The Daniel Craig Workout for Skyfall
A lot of people have been asking about the Daniel Craig workout and diet since Skyfall just came out recently. There is no doubt Daniel Craig has done it again by getting into tremendous shape for the new bond movie.
Skyfall is Daniel Craig’s third time playing James Bond. Craig’s first time was Casino Royale and his second was Quantum of Solace.
In both movies, Daniel Craig came in for filming in amazing physical condition.
The Daniel Craig workout allowed Craig to muscle up significantly for Skyfall. This was most likely a challenge for Craig because he let himself wither away in his previous movie, Cowboys and Aliens. Therefore Craig would have to start from scratch to build up his scrawny body.
Also, at the age of 43, Craig feels he is already getting too old to cope with the extreme physical demands of playing James Bond.
The Daniel Craig Bond Workout
With little information on Daniel Craig’s actual workout routine, I can only speculate as to what he actually did. Fortunately, I have helped hundreds of men transform their bodies into the condition of Daniel Craig, Ryan Reynolds, and Chris Evans.
As well, I have gotten into very similar condition as Daniel Craig as demonstrated below. I would say the only difference is that I am carrying about 7 more pounds of muscle.
That being said, I have a good idea of what most celebrity workouts look like, as well as what it takes to achieve a body like Daniel Craig.
In order to trigger muscle growth, Craig had to lift heavy weights 3-4x per week. At the age of 43, Daniel Craig was unable to handle or even benefit from training 5-6x per week. This is because as you get older your recovery abilities become reduced.
As a result, Craig needed to limit the training sessions to being 45-60 minutes and training no more than 3-4 per week.
The following is my spin on the Daniel Craig workout routine:
Workout A – Chest & Triceps
- Incline Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Flat Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Low Incline DB Flyes: 4 sets – 12, 10, 8, 6 (30-60 seconds rest, same weight each set)
- Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Rope Extensions: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (1-minute rest between sets)
Workout B: Back & Biceps
- Weighted Pull-ups: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Deadlifts: 3 sets x 4-6 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Cable Rows: 4 sets – 12, 10, 8, 6 (30-60 seconds rest, same weight each set)
- Barbell Curls: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Incline Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (1-minute rest between sets)
Workout C: Shoulders & Legs
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 8-12 reps (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Upright Row: 4 sets – 12, 10, 8, 6 (30-60 seconds rest, same weight for each set)
- Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets x 6-10 reps per leg (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Standing Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 sets x 10-15 reps per leg (1-minute rest between sets)
Notes on the Daniel Craig Bond Workout:
Work out 3x per week on non-consecutive days. There are many benefits to training with this frequency.
Example – Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
What About Abs?
Abs should be trained 2-3x per week for maximum development.
For a great abs workout routine that will build a fully developed 8 pack, then try my V-Abs Workout.
How Small Was Daniel Craig Before His Transformation For Skyfall?
Daniel Craig stands 5’10 tall and was down to 160 lbs for Cowboys and Aliens. As you can see Craig appears very slim and lacks the muscular and dominant look that he displayed as James Bond.
Craig actually lost weight on purpose for this role as he felt he needed to be scrawny to play a cowboy. He accomplished this by eating a low-calorie diet in conjunction with absolutely no weight lifting.
Consequently, he lost a good deal of muscle. The studio head was not happy with Craig’s weight loss and thus ordered him to gain weight for Skyfall.
What is the Daniel Craig Diet for Skyfall?
Daniel Craig desperately needed to gain some serious muscle for Skyfall. His bosses actually wanted him to gain 15-20 lbs before filming began. Fortunately for Craig, he had muscle memory on his side.
Therefore he would be able to gain muscle quicker than expected once he starts hitting the weights and upping his calorie and protein intake.
Step 1: He Increased His Calorie and Carb Intake
Daniel Craig was very lean after filming Cowboys and Aliens. Since he was so skinny his body had actually become primed to build muscle and gain weight. You see after a period of intense calorie restriction all kinds of anabolic hormones and receptors get up-regulated. Therefore once you begin eating normally again you are able to direct a lot of nutrients to build muscle.
With that said Craig still needed to be careful not to consume too many calories. At the age of 43, Craig is more susceptible to fat gain due to lowered testosterone levels. Therefore he needed to keep his calorie intake close to around maintenance.
For building muscle 16 calories per pound of target bodyweight is a good amount to shoot for. Depending on your activity levels you may need to go lower or higher. For Daniel Craig’s target weight of 180 lbs, this amounts to 2880 calories per day.
When eating at a calorie surplus or maintenance you should be getting most of your calories from carbs. Carbs will help maximize your glycogen stores which will maximize the anabolic growth signaling. In addition, plenty of carbs will give you more energy to train hard and plenty of carbs will improve sleep and rest.
