The Best Training Montages in Movies

The Best
Training Montages
in Movies

Find out more

Fiction from Facts: The training scenes which transcend movie magic and would triumph in the real world

The training montage is an iconic moment in any sports action movie and has captivated audiences for years. Immortalized by classic films, like Rocky, they follow the character's unwavering resilience, dedication, and profound personal growth on their journey towards achieving their goal. However, while Sylvester Stallone may have built a career around them, the question arises: are the training montages portrayed in movies truly effective in real-world training?

In a quest to reveal the effectiveness of the most loved training scenes in cinematic history, WSN has explored what contributes towards a successful training montage from the perspective of a personal trainer and the public. These movies were ranked having analyzed the character's success, coaching methods, non-physical training, the likelihood of injury, and impact of the music, as well as which are the most watched and loved by audiences. This revealed which scenes aligned more closely with reality and which were prone to exploring their dramatic license on screen.

See how they're rated

Click on the images below to discover what the public and the professional trainer think about each training montage.

Rank By
1
Southpaw

Southpaw

Professional84%
Public67%
2
Rocky III

Rocky III

Professional76%
Public74%
3
Creed 2

Creed 2

Professional76%
Public88%
4
Miracle

Miracle

Professional74%
Public36%
5
The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge

Professional62%
Public40%
6
Cool Runnings

Cool Runnings

Professional62%
Public41%
7
The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid

Professional60%
Public53%
8
Never Back Down

Never Back Down

Professional60%
Public67%
9
She's The Man

She's The Man

Professional58%
Public43%
10
Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby

Professional56%
Public48%
11
Rocky

Rocky

Professional56%
Public84%
12
Creed

Creed

Professional54%
Public80%
13
Rocky IV

Rocky IV

Professional52%
Public92%
14
The Incredibles

The Incredibles

Professional52%
Public56%
15
The Fighter

The Fighter

Professional46%
Public38%
16
Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger

Professional44%
Public73%
17
Rocky II

Rocky II

Professional42%
Public61%
18
Bloodsport

Bloodsport

Professional42%
Public59%
19
Bring It On

Bring It On

Professional42%
Public44%
20
Batman Begins

Batman Begins

Professional32%
Public66%
21
Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Professional18%
Public45%
22
Mulan

Mulan

Professional10%
Public56%
1
Rocky IV

Rocky IV

Professional52%
Public92%
2
Creed 2

Creed 2

Professional76%
Public88%
3
Rocky

Rocky

Professional56%
Public84%
4
Creed

Creed

Professional54%
Public80%
5
Rocky III

Rocky III

Professional76%
Public74%
6
Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger

Professional44%
Public73%
7
Southpaw

Southpaw

Professional84%
Public67%
8
Never Back Down

Never Back Down

Professional60%
Public67%
9
Batman Begins

Batman Begins

Professional32%
Public66%
10
Rocky II

Rocky II

Professional42%
Public61%
11
Bloodsport

Bloodsport

Professional42%
Public59%
12
The Incredibles

The Incredibles

Professional52%
Public56%
13
Mulan

Mulan

Professional10%
Public56%
14
The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid

Professional60%
Public53%
15
Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby

Professional56%
Public48%
16
Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Professional18%
Public45%
17
Bring It On

Bring It On

Professional42%
Public44%
18
She's The Man

She's The Man

Professional58%
Public43%
19
Cool Runnings

Cool Runnings

Professional62%
Public41%
20
The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge

Professional62%
Public40%
21
The Fighter

The Fighter

Professional46%
Public38%
22
Miracle

Miracle

Professional74%
Public36%

Methodology

We studied 22 of the most popular training montages to find out which is officially the best. We asked a Personal Trainer multiple questions on each montage including whether this training type would actually help towards the goal of the person. For the public opinion we ranked YouTube search volumes, number of fitness playlists including the theme tune, YouTube video views and YouTube likes. We then turned both of these into a percentage to compare between personal trainer and the public.