There is no doubt that the women of Hollywood served up some breathtaking looks at last night’s Oscars ceremony.
And there appeared to be somewhat of a theme among many of their chosen outfits – exposed shoulders.
From Best Actress winner Emma Stone’s strapless peplum gown, to Margot Robbie’s Versace chainmail column, to Emily Blunt’s floating straps, many of the stars showed off their upper bodies.
Upper bodies which were enviably toned and sculpted, while still appearing slight and feminine.
But just how do they do it?
DailyMail.com has sourced testimony from some of the country’s most coveted celebrity trainers to reveal exactly how you could replicate their look in time for your big day.
Emma Stone
Stone lifts weights to tone her muscles, and cardio comes second
Emma Stone’s trainer Jason Walsh wants more women to deadlift. This seemingly simple exercise – which involves lifting a barbell off the ground – has helped Emma achieve her long, lean arms. It has previously been reported that the Poor Things actor can lift around 185 pounds.
Walsh said: ‘It is, and always will be, the deadlift and variations of the deadlift. It’s a complex movement that incorporates every major muscle group working together. It’s very important.’
Walsh emphasizes strength training when helping his clients secure roles or live healthier lives.
He said: ‘Staying strong supports the skeletal system, stabilizes joints, makes your cardio safer and more effective.
‘If strength training is done right, you get plenty of cardio from lifting as well. Cardio comes secondary.’
To play tennis superstar Billie Jean King, Stone lifted weights to hone her upper body strength five days a week, and did cardio two days.
Walsh said: ‘To build muscle, strength needs to be the foundation of your workouts. Keeping your muscles strong makes everything better.’
Margot Robbie
Robbie is a champion at holding planks, a testament to her upper body strength
David Higgins, Robbie’s long-time trainer, detailed how she hopped on the Pilates reformer machine in full Barbie regalia while filming.
The Pilates reformer machine uses a series of pulleys, ropes and springs to act as hand weights, allowing the user to do bicep curls, airplane arms (pushing hands back and maintaining their height), and tricep extensions (pulling a tight rope behind the head, downwards).
Robbie also beat the rest of her Barbieland residents at the plank contest, holding her position for four minutes and 10 seconds in a feat of impressive arm strength.
According to Higgins, Ms Robbie also uses hand weights to achieve her sculpted look.
This includes 15 reps each of the following: chest presses (pushing weight away from the body while lying on your back), bent-over rows, bicep curls, seated shoulder press, and skull crushers, where you bring a weight over your head while lying on your back.
She also does 100 reps of seven different ab exercises, including crunches, toe taps on each side, and curtsy lunges on each leg.
And she doesn’t do cardio. At least, not intentionally. Strength training provides its own cardio workout, as the heart must work harder to pump blood to the muscle groups being exercised, such as the upper body.
She didn’t work out for hours on end. Mr Higgins said they would train when the cast took breaks, sometimes for 30 minutes or an hour.
Florence Pugh
Pugh is a fan of kickboxing, which requires strong arms to deliver hard jabs and punches
UK actress and Oppenheimer co-star Florence Pugh has had to undergo physical transformations for past roles, including Black Widow and Fighting With My Family, the latter of which required her to train to be a wrestler.
Pugh adopted kickboxing into her fitness routine, saying she would work out for two hours at a time.
Aerobic kickboxing, which utilizes the arms to perform quick jabbing and punching movements, defines the biceps and triceps and strengthens the shoulders. Lower arm and hand muscles get stronger too.
She also does CrossFit workouts, a form of high-intensity interval training, with physical trainer James Shields, saying it helps her feel more ‘solid and secure’, but she added, ‘Those sessions in CrossFit are difficult. You do have to push yourself.’
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning workout focused on functional movements that mimic things we do everyday, like lifting boxes or carrying children. Think big squats, deadlifts, and shoulder presses.
Emily Blunt
Blunt credits her trainer’s philosophy that favors ballet-style movements which improve strength and fluidity
The Oppenheimer actor favors workouts that consist of ballet-style movements, which improve strength and stability while working out as many muscle groups as possible.
Her trainer, Monique Eastwood, draws from her background in dance to walk Emily through moves such as narrow arm rotations that may look easy but will have you feeling the burn after just a handful of circles.
Blunt said of her trainer: ‘What she does revolutionises the way you look, the way you move, your depth of strength and ability.
‘Not to mention, it gives you those long, long, lean muscles that we are all after.’
Eastwood’s method, Blunt went on, is ‘fluid and high-octane, but with no heavy weights.’
Anya Taylor-Joy
Joy is a former ballet dancer and draws on classical ballet to inform her physical fitness regimen
Anya, who used to be a dancer, is a fan of ballet-style movements that work her arms and other concentrated muscle groups.
Ballet training prioritizes building long, lean muscles using repetitive movements that work small muscle groups in the arms and legs.
She told Harpers in 2019: ‘I used to be a ballet dancer. I haven’t danced properly now for a couple of years, but I do one exercise class and immediately my poise comes back, and my muscles remember.’
She also incorporates pilates and kickboxing into her physical training and weightlifting.
