With millions of “Matt Does Fitness” social media followers, and his profile as “Legend” on the English version of Gladiators, Matt Morsia is one of those influencers that us mere mortals often seek to imitate. Fortunately, a simple “10-minute body transformation” could make more of a difference that you would think, says the buff Brit.
Morsia, has more than 2.3 million YouTube followers, thanks to his dry humor and tips for making muscle gains, but when it comes to pretending to be perfect, this Gladiator keeps it real. In a recent clip shared with his 1.2 million Instagram followers, Morsia decided to take viewers through the quick process that he goes through in order to look like a Greek God. His purpose? To “demonstrate just how misleading social media can be,” he explained.
Matt Morsia’s 10-Minute Body Transformation
In his ‘before’ picture, Morsia explains that there is a medium level of light beaming down on him, and too much natural light flooding onto his front, “which is completely washing out my physique,” he demonstrates. “Plus, I’m not contracting my abs at all.” As he points out, this results in an unfocussed image that lacks sharpness and because he’s not flexing his muscles, Morsia is losing out on the potential to show some of his defined lines.
To rectify these schoolboy errors, the Legend closes the blinds to block out natural light. He turns up the spotlights to maximum and even increases the heating level inside his home studio, “to make the gym slightly warmer.” He then proceeds to crank out some reps. “Crucially, I’m going to get a pump,” he explains. “Now, this is going to come from press ups, arm curls, and dumbbell lateral raises. Only a couple of sets, very, very, light of each just to get some blood flow in the muscle(s).”
For good measure, Morsia adds some moisture to his muscles by spraying water on himself. “Pretty weird,” he jokes. He then reframes himself by moving the camera angle “every so lightly higher, to accentuate that wide shoulders, narrow waist ratio.” Finally, with his shorts hanging low around his waistline, Morsia contracts his abs as hard as he physically can. The whole transformation was probably more like seven minutes to complete, says the honest influencer. “So, before you judge or compare yourself to another person’s appearance you’ve seen on social media, just bear in mind that that is them in their best possible light. It’s not a reflection on how they look most of the time.”
With studies showing that fitness influencers may inflict self-esteem issues onto their fans, Morsia’s musings were met with praise on his IG account. “Actually, love this!” wrote one follower. “So nice to see someone in the fitness business talking so openly about how angles and lighting (and water spray!) can trick more susceptible people!”
The sentiment was echoed by many, including this fan who added, “This is a very healthy approach as young people can often be misled. Well done big man.”
Still for those that thought Legend was taking a day off from being one of the most conceited Gladiators of all time, Morsia added his advice only made sense, “Unless that person is me,” he quipped. “I look really good all the time.”