Step 2: He Made Sure He Got Adequate Protein
Consuming plenty of protein is very important for building quality muscle. Daniel Craig made sure to include plenty of protein into his diet to allow for muscle growth to occur optimally. In addition, protein can be very helpful to avoid gaining fat.
This is because protein is the most filling macronutrient. Low protein meals tend to welcome overeating. As well protein is very hard to store as fat because it is so metabolically costly.
High protein intake was a key strategy in Daniel Craig’s transformation. Younger folks can tend to get away with less protein and still build muscle efficiently. However, as you get older giving protein more priority helps to build muscle while avoiding fat gain.
A good protein intake to shoot for is 0.8 grams per pound of goal body weight. For Craig’s goal weight of 180 lbs, this was 144 grams of protein per day.
What Was His Weight and Body Fat % In Skyfall?
In Skyfall Daniel Craig muscled up to 180 lbs at 5’10. Craig’s body fat percentage is around 10% which is considered very lean. Craig has visible abs, a clean line down his chest and a very defined jawline. These three traits are very indicative of a low body fat percentage. 10% body fat is a great goal for guys to shoot for.
At 10% and solid muscle development, you will blow most people away. As well, maintaining a low body fat will ensure that you look great in nice, stylish clothes by having that crisp GQ look.
Now if Craig was 8% body fat or lower we would see more vascularity through his arms, legs, and lower abs. As well his abs would be much more shredded. This level of definition while impressive is probably not necessary. As well, if you drop down to 6-8% body fat you start to appear quite a bit smaller. This is because it can be rather challenging to hold onto muscle at such a low body fat.
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This program will show you how you can get extremely strong, gain muscle and maximize sex appeal.
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greg what do you think daniel craig chest mesurment is
Many strength training publications stress the importance of training to failure in order to maximise gains. You advocate training to one rep shy of failure, why? Does this way of training provide enough overload to force the muscle to grow? Cheers.
you’re not making strength gain because you would be training for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy which focus on growth in muscle size not strength. if you train for strength first, muscle growth with come after. but if you train for muscle growth, strength gains won’t come.
Just wanted to ask if the Arnold shoulder press was more effective for building shoulders than the standard military press? Cheers.
Standing press is more effective than Arnold press for building up shoulders
So I am a beginner at weightlifting, I took a weight training class one year and have a tiny bit of muscle on me. Could I make progress doing this program or should I do starting strength or another beginner program first?
you can go ahead and do it. it’s a sample workout
Hey Greg!
First off, thanks for providing this workout routine. I just started following this last week.
I am currently 5’10 at 145, and am looking to gain some mass; however, I have been unable to increase my mass/weight beyond 145, regardless of how much I eat; I find it very hard to gain muscle mass since I have such a skinny build and was hoping to get your feedback and advice. Thanks!
Don’t worry about the weight. Focus on getting stronger in the gym and your bodyweight will come up.
So what about when changing the exercise e.g.at workout b there’s cable rows and then barbell curls but in the cabel rows theres 4 sets with the option to rest 30- 60 seconds between them so after doing the 4th one do you rest 30-60 or continue to cable rows? thanks.
Cardio? or no cardio? also how heavy should you lift? e.g. heavy enough to do 15 reps?
If you want to lose fat faster, cardio can be helpful, read this – https://kinobody.com/workouts-and-exercises/beach-ripped-cardio/
Hey, Greg. Two quick questions, if you would:
1.) I noticed that on the workout days, you grouped exercises together so that you do all exercises of each major muscle are done one after the other (ex. all chest exercises done first, then the ones that focus more on triceps). For the past few months, I was using a system where I’d alternate (ex. chest, tricep, chest, tricep, chest) to give each a little extra rest in between. Does it really matter either way, or would you recommend one over the other?
2.) As much as I dislike it, the weight room at my school is pretty small, and they don’t even have a pull up bar. I’d been substituting heavy pull downs, but as the school year draws to an end, I might not be able to get in as often as I’d like and I’m still trying to get a pull up bar for home. In the meantime, however, could you recommend some variations of that workout that I can do with minimal equipment, but can still build strength in the same areas?
Thanks a million, Greg. Your site has been the best fitness resource I’ve ever had on my journey towards a more perfect physique.
-Steve
1) No, don’t do it that way. Training triceps before a chest exercise will mess up with your strength. Always do the bigger muscle groups first.
2) You can think of some variations yourself. Just any exercise that works the same movement or muscle group you can switch to.
Hey Greg, I’m around 6’1 tall and weigh about 185 pounds, with a bit of a gut, would you reccomend trying to shred that down before starting this workout or will this be an acceptable place to start?
Cheers!
You can do this workout while cutting. I’d just reduce the number of sets. So drop the last set of each exercise. And you’ll want to drop the calories down.
