Lily James shocked the world when images of her on set as Pamela Anderson for the hit Hulu show “Pam & Tommy” hit the Internet. While some of this transformation was due to highly skilled hair, makeup and prosthetics, a lot of it was achieved by James and a vigorous exercise routine.
Along with the show, James’ transformation went viral on TikTok, inspiring many to attempt the iconic Pam Anderson look of thin brows, smokey eyes and darkly lined glossy lips.
This trend also sparked videos about James' workout routine. Some people claimed that the actress completed 600 crunches a day to achieve her physique for the role.
Intrigued by these videos and in disbelief of the routine's simplicity, I read several articles about James discussing her preparation for the role.
Unsurprisingly, to Cosmopolitan UK, James revealed that she “trained five times a week: running, circuits, weights, working out in the gym and on the track.”
Further down in the article, it becomes clear where the TikTok creators found their source of information.
“We had to do like 600 different types of sit-ups a day so my stomach changed the most, you just end up looking healthier and stronger,” James said in the article.
Within context, it’s easier to understand that this number of sit-ups might have been an exaggeration, and the rest of her workout and diet regimen greatly contributed as well.
Regardless, I decided to join the many other TikTokers who took on the challenge of trying 600 crunches in a day for a week. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do 600 crunches in one try and that I would have to split it up throughout the day.
On the first day, for my first attempt, I tried to do as many as I could at once to see how I should split it up during the day. I was able to push myself to do 200, and I decided that I would do three sets of 200 crunches throughout the day.
Still, on the first day, I was confident in my abilities that I would be able to pull this off. However, I was very humbled the next day with the extreme soreness of my abs.
It hurt to do just about anything, especially laugh, but I still did all of my crunches for the day. I found it much harder on the second day than the first when I was free of soreness.
The soreness remained this way for most of the week, but I got used to it. The feeling didn’t leave until a couple of days after the week was over. I have never trained my abs with as much intensity as I did that week.
As per my story about the 12-3-30 workout, I didn’t expect to see results after just a week. However, it did make me think about consistently adding more abdominal exercises into my workout routine.
The “600 crunches in a day” workout should remind everyone that you shouldn't believe everything you see on TikTok right away. Also, just because a certain workout routine works for one celebrity does not mean it will work for everyone. Do what works best for you and have fun with it!
