With excitement for Dune: Part 3 underway, Zendaya is fast becoming a silver screen starlet. And after a busy year of red carpets, press tours and movie premieres (plus her own wedding), her workout needs to be one that can fit around her busy schedule. Here’s how keeping it fun is key when maintaining her physique

Words: Amy Dowrick | Images: Getty

While she keeps her online presence to a minimum, our rare glimpses of Zendaya on the red carpet are equally kept few and far between – but luckily for us, her workout routine isn’t held to the same level of secrecy.

And rather than relying on one type of workout, the star has admitted to using her experience as a dancer to help shape her routines – and prepare for each of her roles requires a lot of range.

Workouts

While the star has admitted she isn’t drawn to standard gym sessions, she doesn’t shy away from a heavy workout.

In a video shared to her website by a personal trainer, an intense circuit-style session showed a combination of strength exercises and cardio, creating a HIIT-inspired routine:

  • TRX arm raises
  • Bicycle crunches
  • Running laps
  • Push-ups
  • Leg raises
  • Pop squats
  • Wacky jacks
  • Russian twists
  • Wide-leg squats
  • Lunges

“The routine shown is a balanced circuit that alternates between cardiovascular exercises and strength movements, helping to keep the heart rate elevated while training multiple muscle groups,” say personal trainer Ian Northcott, founder of Mercian Fitness.

“TRX arm raises challenge the shoulders and upper back while improving stability, push-ups develop upper-body pushing strength and core stability, while pop squats and running laps build power and cardiovascular endurance,” he adds. “Lunges are also excellent for developing single-leg strength, balance and coordination.”

Tennis

To prepare for her role as tennis star Tashi Duncan in hit movie Challengers, the actress is said to have trained for three months with legendary tennis coach Brad Gilbert, a former world number four – but it wasn’t easy.

“I’m not the hugest fan of having to work out. I don’t necessarily look forward to it, but I had to because my character’s supposed to be a tennis pro and clearly, I’m not giving tennis pro,” she had told Elle.

“I started treating it more like dance – it’s more copying mannerisms, copying footwork, whatever. So, everything then became shadowing,” she later told Vogue. She even admitted to watching her body double hit a ball and then mimic her movements. “The ball comes in in post, so why am I so stressed about hitting this ball, or this ball hitting me?”

Trapeze

Another physically demanding role saw her play an aerial trapeze dancer in The Greatest Showman.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she admitted preparing for the role had her starting entirely from scratch. “I did not have upper body strength,” she said, and added that she certainly hasn’t maintained it since filming wrapped. “So don’t ask me to do any trapeze if you see me, because I don’t have it anymore.”

Rather than spending endless hours lifting weights, Zendaya explained that the strength came through repetition and practice. “It was a lot of training – literally just getting up there and going for it,” she added.

Dance

Long before Hollywood, Zendaya was a dancer, with her first role that pushed her into the spotlight was as Rocky Blue in Disney’s Shake It Up – and has often credited dance as her favourite form of exercise.

 “For me, I enjoy dancing and doing choreography, so that’s how I get my exercise,” she said to Justine Magazine, adding that enjoyment is the key to staying active. “Find something that’s really fun for you. Whether that’s jazzercise or whatever.”

“Dancing is a fantastic form of exercise because it improves cardiovascular fitness, coordination, balance and mobility,” adds Ian. “It also challenges the brain by requiring people to learn and remember movement patterns, making it an excellent choice for lifelong health.”

And choosing something you love doing is an added bonus, with many fitness experts saying that the workout you’re most likely to stick with is usually the one you genuinely enjoy – and it’s exactly how Zendaya has built her routine.

Wellness

But it’s not all about physical movement for the star. With red carpet appearances keeping her schedules booked and busy, Zendaya keeps her mental health just as much a priority as her movement.

A body positivity advocate through and through, Zendaya has very publicly campaigned for self-love and authenticity. “There is no such thing as ugly – that’s a word that doesn’t really enter my vocabulary,” she once said in an interview with New You. “It’s important to find out who you are and love exactly who you are.”

And she practices what she preaches. In 2015, Zendaya called out Modeliste Magazine for retouching her photos to make her hips and torso appear slimmer -and the magazine later released the issue with the original, unedited images from her cover shoot. 

“I’m learning to be more responsible for myself and for my own body and looking after it all,” she told Vogue in 2024. “Sometimes it’s just getting out of bed, telling myself that we’re facing the day: we’re taking a shower, we’re putting on real clothes, we’re seeing some sunshine. I try to set little challenges for myself.”

“Sometimes it can be as simple as going for a really long walk with my dog,’ she continued. “It’s about finding something that makes you happy, keeps you active and gets that serotonin and dopamine going.”

Dune: Part Three is scheduled to be released in cinemas on December 18. Tickets are available to pre-book now.