Hi Greg, great article! SO, heres what im currently dealing with. Im 17, 5’9 weighing in at about 159-161 (haven’t weighed myself in a while). I guess you could say im “skinny fat”, most of my body fat goes towards my rear and my thighs. Now, I REALLY want Craigs body, but how can I achieve this. I was thinking jogging 1-3 miles every night for 6 days a week (im a runner), or the INSANITY program ( a very intense cardio regime) for at aleast 3 days a week for cardio, and then the mentioned A,B,C workouts Mon,Wed,Fri. I have a pretty strict diet plan as well, no refined sugars or flour, only lean foods, fish, meat, nuts, veggies, brown rice, fruits ext. 3 meals 2 snacks dividing macros to 40% protein 40% carbs and 20% fats,not exceeding 2100 calories…. should i up the calorie intake, if so by how much given my age, weight ext. So, what do you think of my plan? how should I adjust? will this plan help me lose BF % and gain lean muscle? Am I doing everything completely wrong (probably), and can I achieve the same results in at least 6-7 months.
You seem very dedicated. Calorie intake looks pretty good for fat loss. You might eventually have to go down to 1900 to 2000%. I would also suggest dropping protein to 35% and upping fat to 25%. That will help more with testosterone.
But your main issue is that you’re doing way too much! I would cut back to only two running sessions per week – 3 lifts per week – and 2 rest days or low intensity exercise days (yoga/walking). If you train too hard on a diet, you’ll overtrain and burn out.
Greg,
I’ve been following this routine for a little over a month now. I do however have some questions regarding back day. I do my warm up sets for the chins, and then I also do three warm up sets for the deadlifts. Is this necessary after already having warmed up my back from the chins or am I adding unnecessary volume to the exercise?
Yeah you should till do 2-3 warm up sets on deadlifts.
Hi
Great article, i am currently 6ft 2 and 196lbs should i shred first and then follow this workout? Or is there a good way to build muscle and shred fat? If i should shred first what weight should i aim to be before following this workout? And finally in the picture above (of yourself) what is your bodyfat percentage?
Thanks
Ps forgot to mention (not sure if its relevant) but im 37.
Thanks
If you have fat to lose, your best bet is to focus on fat loss, get lean, and then focus on gaining muscle. I would definitely suggest checking out my warrior shredding program. It is a full blown course for getting shredded while building strength and muscle density. Your weight will come down, but you’ll be getting stronger during the process.
Im 5 foot 11 3/4 I’m 17 I weigh 210 how much should I weight to get same pysic as daniel in sky fall
175-180 lbs with a 31.5″ waist.
Hi Greg!
I was wondering what to do, when having a cold? Continue lifting and eating or..?
I train through colds, unless I feel really sick! But first I’d day 3 complete rest days (maybe just light walking) and then I’ll hit my workouts normally. Usually I’ll be completley healthy after 3-5 days of having a cold though.
About how long will it take to achieve this? I’m about 5’9 1/2 and weigh about 160 lbs. I’m already pretty fit, but I need to add some size to my arms and shoulders. Taking whey protein isolate about 4 times a day. How long did it take Daniel Craig. We’re about the same body frame.
Hard to tell without seeing pictures. But I’d say probably at-least 6 months.
How long should I wait between the main movements? Ex. between the last set of deadlift and the first set of row.
3-5 mintues!
Hi Greg!
I was wondering, can you substitute deadliest with anything, with the same effect?
Great stuff!
You could do rack pulls or power cleans or dumbbell swings.
Hey Greg when using the standard pyramid training how do you determine when to increase the weight on the given exercise
When you can run through it with short rest periods and less struggle.
Hey Greg just wondering the rope extensions on chest and tris is that overhead extensions or rope press downs. Thanks in advance
Rope push downs
I am very impressed that you published how to built muscle and structure like daniel craig, i have one query that, i have very low inner chest and outer chest at the part of lower chest which makes me look very strange when i wear tight clothes… can you pls suggest how to develop it.
Don’t understand you
I have very low muscle on lower as well as outer part of the chest, in simple words my chest not in good shape. Can u pls suggest me…
Your solution is to get your chest stronger and it will even out. Build up your bench press and incline press.
Greg,
Which would build more muscle and “quicker” as we’ll. this or the Zac E workout?
Zac Efron will build the arms faster. Daniel Craig will build the chest and back faster.
Greg,
Two questions. Can I sub out skull crushers with weighted dips? Also can I use your new build sleek powerful leg routin on routine C?
That will be a lot more strenuous. I don’t recommend more than two heavy pushing movements. Yeah you can do that on Workout C but then you’ll have to add some shoulder work to Workout A and B.
hey Greg could this workout be done on a cut
Yah but you’d want to cut slowly. No more than a 500 calorie deficit.
He’s 43?! He looks like he’s 50! Are you sure he’s that age? I’m going to look it up.
