Brie Larson explains what being Captain Marvel taught her about her body and her mind

There are times when our minds literally stop us from accomplishing the possible because we frame it as impossible. This is what Marvel actor Brie Larson realized when she was in training to play the superhero, Captain Marvel. Speaking for the new Disney/Marvel series MPower that looks at the women in Marvel, the actress discussed how many of the limitations we place on ourselves just come from our own minds.

Larson really pushed her body to the extreme when she was preparing for the role of the MCU’s strongest character, Captain Marvel. The actress documented her progress and stunned everyone as she lifted extreme weights and even managed to push a jeep up an incline. It was this dedication to the role, and to her physicality that led her to discover that she could go beyond her own limitations set by her mind.

In episode two of MPower the actress discussed how, much like her character in the film, she broke through those barriers placed on her and discovered just how powerful she really was.

“What’s so interesting about physical transformation is it’s mental. I learned it so clearly with deadlifting. I couldn’t break 200 pounds. I just couldn’t. For months, I was just clicking along, clicking along, and every time I went to go lift 200, I just would freeze and I couldn’t do it. And then I finally broke it and got to, like, 215 because my trainer lied and said it was at 175. So I started realizing that the whole game was the mind.”

This isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, we have known for some time now that certain mental blocks have gotten in the way of us reaching our true potential. This was made evident when it came to Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile back in 1954, an event that showed how impossible boundaries can be overcome if we tell ourselves that they are not in fact impossible. Much like how Larson’s coach tricked her into accomplishing her 200-pound lift, Bannister was told repeatedly before the race that he could do it, that it was possible despite what others said, tricking his brain into believing it, a true form of manifestation.

Playing Carol Danvers unlocked something with Larson who said,

“I’ve learned a lot of things from Carol. I learned that I am a lot stronger than I realized. I am physically much stronger, mentally much stronger, that I am quite comfortable in my body. It’s why I love my job so much because it pushes me to the edge.”

It is a hugely beneficial thing to have more representation of strong women on our screens, sports that were once thought the purview of men are now gaining popularity amongst women with more taking up weightlifting like Larson. We are slowly pushing beyond the limitations that have been placed upon us and that we have placed on ourselves.

You can see more of Larson’s inspiring transformation as well as learn more about the fantastic women of Marvel and those involved in bringing them to life in MPower now streaming on Disney Plus.