(dramatic trap music)
(Dramatic trap music)
- Hey, what's going on everybody
this is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
and we're hanging out in
New York at the Dogpound gym
which I like to call my home.
It's the place where I
come to get in shape.
Many of my roles; I have to get in shape
they require a lot of different movements.
Even from the beginning
with some like The Get Down
playing a character like
Cadillac the Disco King,
that required hours and
hours of moving and dancing
in order to get in shape
and to get into the dancer's
type of body type.
If you move forward to
something like Aquaman
where I'm playing Black Manta
my goal was to put on a lot of
weight, a lot of muscle mass.
I put on about 20 pounds
for that, so that required
a different type of body
where I could be heavy
but also move and be functional
for the big fight scenes.
(dramatic trap music)
For something like The Matrix
which I'm also preparing for,
I wanna be able to look
good and be cut and lean
but also move and to be quick.
That requires its own
different type of workout.
Moving forward to something like Watchmen
Where I played Doctor Manhattan
That's really just a
different level of fitness.
I mean the guy's a god
so we wanna make sure
that we can carve a really
chiseled, a strong body
that's damn near perfect
and that really takes a different level
of skill and fitness and
concentration in the gym.
So, what Ima do today is
Ima take you through a
lot of dynamic movements
and show you a lot of what it
took for those various roles
but especially Watchmen
and that's enough talking,
lets get into it.
(energetic music)
So first we're gonna start
with the clean and press
which is a full body
movement that incorporates
upper body and lower body strength.
When I'm doing dynamic exercises
I like to make sure that
I'm safe so I have my
trainers here with me.
My guy Matt and Rhys.
Rhys is gonna tell you a little bit more
about the benefits of this exercise
- Like Yahya I said,
it's a full body movement
so we're gonna start in
that deadlift position,
making sure that weight is in your heels,
instead of coming forward.
From there you're gonna
keep that spine neutral.
That lower back is gonna stay straight
you're gonna pop up into that clean motion
and then from there use that
weight that's locked down
pressing up, okay?
The key here also is to
not use crazy heavy weight;
we're just getting started.
So you're just gonna
keep it nice and light,
pop up, keeping a focus on
that power and explosiveness.
And the main key with our workout is
we wanna work smarter, not harder.
We can easily just,
rack on a ton of weight
but you can also get hurt that way
but working smarter here we're gonna
up the amount of reps as
we progress the workout
making it a lot more challenging
- [Yahya] So for something like this,
I do 4 sets, 8 reps, hit
it, move on to the next one.
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All right, so up next
we have the combination
of your standard cable
fly and an incline fly.
This is a good exercise
to work on the aesthetics
but also the functionality of the chest.
All right, lets get started.
- So a good way to remember this exercise
Is to start right in the middle, okay,
Then you go out, in, down,
then bring it out, in and up.
That's a good way to remember it.
I don't want you to swing it.
I want you to keep it
at a nice steady tempo
and let it flow.
For these I usually
like to knock out 4 sets
of 10 reps and I use it in a
super-set or tri-set with Yayha
either with a variation
of a press or a pushup
or some other exercise.
(energetic music)
- All right so up next
we're gonna target the abs.
Our core is so important
for the functionality
of our entire body,
but also aesthetically.
Playing a character like Doctor Manhattan
who's walking around in
the nude all the time
you wanna definitely make
sure that you're covered
from head to toe, including that 6-pack
or 8-pack, or 10-pack,
if you can get that.
- All right, so we got a hanging leg raise
with the weighted static hold
He's gonna have this ball,
he's gonna hold it up
on his legs; 30 seconds.
He'll take that ball
off and he's gonna hold
he's gonna drive those
knees up another 30 seconds
20 reps total. Course he flexs those toes
He's squeezing, he's
holding for 30 seconds here.
Really holding that hold.
weight pulling him down
squeezing, his abs.
He's got 10 more seconds.
Good, perfect. There you go.
And 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,
we're gonna take that weight off,
he's gonna drive those
knees up hitting my hand
every single rep, 2, 3, 4,
good 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, good, 11,
12, 13, 14
good, 15, 16, 17, 18, last 2,
19, and 20 perfect.
8 pack baby
- Yeah.
(energetic music)
- All right, so, up next we're gonna start
with the exercise that's
gonna target the arms.
We don't even have to
say how important that is
when doing something where
you have your shirt off
when you wanna look good
with your shirt's on or off.
Arms are always gonna be important.
So for this exercise we
have something called
the bicep curl 21 method with
a little bit of resistance
or depending on where
you are in your workout,
with a lot of resistance towards the end.
So I'm gonna get started
and Rhys will take us
through the exercise.
- So the first thing that
you're gonna focus on
is your positioning, okay.
So I had him put his
feet a little further out
so he can push his weight into the wall
making sure that his back stays straight.
It's not just about keeping
that upper back straight
it's keeping that lower
back tight against the wall.
Next thing is he's gonna go 7 till halfway
6, 5, 4, 3,
2, 1, now you go top half,
7, 6, 5, 4,
3, 2, 1
now full, lets get it
7, 6, 5, 4,
3 keeping that breath
going, core tight, and 1.
Here's where it gets hard now, all right?
So, right back at the
bottom, 3 resistance curls.
Lets go, up, push push push
push, sit 3. Bring it down
up, nice.
2, last one and up
1, nice. Hardest part,
isometric half way, hold it out
Don't let me push it
down, 10, 9, 8 push up, 7
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
give it to me, and let the blood flow.
nice
(both laughing)
(strong bass music)
- All right, so our next
exercise are the battle ropes
and power slams.
This is an excellent
exercise for cardiovascular
and muscular endurance.
Remember when you're working out
It's important to look the part,
but sometimes you gotta
be the part also, right.
So health is important
from the inside out.
- All right so here he's
gonna in a half squat
His chest is gonna be up,
shoulders gonna be back
He's gonna move his arms as
fast as he can for 30 seconds
15 seconds will be fast arms,
15 seconds will be power slams
So what I like to do is,
3 sets and a super-set
He wants his chest to be
up, shoulders to be back.
Trying to get into that
good athletic position
and wants to move his
arms as fast as he can.
(energetic music)
- All right, to finish up this workout
we're gonna hit the indoor Ski machine.
It's an excellent exercise
if you wanna just get warmed up.
Here in the Dogpound, we
like to use it to really
push the cardio to really
get the heart rate up.
And to get a burnout at
the end of the workout,
and sometimes you just need the motivation
All right fellas
- So, basic form before we get
into it, all right you notice
he's in that standing position
as tall as he can be, right.
Now he's gonna pull down
into his squat, okay.
His arms coming out by his side
and then he comes right back up.
Another variation that you
can do for this exercise
Is when you come back down, you come out
you butterfly out and then
you bring it right it right down, okay.
Consistent perpetual motion here
for as long as the drill is.
So what we're gonna do for
him, is a 10 calorie sprint.
So this exercise last
as long as he makes it.
- [Yahya] Another dope
thing about this exercise
is that if you track everything
that we've done thus far,
it sort of mimics a lot those movements
from the very beginning
with the clean and press
to the battle ropes
and finishing it on the Ski machine.
It keeps the exercise dynamic,
keeps the heart rate up.
And it keeps you sweating.
All right guys, so that's a
day in the gym with me man.
We slammed it, we worked hard
but that's what you do
when you come to the gym
You come in, put an hour or so of work
and then you go out and
celebrate the results
So that's with it looks like
and hopefully I've shown
you that you can use
on your own time.
All right, take care
(upbeat music)
