Wielding a lightsaber is hard work, and yet actress Daisy Ridley makes it look easy as Jedi Master Rey Skywalker.
Since first appearing as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Ridley has motivated thousands of people around the world with the Jedi-inspired workout routine that contributed to her power and physique on screen.
In this article, we take a closer look at Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars workout program, plus the diet she sticks to to stay healthy. We also lay out an exercise schedule that you can use to channel your own Jedi strength.
29-year-old Daisy Ridley is the English actress who shot to international fame when she was cast as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Ridley portrayed the eventual Jedi Master in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and
The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Though her time in the Star Wars franchise has ended, Ridley has continued to grace screens in some of the biggest films of the last few years. These include Ophelia, Murder on the Orient Express, and Peter Rabbit.
Ridley is known for her bright smile; wholesome, girl-next-door good looks; and of course, her powerful and toned physique.
So just how did Daisy Ridley get in shape for such an iconic role? Well, there was no Hollywood magic, that is for sure. Ridley worked, and she worked hard. According to her LA-based trainers, Chris Vincent and Jack Graves (who also trained Ridley’s Star Wars co-star Oscar Isaac), Ridley worked out five days a week for at least five hours each day. Her full-body workouts were especially designed to help her lose weight and get in shape.
To burn fat quickly, Vincent and Graves assigned Ridley cardio, rock climbing, kickboxing, and sprints. Meanwhile, the actress increased muscle mass with box jumps, preacher curls, and military presses. To fit in both filming and five hours of workouts each day, Ridley would exercise before her call time, during lunch breaks, and even on set during camera turns.
Throughout the process, Ridley understood that working out is just as much mental as it is physical. Said Ridley, “Physically, I never really had to push myself that hard, and stamina-wise you’re like ‘Oh my God!’ It’s like a psychological thing of knowing you can do it more and more and more.”
Initially, Ridley maintained her Star Wars workout for film re-shoots and media promotional appearances. However, she kept up the workout long after her films were released into theaters. As she told Elle magazine, she finds comfort in her exercise routine. “Because it’s the only thing structured in my life right now. Training is sort of a therapy session, I guess.”
On her now-deactivated social media accounts, Ridley often recorded her
Star Wars
workout sessions. The above YouTube video is a compilation of the workout videos, and it shows the variety of exercises Ridley employed to buff up. After all, training five hours per day for five days a week can get pretty repetitive.
Each day, Ridley would begin with a warm-up jog of about 800 meters, or about half of a mile.
Once warmed up, she would complete a targeted selection of the following:
Ridley also routinely incorporated kickboxing, rock wall climbing, and the mountain climber machine. One notable exercise missing from the Daisy Ridley workout is the push up. After injuring her wrist during the filming of Star Wars, Ridley avoided any exercise that put too much weight on her hands.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars workout routine also included what has come to be known as The Lightsaber Workout. As it turns out, lightsabers make ideal workout equipment. They are heavy, but have an uneven weight, and wielding them requires arm and upper-body strength.
The Lightsaber Workout resembles martial arts training. The exerciser holds the lightsaber in one or both hands, then practices a series of thrusts in one of four directions: left, right, up, and down.
Vital to Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars exercise plan were rest days, of which she would take one or two. But despite being called “rest days,” these days weren’t exactly a time to veg. Ridley would use these days to visit the chiropractor, nutritionist, and/or massage therapist.
Rest days were also a time to use the Leg Sleeve, which would pump 10 minutes of hot water, then 10 minutes of cold water in order to help flush lactic acid from Ridley’s muscles.
Of course, the average person does not have access to Leg Sleeves and massage therapists. In this case, a
recovery supplement can go a long way in helping athletes’ muscles recover and rebuild.
According to one of Ridley’s trainers, extra stressful days also became rest days for his two
Star Wars
clients, Ridley and Isaac. “I’m a massive believer in quality over quantity, so if they have had a stressed day, I’m not going to expect them to work because it’ll only stress the body more, and put them at risk of getting ill.”
Though taking a rest day to protect your mental health is always a good idea, you can also support your immune system by taking
an
immune booster consisting of essential vitamins and minerals.
Below, we’ve outlined a sample workout routine inspired by Daisy Ridley’s. Just as Ridley preferred variety, this routine is meant to be mixed up. Put together a schedule that fits your strengths, interests, and goals.
Three sets each of:
Three sets each of:
Three sets each of:
Three sets each of:
Two sets and 10 reps each of:
Daisy Ridley’s diet during filming was certainly just as important as her workout routine. According to Elle UK, Ridley describes herself as a “cheating vegan.” She cuts out a lot of things from her diet, including meat, dairy, and eggs. Ridley also stays away from sugar, though she has said that that is to help control her acne and endometriosis.
While filming
Star Wars, Ridley focused on a diet that included lots of essential nutrients. This required eating lots of fish, legumes, and spirulina shakes. Since her favorite food is sushi, Ridley also enjoyed plenty of Asian food, especially Japanese.
As a proper English woman, Ridley enjoys a daily cup of tea. But unlike most of her countrymen, Ridley trades the typical black tea for green tea, which she then sweetens with honey instead of sugar.
To eat like you are preparing to play the role of Rey, you can follow Daisy Ridley’s diet by sticking to the following:
Avoid:
English actress Daisy Ridley took the world by storm when she portrayed Jedi Master Rey Skywalker in the most recent
Star Wars
trilogy. Not only is Ridley absolutely beautiful as Rey, but she is also a total badass. No wonder so many have wondered about the exercise routine Ridley employed to earn her Jedi physique.
As described by her trainers and documented on her now-deactivated Instagram account, Ridley prepared for
Star Wars
by working out for five hours a day, five days a week. She challenged herself with more than a dozen different exercises, mixing them up day by day to keep up her energy.
Ridley also stuck to a strict diet of vegetables, fresh fruit, spirulina shakes, and fish. Though her diet complemented her workout routine, she also credits her diet plan with controlling her acne and painful endometriosis.
