Whether it was Arnold Schwarzenegger bursting out of his shirt and onto our screens in Pumping Iron, or Jane Fonda’s leg warmer clad 80’s Workout extravaganza, for as long as there have been celebrity workouts, fans have wanted to emulate them.
While celebrity inspired workouts have been around since the days of the ‘at home video’, thanks to social media we’re seeing more of people’s lives (and bodies) than ever before. From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s motivational 4am weight sessions, to a slew of celebrities transforming their bodies for roles, celebrities taking their fans along for the ride as they aim for the coveted ‘Avenger Abs’.
And with more at-home resources than ever at our fingertips, it stands to reason that throughout the pandemic, fitness was the new in-thing, with fitness and lifestyle brands like Gymshark, Asics, The North Face, Adidas & Nike activewear booming in popularity or launching collaborations, alongside fitness supplements becoming more common place.
So, with more of us than ever striving for A-Lister Abs, HotUKDeals searched over 500 of the biggest names across a variety of industries including sports, film, music and more, to find the celebrities influencing our workouts the most, and reveal the hottest, most in-demand famous workout routines.
Ranking the highest trending routines
Our study analysed more than 500 celebrity workouts, studying a range of data points to create an index score, ranking which ones were the ‘hottest’ of the bunch.
The index factored in the average Google search volume per year (across the past 12 months) across all countries and in over 8 languages, the year-on-year difference in search volume for each routine, and number of articles written about the famous person’s workout routine. Each data point was given a weighting which combined made up the overall score.
The hottest celebrity workouts
According to our study, Spider-Man and Uncharted star Tom Holland has the most in-demand workout, edging ahead of fellow Avenger, Chris Hemsworth and media mega star Kim Kardashian to claim the top spot.
While not the most searched workout on the list, interest in how to get the Brit’s physique more than doubled in 2022, with searches increasing by a whopping 150% to approximately 7,011 searches a month.
Also grabbing spots in the top 10 were Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kardashian-Jenner clan members Khloe and Kendall, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez and Catherine, Princess of Wales (FKA Kate Middleton).
Our study found it’s superhero bodies that are the name of the game, with nearly a third (32%) of the top 50 belonging to actors in the Marvel or DC Franchises. Other entrants to the list included household names such as Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Lebron James and Adele.
According to our findings, actors have the physiques and regiments the most searched and written about, followed by musicians. Just 13% of the top 50 workouts belonged to professional athletes, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Connor McGregor, NFL’s Aaron Donald and WWE stars Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
While Ronaldo was the only professional football player to break the top 50, both Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney secured places on the list at number 30 and 50, respectively.
The most searched for celebrity workouts
While our ranking takes into consideration several factors to determine the ‘hottest’ workouts, our study found Chris ‘Thor’ Hemsworth’s insane fitness regime was by far the most searched for on our list, with nearly a quarter of a million searches a year for the Love and Thunder star’s workout routine.
Only The Rock and Kendall Jenner came close to matching the Australian in terms of search numbers, however all three had seen a decline in interest year-on-year.
Maintaining a healthy attitude to fitness
While it’s understandable people use celebrities for fitness inspiration or want a superhero worthy physique, it’s important to remember that there can be more that meets the eye to some of the exercise regimes of the rich and famous, says personal trainer Jo Gurney of Iechyd Da gym;
“As personal trainers, it’s common for us to talk with people who want to mimic the sorts of physiques they see in films or on TV, but really improving your health and fitness starts with understanding your own body, not comparing it to someone else’s.
“It should really be something you do for yourself and to improve either your physical or mental wellbeing, in line with what works for your own body. Everyone is different, and just because one regimen might be healthy for one person, doesn’t mean it will for someone else.
“What people often overlook, especially in the case of action movie actors, is the sheer amount of time, dedication, money, science, and nutrition that goes into these huge transformations, and in most cases, actors will have entire teams of people carefully managing the whole process – that’s without the extra presentation and camera tricks.
“It’s great that celebrities can be an inspiration, and even share tips, workouts or resources, but it’s really important not to get sucked into comparisons, especially when you don’t have a movie studio backing everything you do.”
No matter who you’re inspired by, you don’t need a movie studio budget to get into shape or feel a bit healthier. Check out our hotukdeals on fitness and health for the latest red hot deals in activewear, gym memberships, supplements and more, from big brands such as Adidas, Nike and Reebok, to help you get more for less.