Scarlett Johansson will have to sweat it out in The Avengers as her character, Black Widow, is hard put to to fight off Loki’s army and save the good old Earth. Most of her feats are to be done in a tight black catsuit, and altogether this succoring business requires heaps of prep. The 27-year-old devoted two months of her life to shaping and priming herself for the part working with her assistant of old Bobby Strom and Heidi Moneymaker, stunt double. And they were not the easiest months in her life!
With Strom Johansson resumed her training mostly in the same vein as for Iron Man 2, relying heavily on circuits – an-hour-and-half circuit workouts one after another through weeks. Oh, just a regular hero’s routine, broken up by exercises with dumbbells, medicine balls, resistance bands, and TRX. There were also running breaks around the gym as well as out in the open. From 20 reps she moved on to 25 and 30 and ended up with full-body circuits with weights.
The movie has Johansson engaged in multiple fights, almost at once she is having a hefty encounter with Russians. Here Heidi Moneymaker stepped in, a veteran stunt double from whose hands the star had to suffer a lot. Describing her preparations to Vogue, Johansson was moved to complain of very painful 6 weeks of being beaten up. She and Moneymaker went through all the fight scenes in the film, both with weapons and bare hands, employing what is known as mixed marital arts, MMA.
Naturally an important part of the preparations was dieting. The actress has long adopted a healthy diet consisting of mostly vegetables. Once again, Johansson harks back to Iron Man 2 days, with Strom having her eating smaller meals but oftener – salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, low on proteins.
