Bar manager Matthew Heim completed 12 HOURS of bicep curls shares his gruelling workout routine

A 23-year-old bar manager who eats 5000 calories a day curled his biceps for 12 hours straight for a TikTok challenge.

Matthew Heim, from Auckland, set himself the difficult task to ‘stick it’ to those who doubted his fitness abilities and prove to others you can do anything you set your mind to. 

Matt told Daily Mail Australia halfway through the challenge his arms felt ‘completely numb’ and as if his fingers had ‘arthritis’.

‘The last four hours was absolute agony; I was numb, my joints were aching and it felt like bone was scratching on bone,’ he said.

Incredibly, he completed the task on his first attempt last year and on January 10, 2022, finished another challenge of six hours of bicep curls.

The former personal trainer turned bar manager doesn’t drink alcohol, works out six times a week and eats several pre-prepared meals. 

The 12-year-old bar manager recorded the whole thing to post online and said his arms felt ‘completely numb’ halfway through and as if his fingers had ‘arthritis’.

‘At first a lot of my friends said ‘I don’t think you can do the curls for that long’, so I wanted to try show that if you can push yourself passed a certain point, anyone can achieve anything,’ Matt said.

‘It was a challenge to prove to myself that I could do it as well as inspire others.’

Prior to attempting the fitness test, Matt and his best friend brainstormed different ‘ridiculous’ ideas that had a ‘wow factor’.

He decided to go ahead with the idea and curled 6.2kg weights in each hand, but some online said the dumbbells looked ‘fake’.

‘A lot of people said I used shells of dumbbells, but we weighed the dumbbells on a scale beforehand in a YouTube video to prove they’re real,’ Matt said.

‘6.2 kg per dumbbell isn’t a heavy weight, but it felt a lot heavier over a long period of time.’

Matt said it was a ‘coincidence’ his training style matched what was required to prepare for the challenge a few months prior.

Every day for six weeks he completed 300 to 400 straight repetitions of bicep curls and push-ups.

‘It helped prepare my joints, elbows, chest, shoulder and it basically helped me to adapt to ensure I didn’t tear or break anything during the challenge,’ he said.

‘It got to the point where I wanted to see how long I could go for without stopping.’

Thanks to the unintentional prep, Matt didn’t tear a muscle during the challenge and wasn’t injured afterwards.

Three months prior to the challenge, Matt said it was a ‘coincidence’ his training style matched what was required to prepare for the challenge. Every day for six weeks he completed 300 to 400 straight repetitions of bicep curls and push-ups

For this young gymgoer, his ‘day on a plate’ consists mostly of chicken, rice and vegetables as a source of protein, healthy carbohydrates and fats.

At the moment Matt is aiming to maintain his muscle mass and strength and eats six meals each day.

And his workout schedule is gruelling. 

While some opt to complete difficult exercises, such as deadlifts and bench press, one a week, Matt incorporates these movements into his workout routine nearly every day.

Four days a week he does deadlifts and bench press in a strength training style and increases the weight by a percentage of his personal best weight he can lift.

‘I genuinely love the exercises; I had a horrendous herniated disc two years ago that crippled me from squatting, deadlifting or from doing anything using my legs to workout,’ he said. 

‘I love it, I don’t care if I feel tired or sore, I’ll still train.’  

Every week for the rest of the year Matt will attempt a new ridiculous challenge to entertain others online and raise money for charities

Matt first started training when he was 16 and was also a professional swimming who swam for New Zealand until he was 18.

He had previously been powerlifting and Olympic lifting but now focusing on strength training and hypertrophy to grow muscle size – a similar style of training body builders do to ‘look strong’.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 prevented Matt’s PT clients from exercising at the gym, so he turned to working in hospitality and making YouTube videos.

For this young gymgoer, his ‘day on a plate’ consists mostly of chicken, rice and vegetables as a source of protein, healthy carbohydrates and fats

Later this year in August, Matt will be travelling to Dubai to meet Larry ‘Wheels’ Williams – an American powerlifter – for a training session.

Every week for the rest of the year Matt will attempt a new ridiculous challenge to entertain others online and raise money for charities. 

On social media Matt is known by the name ‘The Last Chad’ and shares funny videos online in addition to workout content.