How to defeat Jason Momoa in Aquaman 2: this is Black Manta’s training

After a decade of career, from Watchmen to Matrix, Yahya Abdul Mateen II has proven to be pure physical. Last year he starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Ambulance, Michael Bay’s crime thriller. After, he returned to the DC universe in Aquaman 2, where he plays Black Manta, the film’s villain.

Fancy taking on Jason Momoa’s muscles? No, neither do we. Luckily, Yahya has a secret weapon at his side, celebrity trainer Brad Kolowich Jr.

The son of a personal trainer and an aerobics instructor, Kolowich was inspired by his parents and started lifting a barbell (or, in this case, a broomstick) at a young age. In 2008 he launched his own personal training business and a few years later he already had famous clients like Alicia Silverstone, Tyler Perry and Rose Byrne. The hook up with the actor came when Yahya walked into the Kolowich gym in Atlanta one day in 2018 and asked to be trained. “He’s 6’2″, quite stocky…he was already in top shape,” recalls Kolowich. “He was kind of severe, he didn’t have a smile on his face.”

Yahya introduced himself and explained that he was working on Watchmen and that he wanted to gain between 4 and 5 kilos of muscle and stay lean for a role in which he was almost naked. Kolowich agreed, they started training the next day and worked together four days a week to get the look they wanted. “I designed a specific program to maximize muscle growth, using advanced techniques like supersets, rest breaks, and drop sets,” explains Kolowich. “It was a combination of focusing on muscle growth and fat loss.”

Of course, bodies are built in the kitchen, and Kolowich had this covered as well. “I have a great dietitian on my team, who worked with me and Yahya to dial in his macronutrients. so I knew exactly what I needed to eat each day.” When Watchmen aired in 2019, it was obvious his work had been an overwhelming success. Chiseled but stacked, Yahya had nailed the aesthetic of his Dr. Manhattan character, going on to earn a Emmy for her role.

With a transformation under their belts, the duo teamed up again for the actor’s biggest challenge to date.

Kolowich stuck to his tried-and-true approach, focusing on supersets, repeating the same workout but modifying the repetition intervals throughout a week before mixing the exercises the following week. “A good approach is two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off,” Kolowich advises.

Yahya accepted the program without question. “He’s a very nice guy, very disciplined,” says Kolowich. “He walks in and all of a sudden he takes off his shirt and throws it to the side. It might be a busy studio, but he doesn’t care, sand dedicated to doing repetitions. People look at him and laugh and love it, and he doesn’t even flinch.”

The benefits weren’t just physical. “I also saw how his mind was transformed”Kolowich says. “He became sharper, happier and more focused by supplementing his training with sleep and mindfulness. When the mind is awake, everything else works.”

The training to defeat Momoa in Aquaman

To help you get in shape, we’ve adapted a day from the Kolowich plan, scaling it back slightly to create a full-body workout without (too) burning.

The exercises are set up in a “compound set” format, which means we’re layering two exercises from the same muscle group. on each training day,” explains Kolowich. “In many cases, the first compound set exercise for each muscle group is a multi-joint exercise, followed by the second compound set exercise for each muscle group which is a single-joint movement.” .

Warm up for five to 10 minutes of light cardio and stretching before you begin, performing each exercise for two to three rounds, aiming for muscle failure within each target rep range.

Close grip pull-ups

Start by gripping a bar overhead, palms facing out and slightly more than shoulder width apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you bring your chin up over the bar. Hold, slowly lower yourself until your arms are fully extended, and repeat. Do as many repetitions as you can before continuing.

Next, get into a cable machine and grab a straight bar (or something similar) just above head height. Keeping your arms straight, head high, and knees slightly bent, lower the bar toward your knees and slowly reverse to bring it back up.

Dumbbell Squat and Leg Extension

Grab a dumbbell in each hand. Don’t go overboard with the weight, as the goal is to perform as many squats as you can, not max out right away. Hold the dumbbells. Sit back on your heels, keeping your head high and your spine straight. Lower yourself as far as you can and, maintaining your position, push yourself up forcefully on your heels to return to your feet.

The leg extension can be done on a machine or, since you have dumbbells handy, you can sit on the end of a bench and hold one of the dumbbells between your toes. Sit with your hands under your buttocks and lean back slightly as you straighten your legs, lifting the weight to bench height for one rep.

Dumbbell Bicep Curl and Hammer Curl

Grab a dumbbell in each hand and, keeping your back straight and the weights horizontal to your arms, squeeze your biceps to bring the weights up toward your upper chest. She slowly reversed the movement, feeling the pump in her arms. Don’t let your back do the work.

Now, head over to the multi-purpose weight station, lower the weight stack to the lowest position, and attach the rope extension. Grab the rope with both hands, slightly bending your knees. Bring your fists in toward your chest (thumbs up), making a slight “Y” shape on the rope, then lower the rope back to start.

calf raise

Grab more dumbbells, one per hand. Stand with them at your sides and slowly rise to the balls of your feet, feeling the stretch in your calf. When you’re tired, sit with a dumbbell on top of your thighs, feet on the floor. Repeat the moment, extending the calves to raise the thighs and the dumbbell.