Yes! He’s definitely not 50. Have you met 50 year old men lol
Hey Greg,
I bought your GGMB program a few months again and implemented it for about 2 months, seeing pretty good results. I have since had surgery (10 weeks ago) and about to recommence training, striving for an effective lean bulk again. For some reason this Skyfall workout routine of Daniel Craig’s appeals to me more than the strength & density routine outlined in your program. Which of the two do you think would be best for me to utilise over the next few months? As i mentioned in an earlier comment, I am 178cm, 68kg and ~8-9% BF.
Thanks Greg!
Both programs are really great, I think you’ll see better long term results with the strength and density routine from the greek god program though. This is because it works better for making strength gains.
How to add inverted row?
You can exchange it for the rowing movement.
Hi Greg!
I’m really good at pull ups, so even after weighted pull ups i still have a little bit of strength in tank.
So can I do superset Cable Rows with bodyweight close grip chin ups? By the way I’m not beginner in this workout and fan of supersets.
No that’s not how you train for strength and muscle growth. You should be pushing yourself hard on weighted pull ups and striving for more weight each workout. If have to be challenging yourself and improving. It’s not about burning your muscles out.
Thanks Greg! I’ll gonna hit weighted pull ups really hard!
So I have been wanting to gain size for a while now, yet stay lean (I trust my diet plan now). I am basically looking to go from scrawny to brawny. Daniel Craig being a favorite of mine I am stoked to try this out. Just curious if there is any other recommendations on how to use this to bulk or just keep to this plan.
Keep exactly to the plan here Matt. I’ve had a lot of people email me that they’ve had awesome results with this workout program by the way.
Just read your article, thanks for the post! I’m 6′ @ 195lbs, average build and have some excess fat at the stomach. Should I gain some mass, then cut? I ask because you say Daniel Craig moved up in weight… I’m coming from above. Just not sure about calories I need – say desired weight is 190, should be 16*190? THANKS!
I’d definitely focus first on cutting. Use 12 calories per pound of bodyweight to drop body fat. You want to get lean first and then focus on building muscle.
Thanks Greg! Appreciate the response!
Could i substitute deadlifts on workout c with any type of row or would you recommend some other type of exercise?
Yeah that works!
Also i thought you said reps should be in the 4-6 range?
Thank you.
No I like to use the 4-10 rep range primarily.
Do you use the same rep range for each set or RPT?
Thanks
Nope! Usually each set I’ll increase the reps by 1-2.
Ex: Set 1 – 4-5, Set 2 – 5-6 Set 3 – 7-8
Hi Greg,
I am 46 years old and did the Craig workout you outlined for about 12 weeks. I was pretty happy with the results but was a bit reluctant to only hit certain body parts once a week. I was also disappointed I didn’t get as shredded as I would have liked. I got strong and gained size but no vascularity and hardness. Any suggestions?
Getting shredded and vascular is a matter of diet. You need to create a calorie deficit to burn off the excess fat to reveal crazy muscle tone. My program for that is here – http://www.shreddingprogram.com
Greg I would like to do this workout however I like training each muscle twice a week. Could I mix and match some from workout a and workout b. Example incline machine fly skull crushers barbell curls. Then the next work bench press cable rope downs incline DB curls?
Sure give it a run!
Any suggestions how to add in a rear delt exercise in this routine?
Superset cable rows with rear delts.
Are those 6-10 reps RPT sets or straight sets?
You can do either or! I prefer RPT sets
Could I use this as a “pump” workout for a week or two? I’ve been cutting and losing fat
Yes
Hey Greg,
Just wanted to say that I’ve been doing this workout for a few weeks now, and I’ve been feeling GREAT. I lift with a buddy of mine after school for about 30-45 mins, and apparently people have been noticing. I’ve been getting quite a few compliment recently, and I’d just like to thank you for making all my progress thus far possible. Couldn’t have done it without your help!
Thanks so much steve! Happy to hear you’ve been making some solid gains.
I’m using this workout for a month, and it’s awesome!
But now i’m wondering how to incorporate elliptical trainer in this 3 day workout?
You can do 30-40 minutes of the elliptical on rest days or add 20 minutes after your strength training workouts.
Thank you man!
I will add 20 minutes after my strenght training workouts
Could I use this while cutting or recomp?
Yep!
Hey Greg I just have a question since this program is straight sets and not rpt and I’m looking to build muscle and strength what’s the goal for each workout.For example I’m doing an exercise that requires 4 sets 6-10 reps am I trying to add weight each workout or an extra rep or trying to do 10 reps for all 4 sets with the same weight then add more when I reach that.Im hoping you can elaborate on the specifics of the program a little more for the best possible results.Thank you and i appreciate the help
This goal is aimed at building muscle and strength. You can do Reverse Pyramid Training with this routine if you’d prefer, that’s how I like to do it!
