The Odyssey has made history at the box office, taking £202 million in global ticket sales in its opening weekend. Yet as any man who has emerged from the cinema with an epic case of arm envy can attest, the other measure of its success is the global obsession with 55-year-old Matt Damon’s guns — which should surely be up for their own award for best biceps in a supporting role.
“Men still view a good set of arms as a trophy asset,” the leading trainer and Times fitness columnist Harry Jameson says. “They’re the part of your body that’s on show the most in everyday clothing. We’re not talking massive arms. The most desirable male aesthetic is not one of bulk, it’s one of definition.”
Which is perhaps why “Odysseus arms” — undeniably strong but not unachievably so — have struck a chord. As the strength coach Dr Gabe Stump, who whipped Damon into shape for this role, put it: “He’s got good definition everywhere but he’s not packed on.”
Crucially, strong arms are a marker of good health, far beyond aesthetics. One study of nearly 7,000 men aged 40 to 90 in the medical journal Plos One found those with the largest mid-arm muscle circumference in their upper arm had a 24 per cent lower chance of death, as all the muscles in the arm contribute to grip strength, another marker of longevity. A study in The Lancet found weaker grip strength linked to a higher risk of premature death.
As well as helping to prevent sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and improving bone density, which also declines with age, arm muscles are essential for ease of everyday movements as you get older, Jameson stresses. “The arms are the levers. I’m 44 but when I’m a 75-year-old man I still want to be carrying my own suitcase to the airport.”
Any mere mortal looking to get their guns in Greek god shape doesn’t need endless equipment or a fancy fitness studio. Stump trained Damon in what he describes as the A-lister’s “crappy” basement gym consisting of only dumbbells, a cable pull-down machine and barbell.
All the training in the world won’t lead to honed arms if you’re carrying too much fat on top. The lower your body fat, Jameson says, “the more defined your muscles look, because the closer to your skin the muscles are”. At 5ft 10in, Damon lost around 15 pounds to play Odysseus, dropping to roughly 11st 11lbs. He has credited cutting out gluten with his leaner physique, which he describes as “a bummer because I am a big fan of bread, beer, pasta and pizza”.
Jameson suggests a largely wholefood diet with limited refined carbohydrates and “a lot” of protein to provide muscles with the amino acids they need to repair and grow stronger after training. “If your goal is to pack on muscle you should be eating about 2g protein per kilogram bodyweight every day,” he says, pointing out that a 90kg (14st 2lb) man would need to eat 180g protein a day. Tuna, eggs, fish and chicken are all good sources, he says, and adding a protein shake is “a really easy way to get extra protein in”.
Stump and Damon focused on strength training in a traditional upper-lower split, he told Vogue, using Mondays and Thursdays for upper body, Tuesdays and Fridays for legs and Wednesdays for cardio and/or metabolic work such as incline walking in a weighted vest, all of which allowed them to work each muscle group twice a week while giving time for adequate recovery.
There’s no point focusing on arms alone, Jameson agrees, “you’ve got to make sure the rest of you is in proportion”. He recommends three full-body strength training sessions a week — only two of which need to isolate the arm muscles — adding two sessions of cardio (“one short, fast interval session and one longer, slower walk, run or jog”) for overall fitness.
Strong arms require targeting your shoulders, which comprise your front, medial and rear deltoids, biceps, triceps and forearms. Jameson has devised the exercises below to work them all. Damon had five gruelling months to build his Bodyssey before the shoot — this upper-body workout is not for the faint-hearted, but commit to it twice a week, coupled with the right nutrition and recovery protocols, and Jameson says you should start to see results within six weeks.
The provocatively named Man-maker “is the hardest exercise or movement matrix you can do”, he says. It combines push-ups, rows and squat thrusters in a single flowing compound exercise that focuses on the chest, back, shoulders and triceps.
