Ah, Game of Thrones–how I love thee! It’s no exaggeration, I’ve been counting down to Season 7 since something like February. (Okay, okay, January). Now that it’s finally here, I’m especially loving the return of one of my fav characters, Sansa Stark. She has turned from a sweet, daydreamy girl to a rather ruthless young Lady Stark, and the transformation really suits her.
Back in 2014, Turner admitted: “I feel the pressure to be toned, yeah, and everyone’s going on about the thigh gap, but I like food more than exercise so I’ll just carry on that way. All that’s changed is I’ve learned about my body shape and what looks good on me – for instance, I have swimmer’s shoulders so I can’t wear halternecks, stuff like that.” (Really? You have lovely shoulders!)
But Turner isn’t so indoorsy as her character Sansa Stark, nor does she spend her days eating lots of lemon cakes by the fireplace. Turner hasn’t let go of her healthy attitude toward food but just balanced it out with renewed zeal for exercise. To play the super-mutant Jean Grey in the latest installment of X-Men, the 21-year-old star found a rigorous regimen of 60-minute workouts, 6 days a week, 3 months straight. “That costume is pretty unforgiving,” Turner said of her second-skin suit. Girl, I feel you. Also, next time I need to squeeze into something, I will try the 60-6-3 method!
While Turner was growing up on the set of Game of Thrones, she didn’t have a regular workout routine. But prior to getting cast as Sansa at 13, she was a budding ballet student who had been accepted to the Royal Ballet School in London at age 11. She turned it down to focus on acting, but the discipline of ballet came in handy when she started training seriously to become Jean Grey.
According to celeb trainer James Farmer, who also trained Lily James for Cinderella (is there any movie, any costume that doesn’t require actresses to tone up?!), Turner mostly worked out outside. A far cry from the “sitting prettily” habits of Sansa!
“It was all outside, around London, which was more fun than being cooped up in a gym,” Turner says. The star did hill sprints, kettlebells, resistance bands and burpees during these full-body sessions: meaning, she wasn’t just doing arm day, leg day, butt day, or cardio day v. toning day, and so on. We are all about full-body sessions here at PD–fully approve!
Exercise like Sophie with this 5 Minute Full Body Workout to Burn Fat and Sculpt Your Butt & Legs (video)!
Farmer also put Turner through complicated boxing drills and sparring to keep her mentally engaged, and “tricks” like resistance band sprints where he held her upper body in place with a resistance band and she would run for 20 seconds, rest for 40 seconds, and so on for 10 minutes total.
She sparred against her trainer James Farmer, and occasionally the statue of Bruce Lee.
Next, she has her eyes set on barre classes, claiming she’s been watching them online at night.
Try our 7 minute booty lifting barre workout, Sophie!
To complement her workouts, Turner was put on a healthy diet that incorporates protein and healthy fats at every meal, and lots of fresh vegetables like spinach and cauliflower, with the occasional bonus of sweet potatoes.
We have a feeling Turner would love this overnight creamy cauliflower porridge!
Of the change in attitude since adopting such a healthy lifestyle, Turner says that she’s reaped more than just external benefits: “Exercise has made me feel more positive about my body, less self-conscious…I don’t know if I look any different, but I feel stronger, and I can do more, which is such a good feeling. It’s so liberating.”
What’s your favorite style of exercise? Has Sophie Turner inspired you to try something new?
More in celeb fitness: This Ariana Grande Weight Loss Workout Will Get You Shredded In 3 Moves (Video)
Get Zoe Saldana’s Body With This Super Slimming Guardians Of The Galaxy Workout (Video)
Cinch Your Waist With Kendall Jenner’s 7 Go-To Ab Workouts (Video)
Get more like this—Subscribe to our daily inspirational newsletter for exclusive content!
__
Photo: Sophie Turner via Instagram, Crystal Chin, Lauren Kirchmaier
