New behind-the-scenes photos of Halle Bailey's intense workout regime for her role in The Little Mermaid have surfaced online.
The 23-year-old singer and actress dominated headlines ever since it was first announced in 2019 that she would take on the iconic role of Ariel in Disney's live-action remake.
At the time, the announcement was met with immense praise but was drowned out by backlash for people who were against the fact that the fictional mermaid would be played by a Black actress, which led to the viral hashtag #NotMyAriel.
Nevertheless, the movie was released in theaters late last month and proved to be a success as it took the number one spot at the box office with a stunning $118 million debut.
The live-action adaptation of the original 80s Disney flick - which also starred Melissa McCarthy, Simone Ashley, Javier Bardem, and Awkwafina - was filmed mostly in front of a green screen.
Bailey spent hours being attached to a rig that suspended her in the air from her waist so that it could give off the impression that she was the iconic redhead gliding through the sea in the movie.
Sana Shirvani, her London-based strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer, spoke with Insider about the extreme training the Grammy-nominated star endured for the movie.
Check out the trailer for The Little Mermaid:The trainer revealed that core exercises were extremely vital for the Grown-ish actress and the rest of the mermaids, and they also worked on carving defined shoulders.
"Aesthetically what the producers wanted was of course a nice looking core, but also shoulders and arms were quite important, so just having a little bit of definition through the shoulders and rear delts was also quite important," she said.
The 'Do It' singer's workouts were full-body so this included deadlifts and hip thrusts. These staple exercises slowly increased the weights or reps in all exercises.
In addition to this, Shirvani helped the mermaids build their deep abdominal core muscles by employing basic bodyweight exercises like dead bugs, planks, side planks, and other isometric holds. She then helped them use a GHD (Glute Ham Developer) machine to train the core.
"It was more about getting them to understand the mind and muscle connection with their deep abdominal muscles rather than thinking that their strength comes from having a visible set of abs," Shirvani said. "The GHD was a lifesaver for me because that pretty much mimicked the harness that they were on."
For Bailey and her fellow mermaids, it was critical that they strengthened their neck muscles. The trainer said: "Being on the rigs and being horizontal, they've got to be able to swim like a mermaid, move like a mermaid, and also be able to sing, act, and dance pretty much with a straight face without being in pain."
The 'Cool People' singer opened up about the months she spent training for the role as the protagonist in an interview with The Wrap and shared that alongside Shirvani, she worked with synchronized swimmers.
"I actually had this beautiful training session with these amazing synchronized swimmers that would come to my house every Sunday," she said. "They are these great coaches and powerful women. And they would just, you know, take me to the beginning stages of how to look like a mermaid in water and the gracefulness that comes with it."
You can watch Bailey's stunning take as the velvet-voiced sea creature in The Little Mermaid - which is available to watch in theaters now.