Hey greg i’m 38yrs old and was wondering if i can use this program with your kinobody lean bulk guide.I have purchased both your programs and follow your website and its the only thing i refer to when it comes to working out.Saved alot of money from not buying magazines like i use to years and years of it.Thank you
Yes you definitely can! Happy to help Anthony
4 sets x 6-10 reps ? is that straight sets or reverse pyramid?
Straight sets.
Hey greg
Wich days would i be training if i do this 5 days instead of 3?
You only do it 3 days. But you either do it 3 times over 5 days or over 7 days
Can your results be achieved by full body workouts?
Full body workouts are fine for beginners. Once you build up a decent amount of strength then you need to split up the muscles and splits.
I’m not sure about that. In my experience, compound lifts at advanced weight bring most of the benefits of split routines. I’ve personally had success centering only a few supplementary exercises around deadlift, squat, weighted chins, and bench.
See here’s the thing. When you’re at the advanced level and capable of deadifting 400+ lbs, squatting 350+ lbs, doing chin ups with 100+ lbs and benching 275+ lbs, well then each lift takes so much out of you. There’s not a way in hell you’d be able to handle hitting all of those lifts hard. Therefore you’d need to split up your workout to avoid over stressing your cns and not being able to handle the intensity.
Hey greg you may remember me from the henry cavill workout, you recommended me this routine, so what diet on your site could I follow with this routine to lose weight as I’m overweight, and 16 years of age?
Thanks
Do the beach ripped diet on kinobody
I’m 46 and have been doing this workout for 9 weeks and have seen very impressive gains (visibly and weights amounts lifted) during that time. I was always athletic but a desk job let a lot of weight creep up. I’ve lost most of the weight and I’m 5’10” and 207 pounds. I have been on a calorie restricted, high protein (170g to 180g per day) diet of around 1350 per day. I was loosing weight at about 1-2 pounds a week until this workout, now barely losing at all. I’m 18.5% body fat and figure I need to get to around 190 to look good (maybe 10-12% BF). Should I keep with the workout and the fat loss will follow? It seems to be. Eat normally, gain muscle and then lose later or diet now and build muscle later? I’ve been using the Lose-It app on my phone to track calories, progress and nutrition. Thanks, great site! 4 of us are doing this workout
Great to hear progress has been awesome!
Well it’s evident that you’re going too low in calories. Way too low! I wouldn’t go under 1800 calories. Weight loss will start to resume after a couple weeks at a proper calorie intake.
Thanks for the reply. I will give that a try for a few weeks and see what happens. You were right about the workout and I’m sure about this as well. I’ll report back how it’s going
Good to hear man!
So it’s progressing. I think eating more is helping. The weight is still not coming off quickly but bodyfat is down 1.5% which would be about 3.5 lbs of bodyfat. The muscle gains on your program are the best I’ve ever had, really excllent, just would like to move the BF number down to at least 12-13%. Do you recommend creatine for someone my age? Any other suplements?
Dude, you’re down 1.5% in body fat and you’re stronger and more muscular, that’s absolutely awesome! Keep doing what you’re doing and be very patient. Glad to hear you’re having killer progress.
how would the 5 day schedule like? if a 3 day look like this:
Ex:
Day 1 – Chest & Triceps
Day 2 – Back & Biceps
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Shoulders & Legs
Day 5 – Rest
That is the 5 day schedule. You’re doing 3 workouts over the course of 5 days (instead of over 7 days).
How many abdominal exercise would you recommend with this routine? also sets and reps
Hanging Leg raises and abs wheel roll outs are the two movements I would do. 3 sets of 8-15 reps.
Could i substitute Flat Barbell Bench Press for dips?
Yes
could i do ordinary squats instead of bulgarian split squats?
Yes for sure
Hey Greg, how can i incorporate push ups in this workout?
How many sets and reps?
I wouldn’t incorporate push ups. They’re way too easy to have any real benefit.
thanks for the reply, anyway I will continue doing them one set 30 repetitions once a day, it’s a part of my morning routine.
Are you doing push ups?
No, I don’t do push ups. They offer very little benefit unless you can only do 6-10 reps.
You look awesome up there! How much muscular are you now (training for superhero physique) in comparison to that pic of yours? I think you’re perfect in that photo.
Thanks man! Well I actually just took that pic last week and decided it would be cool to post it up on the Skyfall workout. I’m around 187 lbs there with 9-10% body fat. I’m going to maintain my muscle size and slowly lean down to 184 lbs and 8% body fat. I think I’ll look really sharp there. This should take about 3 more weeks.
Some good points above. I’m 67, 5’10”, weigh ~ 195. Don’t know my fat %, but it’s probably too high. I lift 3-4 x week, using a similar split routine. Bench up to 225, sometimes a little more, if I’m consistent in my workouts. If I skip a week or more, my max drops quickly. Interested in your suggesting beginning with a heavy weight, then reducing in subsequent sets. I usually do a warm up at 165, then sets at 185, 205 & 225. Should I reverse the order? I then go to incline benches @160 and flies on a machine, each with three sets. Finish with seated presses & two tricep routines-finishing with standing calf raises, leg lifts & crunches. This is for my chest/shoulder/tricep routines. I alternate every other day with a back & bicep routine, with seated calf raises, and again with leg raises & crunches.
