By Doc | Stronger Personal Training
Let’s talk about Sydney Sweeney’s Power of Women dress.
If you haven’t seen it — silver, see-through, not leaving much to the imagination.
It made the rounds on social media and became a bad song I couldn’t get out of my head (I get knocked down anybody?). Because watching that, and then scrolling through the inevitable flood of “body goals” comments underneath it, I kept thinking about something.
We are absolutely obsessed with looking like people who get paid to look that way.
And I get it. I really do. But before we dive into the actual plan — and yes, there is an actual plan — we need to have an honest conversation about what’s actually going on behind those physiques.
What Nobody Tells You About Hollywood Bodies
Rob McElhenney — one of the guys from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia — got absolutely shredded for one episode. People lost their minds. Then he posted about it on Twitter with what might be the most accurate summary of celebrity fitness ever written:
“All you need to do is lift weights six days a week, stop drinking alcohol, don’t eat anything after seven, don’t eat any carbs or sugar at all, in fact just don’t eat anything you like, get a personal trainer from Magic Mike, sleep nine hours a night, run three miles a day, and have a studio pay for the whole thing over a six to seven month span. I don’t know why everyone’s not doing this.”
A joke…maybe. The truth? Certainly!
The Hollywood body. Buckle up buttercup!
They have resources most of us don’t. Personal trainers. Private chefs. Studios literally paying for their transformation. Chris Hemsworth didn’t just decide to look like Thor — he had an entire team and a very large budget dedicated to making that happen.
They’re getting paid to look that way. This is the one we forget. Christian Bale transforms his body for roles because that’s his damn job. Chris Hemsworth has to look like a god because that’s how he gets cast in god roles. This is their investment in their career — the same way you invest in education or certifications for yours.
Genetics picked them. The sport finds the athlete, not the other way around. There’s a reason Chris Hemsworth plays Thor and not the accountant in a rom-com. There’s a reason Robert Downey Jr. played the charming genius in a suit (there’s not enough built in muscles on earth to make him look like The Rock). The role finds the person. And a lot of these people were already built a certain way before Hollywood ever got involved.
They don’t look like that year round. Jason Momoa — you know, Aquaman? — has openly said he hates training for those roles and goes back to a comfortable lifestyle the moment filming wraps. He even drank two pints of Guiness on the set of Aquaman 2 because his physique wasn’t screen ready.
Chris Hemsworth in Love and Thunder took years of preparation and some CGI assistance. This is a snapshot – eventually the camera stops rolling.
Their workouts are often terrible. Controversial? Maybe. But those Men’s Health spreads about what Actor X did to get shredded? Templated, glamorous, and frequently not even accurate. Celebrities want to sell tickets and editors want to sell magazines.
For instance, Mark Wahlberg looks incredible — but much of what he posts is just performance porn. His workouts are not going to get you a dream team body.
And don’t forget muscle suits exist. So does strategic fabric.
Don’t get it twisted. This isn’t an excuse for you to justify your behavior. It’s perspective. This rabbit hole of comparing yourself to a carefully curated, professionally supported, genetically gifted, financially backed snapshot will only lead to disappointment and canceled episodes if you catch my drift.
Okay. You Still Want the 90-Day Plan.
Fair enough. Here it is. And yes — it’s hard. Rob wasn’t lying.
Work out six days a week. At least one session per day. Some days two. Give yourself one full rest day because you’ll need it.
Protein at your goal body weight in grams. If you want to weigh 180 pounds, eat 180 grams of protein per day. Non-negotiable.
Match protein in carbs most days. So 180 grams of carbs at 180 grams of protein. Add 50 grams on your harder training days. Scale back if the scale isn’t moving in the direction you want.
12,000 steps a day minimum. Every day. Non-negotiable.
Strength train at least four of your six workout days. Upper day, lower day, upper day, lower day — or four full body days. No body part splits. We’re not doing an arm day.
Three alcoholic beverages a week maximum. Not a day. A week.
Eight plus hours of sleep. Every night.
Reduce carbs 20-40 grams per month. Each month, dial it back slightly.
50 grams of fat per day maximum.
Hire a coach.
Is this sustainable long term? Probably not. But if you want to see what 90 days of real commitment looks like, pick the right time of year — January through March, the spring push before summer, or September through November — and give it a genuine shot.
The Smarter Version (For the Rest of Your Life)
The 90-day plan gets you somewhere. This is what keeps you there.
Know your role. Not your Hollywood – life. Are you a parent who wants to keep up with your kids? A desk worker trying to move better? A weekend warrior who plays tennis? Train for that. The person who needs to walk Disney World all day without dying has different needs than someone trying to run a 5K. Figure out your role and train accordingly.
Capitalize on the genetics you actually have. Most of us spend so much time focused on our weaknesses that we completely ignore our strengths. If you’re naturally strong, use that. If running comes easy to you, lean into it. Your strengths are where your confidence lives — and confidence is what makes this sustainable.
What works for you? I was under 6% body fat once. It was miserable. No social life. No energy. Zero fun. I’ll take a couple craft beers throughout the week and an extra few percent body fat over that experience any day. Figure out the life you want to live and build a fitness approach that fits inside it — not one that replaces it.
Use the resources you have. Time. Money. Support. Energy. For instance, when my wife is training for her marathon, we work around it. I can cover the house and kids when she needs to run.
What is your version? How does it look different? Figure out what you have available and build around it.
Think long game. The get fit quick scheme is out of style (and frankly doesn’t work).
It burns people out. The fitness industry is full of people who lost 30 pounds and gained 40 back because they were playing the short game. Invest in yourself the way you’d invest in anything important — consistently, over time, with a long term return in mind.
Consistency over complexity.
The Real Takeaway
Looks aren’t everything. A lot of people are born, not made — and the ones who aren’t born that way have to work so hard to get there that their whole life becomes THE pursuit.
There’s another way to measure this. Can you walk up several flights of stairs without gasping? Can you keep up with your grandkids without needing a nap? Can you go on a hike, carry your groceries, move through your day without your body filing a complaint?
Those are performance metrics. And they matter more than whether you’d look good next to Thor.
Don’t fall for glamour workouts. Three to four full body strength sessions a week plus daily activity is genuinely all most people need. The magic isn’t in the complicated stuff — it’s in the consistent stuff.
If you’re not sure where to start, that’s what we’re here for.
Message us to learn more.
Still not Thor,
Doc