Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Viola Davis’ idea of a perfect body has drastically changed over the years. “I was always muscular and thicker, and I felt like my femininity could not be created with this canvas,” she previously told People, adding that she once wanted to be “willowy and thin.” Over time, the actor learned to embrace her body and prioritize physical strength, an attitude that came in handy while starring as a female warrior in the movie “The Woman King.” “And then all of a sudden, with this role, my muscles, my arms, my thick legs, my heavy voice were perfect. I felt unapologetic about it. I celebrated it physically in every way,” the 58-year-old said. “Sometimes you do a movie and then it’s over. And sometimes, you do a movie and it shifts you a little bit. You’re a little bit better for it. And that’s what it’s been like for me with the training.”If Davis had her way, more women would get the chance to channel their inner strength on screen.“It’s great when women are seen as physically strong. There’s so much emphasis placed with women looking tiny and slim and petite — femininity is associated with all of those things. It’s nice when it’s associated with strong,” she previously told USA Today.So, what does Davis do to maintain her physical strength? Here’s everything she’s said about her workout routine and diet. Her trainer says she’s very ‘disciplined’ After working with Davis for several years, her personal trainer, Gabriela Mclain, took to Instagram to applaud her client’s “dedication” and “consistency” in 2020.”She doesn’t complain, she always pushes to the limits, she’s extremely humble and disciplined. It’s always such a treat to train Viola. She is a perfect example of how hard work pays off. 💪🏽💪🏽,” she wrote.She loves full-body exercises When she’s working out with Mclain, Davis often focuses on full-body exercises. While talking with PopSugar in 2020, the trainer said she’d been training Davis three times a week at the time.“Mondays, we usually do a cardio kickboxing-style workout. Focusing on her punches and kicks,” Mclain said. “Wednesdays, we work on strength, heavy weights, medicine balls, lots of legs, upper body, and always core.” Additionally, Fridays were typically dedicated to resistance bands, ankle weights and kicks to “build strong and fast legs.” She thinks age is just a number when it comes to working outThe depth of Davis’ workout routine is pretty impressive. While chatting with Prevention about her go-to exercises, she explained how her dedication to fitness has intensified as she’s gotten older.“I love being 53, but the body is different at 53, and I’m only saying that because I work out really, really hard—probably harder than a 20-something year old,” she said. Davis listed weight lifting, HIIT workouts, resistance bands and medicine balls as some of her fitness essentials.“I do a lot of planks, a lot of step-ups, a lot of medicine ball exercises—like 15- to 20-pound balls. I run. I have a Peloton bike. I have a Boflex machine. What don’t I do?” she said. She’s not afraid of training hard for film rolesDavis’ acting range is quite impressive and she’s played several characters that required her to undergo intense physical training while preparing for the roles.For instance, her training sessions for “The Woman King” weren’t for the faint of heart. “I was 56 when I trained to be this warrior: five hours a day, hour and a half of weight training, three and a half hours of martial arts punching, 10.0 on the treadmill,” she told Jimmy Fallon while appearing on The Tonight Show. “And as I was running on that treadmill, Jimmy, I said ‘I’m gonna have a d— heart attack.’” While preparing for her role in “Widows,” Davis did weight training sessions three times a week on top of her regular fitness routine. One exercise tasked her with stepping onto a three-foot box with hand weights.“Sometimes my trainer would tell me something to do, and I would look at him like he was completely insane,” she told USA Today. A DNA health analysis informed her exercise routineWhen Davis was preparing for her role in the film “The Woman King,” Mclain encouraged her to undergo a DNA health analysis to learn more about her genetic predispositions, per Shape. The results helped the trainer incorporate targeted exercises like explosive weight training and strength training. While chatting with People, Mclain explained the value of DNA testing.“Before we started I actually did DNA testing on the main five that were signed under me, which was Viola, Thuso, Lashana, Sheila, and Adrienne. I did the DNA testing on all of them, which helped me pretty much figure out the best way to train, the best way to protect their muscles and protect their body because they’re all different,” she said. “There’s no one plan fits all. Everybody needs to train in a different way.”Her risk for type 2 diabetes led her to reevaluate her diet The same DNA analysis outlined Davis’ risk for type 2 diabetes and led Mclain to have her client eat smaller portions to manage her blood sugar levels.“Eating every three hours helped her (have) more energy, maintain and increase lean muscle mass, and (reduce) body fat storage,” she told Shape.While talking with Prevention in 2019, Davis said she has to be “hyper vigilant” with her food choices because of her predisposition to diabetes.The star cited cauliflower pizza crust and yam noodles as two healthier alternatives she incorporates into her diet so she doesn’t have to give up her favorite foods entirely.She loves kickboxingKickboxing is one of Davis’ go-to workouts, per Mclain.“We focus on burning fat and speeding up the metabolism, letting the blood flow, keeping the body agile, and warming it up for the week,” she told Women’s Health.The trainer amps up Davis’ cardio routine with high-intensity interval training, incorporating punches with side kicks, jabs, uppercuts and roundhouse kicks.She’s not intimidated by early morning workoutsSometimes, working out at the the crack of dawn is your only option when you have a packed schedule. Mclain previously told Women’s Health that Davis regularly sneaks in sweat sessions at 6 a.m. with a smile on her face.“How she’s an actress, putting her heart and soul in every role, that’s how she is with the training. She likes to push it,” she said. While talking with Self in 2016, Davis elaborated on her hard core commitment to fitness.“You know they say 80 percent of losing weight is what you eat, and 20 percent is exercise? I got the 20 percent covered. If I have to be at work at 5 a.m., I will get up at three and work out. I run, I do weights. I’m very toned,” she said. She altered her diet while training for ‘The Woman King’While prepping for her role in “The Woman King,” Davis made it her goal to gain muscle mass so her character would look strong. “I made sure to not cut carbs too low because they are the fuel that gave Viola the energy she needed during the training and filming,” Mclain told Shape.Her meal plan consisted of an array of foods, including complex carbs like quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes; protein, including chicken, fish, eggs and lean beef; two snacks between meals; healthy fats, including olive oil, meat, eggs, fish and avocado.Mclain encouraged her client to eat five protein-packed meals a day, per Harper’s Bazaar UK.“I was trying to create real warriors, not Ms. Olympias,” she told the publication. “I didn’t care for them to be extremely lean with a low body fat percentage. I wanted them to look how these warriors would really look. They would eat a lot so they could power through all these battles. My goal was to make them more bulky and strong than lean and cut.”
