How Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Built a Body to Rival Aquaman
Just a decade into his career, from Watchmen to The Matrix Resurrections, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is letting his physicality do the talking.
Last year he stared alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Michael Bay’s smash-em-up, crime caper Ambulance. Then, he returned to the DC universe staring opposite – and trading blows with – Jason Momoa in Aquaman 2 as the film’s villain Black Manta.
Fancy going head to head with Jason Momoa? No, us neither. Luckily, Yahya has a secret weapon in his corner, celebrity PT Brad Kolowich Jr.
The Meeting
The son of a personal trainer and an aerobics instructor, Kolowich became inspired by his parents and began lifting a barbell (or, in this case, a broomstick) at a young age. He started up his personal training business around 2008, and a few years later was attracting celebrity clients including Alicia Silverstone, Tyler Perry and Rose Byrne.
The hook-up with the Candyman actor came when Yahya walked in to Kolowich’s Atlanta gym one day in 2018 and asked to be trained. “He's 6’3”, pretty jacked – already in great shape,” recalls Kolowich. “He was kind of stern, he didn’t have a smile on his face.”
Yahya introduced himself, explaining that he was working on Watchmen and wanted to put on 10—15lbs of muscle while staying lean for a largely nude role. Kolowich agreed, they started training the next day and worked together four days a week to achieve the look.
“I designed a programme specific to maximising muscle growth, using advanced techniques such as super sets, rest-pauses, and drop sets,” says 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 too. “I have a great dietitian on my team, who worked with myself and Yahya to dial in his macronutrients so he knew exactly what he needed to be eating each day.”
When Watchmen aired in 2019, it was obvious their work had been an overwhelming success. Chiseled yet stacked, Yahya had nailed the aesthetic of his character Dr Manhattan, going on to win an Emmy for his role.
With one transformation under their belts, the duo re-teamed for the actor’s biggest challenge yet.
The Method
Kolowich stuck to his tried-and-tested approach, focusing on super sets, repeating the same workout but tweaking rep ranges over the course of one week before mixing up the exercises the next week. “A great approach is the two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off setup,” Kolowich advises.
Yahya took to the programme without complaint. “He’s such a nice guy, super-disciplined,” Kolowich says. “He’ll come in and all of a sudden yank his shirt off and throw it to the side. It might be a busy studio but he doesn’t care, he’s roaring through his reps. People are looking and laughing and loving it and he’s not even phased by it.”
The benefits weren’t just physical, either. “I saw his mind transform too,” Kolowich says. “He became sharper, happier and more focused through supplementing his workout with sleep and mindfulness too. When the mind’s sharp everything else falls in line.”
The Workout
To help you get in hero-stomping shape, we’ve adapted one day of Kolowich’s plan, editing it down slightly to create a workout that targets the whole body without burning you out (too much).
“Exercises are setup in a ‘compound set’ format, meaning we’re super setting two exercises of the same muscle group on each workout day,” explains Kolowich. “In many cases, the first exercise in the compound set of each muscle group is a multi-joint exercise, followed by the second exercise of each muscle group compound set being a single joint movement.”
Warm up with five to ten minutes of light cardio and stretching before diving in, performing each exercise for two to three rounds, aiming for muscle failure within each target rep range.
Wide grip pull-ups + cable pull down
Start out by gripping an overhead bar, palms facing outwards, slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades as you pull your chin up and over the bar. Hold, then slowly lower until your arms are fully extended, and repeat. Do as many reps as you can before moving on.
Next, relocate to a cable machine and grip a straight bar (or something similar) just above head height. Keeping your arms straight, head high, with a slight bend in your knees, bring the bar down towards your knees then slowly reverse the movement to return it to the top for one.
Dual dumbbell squats + leg extension
Take a dumbbell in each hand. Don’t go too heavy as the aim is to perform as many squats as you can, not max out straight away. Hold the dumbbells. Sit back onto your heels, keeping your head up and spine straight. Go as low as you can then, maintaining posture, power up through your heels back to standing.
The leg extension can be performed on a machine or, since you have some dumbbells to hand, why not perch on the end of a bench, gripping one of the weights between your toes. Sit with your hands under your bum and lean back slightly as you straighten your legs, lifting the weight up to bench height for one rep.
Dual dumbbell bicep curls + cable rope hammer curls
Take a dumbbell in each hand and, keeping the back straight and the weights horizontal to your arms, squeeze your biceps to draw the weights up towards your upper chest. Slowly reverse the movement, feeling the pump in your arms. Do not let your back do the work.
Now, go over to the multi-purpose weight station, lower the weight stack to the lowest position and attach the rope extension. Grip the rope with both hands, a slight bend in your knees. Bring your fists up to your chest (thumbs on top), holding a slight ‘Y’ shape in the rope, then lower the rope to return to the start.
Standing calf raise + seated calf raise
Grab some more dumbbells, one per hand. Stand with them by your side and slowly go up onto your tip toes, feeling the stretch through your calf. When you’ve had enough of that take a seat with a dumbbell across the top of your thighs, your feet on the ground. Repeat the moment, extend your calves to lift your thighs and the weight.
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