Any suggestions??
Thanks,
Bill
Yes, definitely reverse the order. You’ll make better strength and muscle gains if you were to do a warm up with 135 for 5, 185 for 3 and the hit 3 work sets – 225, 205, 185. Rest 3 minutes between these work sets and only 2 minutes between warm up sets.
Hey Greg!
I’m 21 years old and I’ve just started this workout.
What i want to do is to combine it with cardio that i will do for 2-3 times/ week for like 1 hour becouse i’m signed up for a skirace in the beginning of next year. Is there anything I should think about? Should I have more carbs or calories on the day i do cardio? Should i use a combination between carbs/whey as supplements or can i just stick to whey? Thank you Greg, all the tips on this site can help me reach my goals!
No need for mixing carbs with your protein. There is no need to actually have carbs or protein for that matter immediately after training. 2-3 cardio workouts for 30-40 minutes per week is sufficient. I like interval training for boosting conditioning and low intensity cardio strictly for fat loss. You can probably increase your calorie and carb intake on those days to take into account the training. Maybe start with an extra 300 calories.
“Hey Greg,Greetings for the day
I’m 24 yrs old & 124 Pounds
but I want to put on some weight & My target is 144 Pounds
Suggest me what should I do
Lift weights and track your food intake.
Thanks for the article. It’s nice to see the basics haven’t changed since when I started training in the 70s: lots of protein, carbs, and heavy lifting. I notice you have one workout above and don’t mention age. What adjustments should I make as I enter my 50s? Thanks!
You don’t necessarily need to make any changes on this routine if you’re in your 50’s. Listening to your body is the biggest thing.
Greg,
Maybe stupid question.
When we talking sets, do I go as heavy as possible with the first set, keeping to the reps, and then decrease the weight with the 2nd set etc, or do I gradually work it up from set 1?
Thanks!
My preferred method is to do your heavy set first. This will allow you to handle the most weight since you’re fresh. You can do 2-3 build up sets for 3-5 reps before your first work set.
Thanks Greg!
I am 19 y/o 5’10 and I 160 pounds. I would like to get to 190- 200. Any advice?
I really don’t think you actually want to get to 190-200 lbs. That is very massive and at your height the only way to naturally do that would be to let your body fat get up to high teens. I’d recommend staying lean and building up slowly. Maybe 175-180 lbs for that Brad Pitt (troy) or Daniel Craig (Skyfall) physique.
Greg,
I’ve been rigidly following the DC programme now for the last 7 weeks – in fact to the letter! In this period I’ve gained impressively in both strength and mass. Here comes the dilemma – My initial aim was to adhere to the routine, concentrating on both mass and strength, for this part I have succeeded. However, the vacation is a mere 3 weeks away and I would like to shed a few pounds without losing muscle mass. Fortunately, I don’t have a problem with real weight gain, nor weight loss for a matter-of -fact, that said, I would hate to get it all wrong in the last few weeks and lose everything to blind faith.
My Question is: can I remain focused on the DC routine and increase the intensity/ cardio, whilst dropping the calorie intake, or completely change the routine focusing on strength and endurance with little rest in between?
Your assistance in this matter will gratefully appreciated.
Thank you Richard
Yes! You can keep doing the workout routine while dropping the calories and doing cardio on your non lifting days. Give my new beach ripped article a read – https://kinobody.com/2552/beach-ripped/
isn’t that workout a little dated and basic? i thought he would’ve done something similar for the bulking stage in his programme but wouldn’t he have added more super sets in the latter stages? doubling up on exercises to rip the muscles and burn calories at the same time? some circuits and intense cardio also? im only asking because id like to aim for a similar shape so your advice would be really appreciated. at the moment im 4 weeks into an 8 week programme of lifting 10 reps per set, 3 body parts per session and 2 exercises per body part, 4 times a week. My diet is good and iv gained 8lbs already. After 8 weeks i was planning on going really heavy with low reps for 6 weeks, 2 body parts per session, 2 exercises per part and 5 sets, also including one session of boxing per week. Then go for another 6 weeks of 5 sessions per week, 2 sessions of super sets including power cleans and circuits, 2 sessions of heavy lifting to keep the muscle density, and one session of an all over body workout with light weights and high intensity. Do you think this is any good?