Around the worlds, in which you lift and lower weights in a semicircle, target the medial deltoids in the middle of your shoulders, which help to give that dramatic “V” effect at the top of your arms.
Biceps curls are obviously essential but Jameson recommends adding an isometric hold, where the arm muscle is contracted without moving, an often-overlooked way of challenging the muscle to encourage growth and strength.
The Arnold press — named after bodybuilder-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose biceps measured 22in in circumference at his peak — is a variation that challenges the shoulders, triceps and upper chest differently from a traditional shoulder press, building mass and range of motion.
Jameson’s final exercise, a chest press to skull crusher, also targets the triceps, which are formed of three parts (long, lateral and medial) and account for two thirds of the upper-arm muscle, compared with the biceps at only a third. “The most important step in building big arms is to build good triceps,” he says. “Most people wrongly focus on biceps curls and don’t do enough on the triceps.”
For most exercises, Jameson suggests three to four sets of 8-12 repetitions (fewer for the chest press to skull crusher), with 60 seconds’ rest between each set. For the final three or four repetitions you should feel you’re pushing to a seven or eight out of ten on your RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion), with one being easy and ten being hard.
“What challenges a beginner is obviously lighter than what challenges a more advanced trainer but the principle remains the same,” Jameson says. “Every 10 to 14 days, trying to increase the weight by something like 10 per cent is a good target. If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”
The 30-minute Odysseus workout
By Harry Jameson
Move from one exercise to the next with a rest of up to 60 seconds between each set. Do between two and four rounds, building up to more as you get stronger.
Man-makers — for hard abs and buff pecs
Start in a standing position, then drop into a plank with each hand gripping a dumbbell. Engage your core and do a push-up. At the top of the push-up, row the right dumbbell up until your elbow is at a right angle then lower it back to the floor. Do another push-up and as you reach the top, repeat the rowing motion with the dumbbell in your left hand.
As soon as that weight is back on the floor, jump up in as fluid a motion as possible, planting your feet shoulder-width apart and lifting both dumbbells to shoulder height. Descend into a squat, maintaining the dumbbells at shoulder height, and as you return to standing, press them above your head until your arms are straight. Repeat ten times.
Around the world — for Greek-god shoulders
Hold the dumbbells with straight arms in front of your thighs, wrists facing away from your body. Keeping your arms straight, raise the dumbbells out to your sides and up over your head in a smooth, circular motion. Once the dumbbells meet above your head, reverse the circular motion to bring them down in front of you, until they meet at your middle. Repeat ten times, making sure you keep your core engaged and back straight throughout.
Biceps curl to isometric hold — for guns of steel
Hold the dumbbells at a 45-degree angle, wrists facing away from your body, and squeeze your biceps, hinging at the elbow to lift both dumbbells at the same time with control. Once you have reached the top of your range of motion, lower your arms back down with control to the starting position. After five reps, hold your forearms parallel to the ground for five seconds in an isometric hold, then complete four more reps.
Arnold press — for a hunky upper body
Start with the dumbbells at shoulder height, your arms curled upwards and forearms facing your chest — as if you’re at the end point of a biceps curl. Press the dumbbells upwards slowly and with control, twisting your arms until they are fully extended and your palms and forearms are facing away from you at the top of the press. Reverse the motion and twist your arms back down to the starting position, dumbbells at shoulder height again. Repeat ten times, keeping your core engaged and maintaining good posture.
Lying chest press to skull crusher — for tough triceps
Lie on your back, legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold the dumbbells just above your chest and press them up until your arms are straight. Repeat three times. At the top of the third press, hinge from the elbows and lower your hands backwards towards your head, until the dumbbells are either side of your ears. Repeat this motion for four reps. Drive your arms back up so they are perpendicular to your torso again, and then return to the starting position, dumbbells at chest height. Repeat the entire pattern five times.
Adapted: Antonia Hoyle and Harry Jameson Wednesday July 22 2026, 6.00pm BST, The Times