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Fourteen years ago, he helped transform Robert Downey, Jr. into the iconic Iron Man. Now, trainer Ted Ryce is helping anyone looking for a superhero makeover.
Ryce, who also trains celebrities like Ricky Martin and high-powered executives like Richard Branson, detailed seven chest exercises he uses with his male clients to replicate the sculpted physique Downey, now 59, showed off in his hit movie.
His workouts, aimed at men in their forties and fifties, as Downey did when he trained, focus on the pectoralis major muscle, the fan-shaped muscle that lies beneath the chest tissue.
Composed of three sections (upper, middle, and lower chest), the upper chest is the most neglected, Mr. Ryce. saying.
And while he said the chest muscles are one of the most frequently trained, he added that most people don’t know the correct movements to do to target each section.
Ryce’s upper body exercises, aimed at strengthening the muscular arms of Hollywood’s sexiest men, are designed to relieve tension and stress in the shoulder muscles, making them especially suitable for older adults. who may have injuries or physical limitations but still want to gain volume.
Below, DailyMail.com breaks down the seven exercises that Ryce says are backed by science to achieve a superhero body.
Ted Ryce helped Robert Downey Jr. transform into Tony Stark (pictured) for Marvel’s first installment of the hit Iron Man franchise.
Incline bench press
The secret to this upper chest and shoulder exercise is in the name. Raise the weight bench at a 30- to 45-degree incline, allowing the bar to be aligned just above your eyes, which mitigates the risk of dropping the bar or losing the hook for replacement.
He also recommends squeezing your shoulder blades on the bench to stabilize them as you lower the bar to your chest to reduce stress on your shoulders.
Your feet should be pressed into the ground in front of you, pushing down constantly, which engages your leg muscles even when they are not the muscle groups you are targeting.
He said: “Strength coach Charles Poliquin said, ‘You can’t fire a cannon out of a canoe.’
‘And what that means to me is that you have to have a nice, stable position to explode from. That’s what makes all of this: very important.’
Ryce runs a training program called Unstoppable After 40, which focuses on helping older adults train safely using exercises that work for them.
The incline dumbbell press strengthens your upper chest and shoulders.
Incline Dumbbell Press
Like the previous exercise, the incline dumbbell press exercises the upper chest and shoulders. Raising the bench at a 30 to 45 degree incline improves chest training while protecting your shoulders.
He said, “This is not just a chest exercise, it’s a full body exercise.”
Keeping your body tense at all times will help you avoid moving back and forth on the bench under the weight as you bring your arms from above your head to chest level.
While dumbbells provide a greater range of motion, keeping your body firmly in place is key to preventing you from dropping the weights or risking injury.
Meanwhile, instead of allowing your elbows to flare out to the sides, Ryce recommends keeping them bent at a smaller angle, around 45 degrees.
bench press bar
Considered the best overall chest exercise, the barbell bench press targets the mid-chest muscles using a full range of motion.
It is almost identical to the incline beach press, but in this movement you are completely reclined.
Lying on the weight bench, Ryce recommends pressing your shoulder blades together while pressing your feet firmly into the floor.
To minimize any wrist pain, keep your wrists straight in line with your forearms, not bent back, when you wrap your hands around the bar.
Then, slowly move the bar toward your chest and raise it back up until your arm is straight over it.
Dumbbell bench press
Like the barbell bench press, the dumbbell bench press allows for a wider range of motion. That also means that stability is key, and engaging all muscle groups while lying down and keeping your feet firmly planted is paramount for safety.
Mr. Ryce begins to sit upright on the bench and holds the dumbbells resting on his quads. As he lies back, he raises the dumbbells in what becomes the first rep.
“What you want is to keep your elbows at a 30- to 45-degree angle,” he said.
‘I see a lot of people (whose elbows) are too close or too open. “You want to be in that sweet spot.”
Then you bring the dumbbells from above your head to your sides at chest level.
Ted Ryce has said that Robert Downey Jr was slim and thin when they met before the filming of Iron Man (2008). Ryce guided the movie star through chest exercises, as well as elevated feet push-ups and split squats.
Robert Downey Jr is not Ted Ryce’s only high-profile client. The Miami coach has also worked with singer Ricky Martin
Ryce keeps his feet parallel to each other, while traditional weightlifters may prefer a staggered stance.
Wired Chest Fly
The chest cable involves the entire pectoral muscle. It is a standard bodybuilding move and people generally maintain a staggered stance so that one leg is slightly in front of the other.
Ryce, however, prefers to keep his legs parallel, firmly planted and engaged.
He said: ‘The most important part is what happens in the upper body. You want to grab the handles and make sure you start in a position of strength.’
When your arms are pulled back, it is important to maintain a relatively straight line from one elbow across the top of your shoulders to the other elbow so as not to extend your arms too far behind you.
Then, while leaning forward slightly at the waist, he places his arms in front of him until they meet just below chest level.
Chest Dips
This bodyweight dip strengthens the lower chest. The exercise requires two parallel bars, pressing your palms down firmly and standing up so that your arms are straight and your feet are off the ground. Then, slowly bend your elbows so that they open slightly to the sides.
While doing the exercise, Mr. Ryce leans forward slightly.
He said: ‘Relieves tension from the shoulder joint. By getting deep into that shoulder extension position, most people do not have enough shoulder extension movement capacity to do this exercise in a way that does not elevate the shoulder joint.
‘I stopped doing dips for about 10 years until I started doing them this way… Try this technique the way I showed you, where you lean forward, let your shoulder blades come together, and push up hard on the bottom. up, keeping your abs contracted and your feet together.
Band Resisted Pushups
These resistance band push-ups are best for the end of the workout, Ryce says.
It uses a resistance band that adapts to your height and arm length.
A properly sized resistance band stays tight during the push-up, while a band that is too long will loosen as the chest nears the floor.
The trainer said: ‘You should start with the lightest resistance and then work your way up because what will happen is eventually the bands will become too difficult to use, they will be too difficult.
“They will feel easy at first and incredibly difficult at the end, depending on the level of resistance you use.”
The band should go behind the body, with each end hooked around each thumb. Once in position, Mr. Ryce lowers and rises as in a normal push-up.
This move has similar benefits to the bench press, but can be performed anywhere from the gym to a hotel room to a movie set.