Yes it is basic! But basic works. With minimalistic workout routines, you tend to make the greatest gains in strength. When you build your lifts up quickly to the advacned level you can’t help but develop an incredible physique. Check out my article on minimalism – https://kinobody.com/2506/ryan-gosling-drive-minimalism/
You are recommending at your website the Visual Impact training. I decided to try this program and after 2 months I must say that results are indeed visible. Now this method recommends, also in phase II, very short rest (45 sec) between exercises. You’re preferring in the article about DC longer periods (3 minutes), especially for people above 40 like myself; how do you see this versus Rusty Moore’s reco? Should I adapt the VI program because of my age? Or do you believe that program won’t give you the DC physique (which it seems to target if you look at the objectives)?
Longer rest periods are superior for strength gains. For heavy compound movements I like to rest 3 minutes so I can lift a heavy weight with maximum performance. For isolation movements when the goal is fatigue I will take shorter rests. In phase 2 of visual impact I rested about 2 minute between sets. If I kept rest shorter my strength would fall off quickly. I’d recommend doing the same.
OK, thanks for the good advice, I will do as you’re suggesting! I think it will also be more safe, have the feeling that the combination of (too) short rest and very high weight increases the risk of injuries.
Just curiosity: did you gain any muscle mass during phase 2 or was it just strenght gains?
I gained some muscle.
Greg,
I noticed that in this workout, each excersise is about 4 sets with 6-10 reps, whereas in your recent article about building a warrior physique, you recommended 3 sets of 4-6 reps. Ive been following the warrior physique workout for a couple weeks now and its been working well but i dont want to be missing out on more gains since im doing 3 sets instead of 4 and lower reps. I was just wondering which one was ideal for building strength and dense muscle mass?
Julian I think the best muscle and strength gains will be achieved from using both set ups. One thing you might consider doing is alternating between 2 months of Daniel Craig and 2 months of Warrior Physique.
Awesome thanks for the feedback!
I saw Daniel Craig on the Graham Norton talkshow, where he said that training and diet began 6 months before shooting Skyfall. He also said it meant 6 months without carbs!! This and other similar articles say the opposite?
I think what he meant by that is that he mostly increased his protein consumption. So he would be eating more chicken, steak, tuna, eggs, protein shakes…… As well, he probably cut out certain carbs including pizza, chips, cookies, junk.
Greg, great ideas. It’s great to see someone my age of 46 continue to grow like DC! I have been working out for years and bounced between different plans. I am 5’6”/169 with fat % around 22. I am currently working toward 155 and I would love to see 10 to 11 % body fat. What would the cal intake be to get there and then to maintain? With the DC routine, I want to fuel my body correctly with loss fast and put on the muscle. Thanks for help!
Well it’s really impossible for me to give you exact calorie figures to shoot for. I can only give you a starting point which should be within shooting distance of where it needs to be. For fat loss I would go around 1950 calories. This is assuming you’re weight training 3x per week, as shown in the above routine. As well, I would aim for 150g of protein per day. If you’re losing 1-1.5 lbs per week at that calorie intake then keep it up. If you’re losing less than 1950 you will need to reduce calories by 200 or so. If you’re losing 2 lbs or more then you may want to increase calories by about 200 or so.
After hitting 155 lbs you can then raise calories depending on your rate of fat loss. So if you were losing a pound a week at 1950 then that would suggest your maintenance is around 2450. Therefore you could bring up calories to around 2450 to maintain. If you are really paranoid about gaining fat then you could increase your calories by about 200 each week until you reach your maintenance.
Greg
Thanks for the ideas! I will let you know how it goes!
Greg, thanks for putting together such a great work plan. I purchased your manual and am busy working hard on it. I started with the Skyfall plan (for three months) listed on this site, but 10 days ago I switched to your standard workout plan listed in your manual. My question is, what is the difference in the results between the too? The Skyfall workout seems more leg and chest heavy that the manual.
With the standard workout plan in my manual you will be hitting each muscle group every 4 to 5 days instead of every 7 days. Therefore you can do a little bit less volume since you’re training each muscle group more frequently. Strength gains will be much faster with the standard workout plan (strength and density) than the skyfall plan.
So with the standard plan you’re doing a 2 body split and with skyfall it’s a 3 body split. I find the 2 body split to be more effective!
Greg,
Far from me to question someone’s expert knowledge, but DC’s physique seems a little more than the routine above. I would go as far as to say, ”aligned to your super hero regime”, where his main effort seems to have focused on compound exercises, combined with a few isolation movements (?). Little rest in between, would most definitely account for his 10-11% body fat. Either or, both routines offer great variety. However, I’ve always been (mis)-informed, that man alone cannot achieve such results. “Supplements” definitely play a large part. True or False?
BTW – Creatine tablets or Powder? Thank you.
