicide Squad’ not only demanded Robbie act crazy, she also had to get into crazy shape – and her personal trainer Andie Hecker has told The Hollywood Reporter just how they went about that.

Hollywood trainer Hecker is a former ballet dancer, and came out to the ‘Suicide Squad’ set in Toronto, Canada to work with Robbie for two to three hours a day during production.

Hecker says she had Robbie “doing a lot of abs, but also full-body toning because that way, everything is pulling together and more calories are burned when you’re working the entire body. We did a lot of personal training on the Pilates reformer, so more tension, higher reps.”

Key exercises included “a lot of planks on the machine… It works in an elongated fashion so it’s not just crunching, you’re keeping the abs and waist long,” as well as “a lot of leg lifts using the handles.”

Of course, anyone who’s given even a passing glimpse to ‘Suicide Squad’s marketing can’t have failed to note the shortness of Harley Quinn’s glittery hot pants, so naturally a lot of work was done on the lower body as well:

“Because of her costume, the butt was really important to focus on because the shorts were so short. She had to look sexy and strong. For the glutes, we did heavier resistance and lower reps to work on building that muscle a little more.

“I included heavier ankle weights than I would normally give someone — I would give her 5-pound ankle weights. We’d do lower reps, so 20 leg lifts with that ankle weight on and then take a break to move on to the other leg to do another 20, making sure her glutes were doing it and not her hamstrings.

“Again you can do things on the Pilates reformer, hooking the ankles into the ropes that are attached to the pulleys and you can do a lot of different ranges and motions. But for someone at home I’d say [to use] ankle weights if they want to work on lifting the glutes.

“Personally, I’m not super into doing squats because they’re really quad dominant, so I like to focus the glutes by doing isometric exercises.”

Hecker also had Robbie doing a lot of work on “inner and outer thighs to pull the legs tight;” one key exercise she recommends is “holding a side plank on the elbow with a lighter ankle weight (2.5 pound), lifting the outer leg up toward the ceiling. It’s really challenging for the core, obliques, bottom hips, top outer thigh and outer glutes.

“I’d say to do 30 to 40 reps if you can keep it. Then keeping that plank again, you’d sweep that top leg forward and then bring it back.”

Clearly it’s no mean feat being the ultimate bad girl.

‘Suicide Squad’ is in cinemas now.

Picture Credit: Warner Bros

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