Upper Body by Matthew McConaughey

I’m back! It has been almost a month since my last post about fitness, which funny enough, was about motivation. For me, the summer is my season to relax and enjoy the weather (especially being in NYC) and thus, I don’t make it to the gym more than 2-3 times per week. I do ride my bike, run along the Hudson, and walk a lot from place to place, but I don’t do a lot of weight training and heavy workouts until the fall rolls around. Except for the most obvious reason of wanting to be outside, I haven’t put my finger on really why the summer isn’t my prime time, but c'est la vie. Realizing my slacker tendencies with the warm weather, I have kicked myself in the ass and out of my rut. Yay! I recently went to the gym with a guy friend of mine who wanted to do an arm workout. I quickly said, okay, but really, I don’t know a good arm workout for men?! I got on the computer to do some research on men’s fitness and came upon workouts by Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon and Jason Statham. I went with Matthew McConaughey for now, but I will try the other two one of these days. Apparently it was a good arm workout...my friend was sufficiently sore. Try it for yourself!

Complete each exercise below with 3 sets of 12-15 reps. The weight you choose should be difficult to lift toward your last rep.

Lat Pulldowns For: Back & biceps Tip: Make sure legs are secure under the padded bar

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Bench press Works: Triceps, deltoids & pectorals Tip: Always use a spotter for traditional bench press

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Biceps Curl Works: Biceps, elbow flexors Tip: Keep your elbows against your body in lift in a controlled motion with palms facing up

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Incline Dumbbell Press Works: Pectoralis major & clavicular Tip: Press dumbbells up with elbows until arms are extended – you want to feel a slight stretch

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Triceps Rope Pushdown Works: Triceps Tip: Keep arms bent 90 degrees at both start and finish of each rep

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Dumbbell press Works: Pectorals, deltoids, triceps and biceps Tip: Keep palms facing your feet, don’t click the dumbbells and finish the exercise with dumbbells directly over your shoulders.

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After you try this workout, let me know the results or one of your favorite workouts! Matthew has a few more workouts that I have to try, so stay tuned for more!