Though he’s not often associated with Hollywood’s more muscular leading men, Tom Holland has put in some serious time and effort to build his physique. His appearance as Telemachus in The Odyssey shows off his broader frame, while the shape he built for the Spider-Man films highlighted his dedication to training.
And for the third Spider-Man film, Holland worked with trainer Duffy Gaver, who devised a bodyweight workout so brutal that Men’s Health just had to try it.
‘Start with 1 pull-up, 2 dips, 3 press-ups, 4 sit-ups, 5 squats – that’s round one, and you basically go all the way up to 10, so the last round is 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 [of each movement],’ Holland explains to MH. ‘And then you’ll go all the way back down to 1. That is a monster workout.’
We can’t promise you’ll develop Spider-Man’s superhuman strength by doing this workout, but you will build an impressive mastery of your own bodyweight. Just be prepared for a gruelling time getting there.
The WorkoutA. Pull-Up x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1B. Dip x 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2C. Push-Up x 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3D. Sit-Up x 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 36, 32, 28, 24, 20, 16, 12, 8, 4E. Air Squat x 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5Is it Worth Trying?
Holland really isn’t wrong when he calls this a ‘monster’ workout.
Clearly designed for more advanced gym-goers, the workout starts off fairly easy – just 1 pull-up, 2 dips and so on are manageable rep ranges for those movements. But they’re simply warming you up for the real meat of the session, where it starts to hurt and you’re fighting through gritted teeth just to keep going.
It wasn’t until around the eighth set that things started to become particularly difficult. Fatigue had set in and lactic acid had built up in my muscles, with the dips and push-ups back-to-back proving especially challenging. My chest was pumped to the max, and I hadn’t even reached halfway yet. Dips also aren’t one of my strong points, so working up to 20 reps made things even tougher. Longer rest breaks as I approached the peak of the ladder became a necessity, not just a choice.
Don’t be fooled by the bodyweight squats either – they start off easy, but it’s your muscular endurance, rather than strength, that really gets tested. If you’re able to go unbroken for 50 reps after all of the work that’s come before, then I commend you. My quads? On fire and screaming for as many breaks as possible. Not even the other four exercises provided much relief.
And while challenging yourself in the gym is an important part of getting fitter and stronger, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain good technique while descending the ladder. Fatigue had gripped all of my working muscles, and I was compensating with poor movement patterns that created other problems. My pull-ups became sloppy, the dips-and-push-ups combination placed more strain on my shoulders, and I struggled to keep an even push through both legs during the squat.
If you want to ease yourself in rather than heading straight for the beast, I’d recommend halving the workout by skipping every other set. For example, this would mean doing 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 and 20 reps of dips. That should help keep the session more manageable while allowing you to maintain better form throughout.
Having plenty of time, a powerful engine and a lot of willpower is essential if you’re attempting to complete this session – and I personally think there are more effective ways to spend an hour in the gym.
With that said, it’s still a stellar option if you’ve got limited equipment available but want to hit all the major muscles in your body using nothing but your bodyweight. Just don’t expect Spider-Man to be there to save you if things go wrong.
How to Do the MovementsPull-Up
Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly over shoulder-width apart.Lift your feet from the ground and hang freely. Pull yourself up by flexing your elbows and pulling your shoulder blades down and back. Think of bringing driving your elbows down into your pockets. When your chin passes the bar, pause before lowering slowly to the starting position. Try to avoid excessive swinging.Dip
Jump up onto parallel bars your palms facing inward and your arms locked out straight. Lean forward and bend at the elbows, slowly lowering your body until you feel a deep stretch in your chest. Pause here before driving yourself back up to the top explosively.Push-Up
Assume a strong plank position, hands stacked beneath elbows and shoulders, bend your elbows to slowly lower your chest to the floor. Keep your upper arms from flaring as you push back up explosively to a straight arm position. Repeat.Sit-Up
Lie flat on your back with your legs bent, the soles of your feet together and your hands behind your head. Tense your abs as you sit up and forward, touching your hands to your feet. Reverse the move, touching the floor behind your head on each rep.Air Squat 
Standing tall with your chest up, sink your hips back, squatting down until the crease of your hips drops below your knees. Drive back up explosively and repeat. Keep a controlled tempo and tight form, but move at a heart rate-spiking clip – you’ve got a ladder to climb.
If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_