Revealed: The Ultimate Movie Training Montages

No sports movie is complete without a training montage, from Rocky and The Karate Kid to Cool Runnings and Kung Fu Panda. But which is the best of the best?

Myprotein teamed up with a group of personal trainers to find out - https://www.myprotein.com/thezone/motivation/the-ultimate-movie-training-montage/

The sports nutrition brand compared 35 of the most iconic movie training montages of all time, marking each against 10 different criteria, including everything from Rotten Tomatoes scores and box office gross, to the difficulty of the workout and the level of improvement shown. These were then combined to give each film a score out of 100.

Taking the top spot with an impressive score of 76.23 was Disney’s Mulan, beating out the likes of Rocky, The Karate Kid and Kickboxer! The Matrix came in second place with a score of 65.76, followed by Batman Begins with a score of 62.13.

Here’s the top 10 ultimate movie training montages:

1)          Mulan

2)          The Matrix

3)          Batman Begins

4)          The Incredibles

5)          Edge of Tomorrow

6)          Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

7)          Kung Fu Panda

8)          Dirty Dancing

9)          Power Rangers

10)      Creed

Andrew McDonald, one of the personal trainers involved in the research, had the following to say about Mulan’s training scene:

“As well as the physical, the mental side of this challenge must be applauded, with Mulan disguising herself as a man to train, risking further dishonour and potential death! Then the physical transformation – this is the definition of zero to hero. 

Having been kicked out halfway through, she takes it upon herself to prove everyone wrong, tackling the impossible climb and further highlighting her mental resolve. Plus the song choice can’t be overlooked! I’d imagine a fair few people will be adding this to their next gym playlist!”

can’t be overlooked! I’d imagine a fair few people will be adding this to their next gym playlist!”

The Ultimate Workout Soundtrack

The ranking also looked at the song featured in each clip, as no workout is complete without a catchy soundtrack. The top spot for the best montage song goes to Dirty Dancing, which features Eric Carmen’s “Hungry Eyes”, with over 236 plays on Spotify.

Here’s the top 10 most listened to movie montage songs:

1)                 Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen (Dirty Dancing)

2)                 HandClap – Fitz and The Tantrums (Power Rangers)

3)                 I’ll Make a Man Out of You – Donny Osmond (Mulan)

4)                 Let’s Hear It for the Boy – Deniece Williams (Footloose)

5)                 Phenomenal – Eminem (Southpaw)

6)                 Gonna Fly Now – Bill Conti (Rocky, Rocky III, Rocky Balboa)

7)                 False Pretense – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (Never Back Down)

8)                 Runnin – A$AP Rocky, A$AP Freg & Nicki Minaj (Creed II)

9)                 Hearts on Fire – John Cafferty (Rocky IV)

10)             Mama Told Me (Not to Come) – Three Dog Night (G.I. Jane)