Tom Holland’s ‘Monster’ workout builds incredible bodyweight endurance

THOUGH HE’S NOT often associated with Hollywood’s more muscular leading men, Tom Holland has put in some serious time and effort to build his physique. His appearance as Telemachus in The Odyssey shows off his broader frame, while the shape he built for the Spider-Man films highlighted his dedication to training.

And for the third Spider-Man film, Holland worked with trainer Duffy Gaver, who devised a bodyweight workout so brutal that Men’s Health just had to try it.

“Start with 1 pull-up, 2 dips, 3 press-ups, 4 sit-ups, 5 squats – that’s round one, and you basically go all the way up to 10, so the last round is 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 [of each movement],” Holland explains to MH. “And then you’ll go all the way back down to 1. That is a monster workout.”

We can’t promise you’ll develop Spider-Man’s superhuman strength by doing this workout, but you will build an impressive mastery of your own bodyweight. Just be prepared for a gruelling time getting there.

The Workout

A. Pull-Up x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

B. Dip x 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2

C. Push-Up x 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3

D. Sit-Up x 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 36, 32, 28, 24, 20, 16, 12, 8, 4

E. Air Squat x 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5

Is it worth trying?

Holland really isn’t wrong when he calls this a ‘monster’ workout.

Clearly designed for more advanced gym-goers, the workout starts off fairly easy – just 1 pull-up, 2 dips and so on are manageable rep ranges for those movements. But they’re simply warming you up for the real meat of the session, where it starts to hurt and you’re fighting through gritted teeth just to keep going.

It wasn’t until around the eighth set that things started to become particularly difficult. Fatigue had set in and lactic acid had built up in my muscles, with the dips and push-ups back-to-back proving especially challenging. My chest was pumped to the max, and I hadn’t even reached halfway yet. Dips also aren’t one of my strong points, so working up to 20 reps made things even tougher. Longer rest breaks as I approached the peak of the ladder became a necessity, not just a choice.

Don’t be fooled by the bodyweight squats either – they start off easy, but it’s your muscular endurance, rather than strength, that really gets tested. If you’re able to go unbroken for 50 reps after all of the work that’s come before, then I commend you. My quads? On fire and screaming for as many breaks as possible. Not even the other four exercises provided much relief.

And while challenging yourself in the gym is an important part of getting fitter and stronger, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain good technique while descending the ladder. Fatigue had gripped all of my working muscles, and I was compensating with poor movement patterns that created other problems. My pull-ups became sloppy, the dips-and-push-ups combination placed more strain on my shoulders, and I struggled to keep an even push through both legs during the squat.

If you want to ease yourself in rather than heading straight for the beast, I’d recommend halving the workout by skipping every other set. For example, this would mean doing 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 and 20 reps of dips. That should help keep the session more manageable while allowing you to maintain better form throughout.

Having plenty of time, a powerful engine and a lot of willpower is essential if you’re attempting to complete this session – and I personally think there are more effective ways to spend an hour in the gym.

With that said, it’s still a stellar option if you’ve got limited equipment available but want to hit all the major muscles in your body using nothing but your bodyweight. Just don’t expect Spider-Man to be there to save you if things go wrong.

From Men’s Health UK.