abdominal crunch

I’ve always been self-conscious about my arms. I have broad shoulders and build muscle quickly, so I generally shied away from lifting weights in the past. An outdated refrain echoes in my head: You don’t want to get *too* big and muscly. It didn’t help that I was once told during a high school swim practice that I had “man shoulders”—whatever that means.

Still, when WH fitness editor Jennifer Nied asked if anyone wanted to try out Natalie Portman’s arm workout from her movie Thor: Love and Thunder, in theaters July 8, I quickly volunteered. I surprised myself by how fast I said yes, as I had very limited knowledge of the movie, or Natalie’s starring role as Thor. But in that moment, I wanted to try something different and revisit my relationship with training my upper body.

This was totally out of my wheelhouse. Running is my go-to