Regards,
Richard
If you’re a natural lifter, over the age of 30 then the old adage, less is more, becomes fucking god sent words. Sure, Craig could have doubled the number of exercises and sets, reduced the rest time and used brutal super sets and rest pause sets. But here’s the thing, his strength progress would have tanked to the ground. The biggest indicator of muscle growth will be getting stronger in the 4-8 rep range on a weekly basis. To keep strength gains at maximum speed you need to keep exercise volume on the lower end. 4 to 5 exercises max and no more than 12 sets. Longer rests will ensure optimal performance and muscle recruitment. Training this way lends itself to much better strength gains and thus muscle gains. You don’t need 3 exercises per muscle group, one or two is preferred.
Body fat percentage is a complete result of diet. Changing rest between sets won’t make any difference. As well, craig was insanely lean before even preparing for this movie. Fat loss was not a priority. He actually gained some fat when getting ready as his bf % rose from 8% to 10-11%.
Supplements play a very, very small role.
I only recommend doing the 5 day schedule for short periods of time. No more than 8-12 weeks at a time………. why?
I much prefer 3 day workout routines for long term gains. This allows for better rest and recovery and better long term gains. As well, lifting ever other day keep your central nervous system refreshed allowing you to exert more effort and strength in the gym. Going into the gym stronger will allow you to make better muscle gains.
Training 5x per week allows you to perform a lot of total volume on your body parts. This can give you some good muscle gains for a short period of time but eventually you should focus on gaining strength and keeping workout frequency to 3x per week.
Hey Greg
Just want to say I love the site. Im a huge fitness fan and always love to learn. Im gonna start this routine this week (day after christmas). Im 26 yrs old, im 5 7′ and I am up 185 lbs. I’ve been bulking up for a couple months now, I started at 162 lbs but I am definitely feeling the weight on my knees. My body fat % is about 17-18 which is way higher than I’d like it to be. I still have a 32 inch waist line which Im pretty proud of but what can of cardio routine do you think I should add to the routine you posted above? Thanks
Great job! At 5’7 I’d like to see you with a 30-31″ waist.
For cardio I recommend doing the activity you enjoy the most.
Hey Greg,
Can I take a mass gainer after my workouts instead of a protein shake since u said its important to have a big postworkout meal? In addition, can I then on my off days have low carb meals? Finally, can I expect to gain serious mass thru this workout?
No need to have a big meal right after your workout. You can have it within 2-3 hours of your workout. So that could be a protein shake and banana right after then a big meal of protein and carbs an hour or two later. Not a big fan of weight gainers. Tend to lead to fat gain.
Hey Greg,
I see that in your articles you say that having a big postworkout meal is important so instead of having a protein shake, can I have a mass gainer after my workout? And then on the rest days can I just keep carbs to a low and maybe do some cardio to have low body and at the same time build muscle?
Well a big post workout meal isn’t that essential. The big meal doesn’t have to be right after your workout either. It can be within 2 hours of finishing your workout. I steer away from mass gainers as they tend to lead to fat gain from the very high calories.
Ok but if the mass gainer is a lean one with 450 calories and about 60 grams of carbs is that fine? Also, can I expect to gain some serious mass thru this workout or should I refer to your superhero workout instead? If I go to that, can I perform that workout 3 times in 5 days just like this workout.
Thanks!
That should be fine. Just if you start to put on fat and lose leanness then ditch the mass gainer. Start with this program then go to superhero (3x per week only)
Great work I will start this program this week. My only question is can I switch out Skull Crushers with Dips?
Yah go for it. Do close grip dips to hit your triceps hard.
Could.I lose fat as well with this workout routine?
Provided that you eat a lower calorie diet then yes. Remember, fat loss is mostly about diet. You can do all the cardio and intervals in the world but if you’re overeating then you will just be spinning your tires.
Hi Greg,
I’m 46, 73 kg for 1m70, 18% body fat and relatively athletic as I’ve been doing martial arts for more than 20 years.
I’m now training 3 days/week, more or less according to the schedule/exercises you advised + started 5 weeks ago with a high protein diet (but not too many carbs and low fat). Calorie intake is about at maintenance level (+/- 2000 Kcal). I would like to gain lean muscle mass, e.g. more muscle but drop my fat percentage, like Daniel Craig indeed.
I’m doing 30 minutes Cardio after 1 hour weight lifting.
I’m not sure if I should drop the Cardio and do a few weeks of pure Cardio after building muscle mass in order to get leaner, or keep the cardio like I do now… I really do want to get more visible abs, and I’m not sure if diet alone will do the job.
Cardio isn’t necessary to drop fat. If you’re diet is solid then you’ll lose bodyfat without cardio. Cardio can speed up the process provided it doesn’t increase your appetite.
I would focus on one goal predominately for now. Either keep calories around maintenance and focus on building muscle and strength slowly. Or drop the calories down to around 10 calories per pound of goal bodyweight and focus on fat loss.
Thanks a lot Creg.. you are the man
A perfect article and perfect posts Greg. I have been training for a while. I have 12% bf. I used to train 6 times a week till I read your post. I think i love training and sports in general too much as I can spend 3 hours doing excercise including weightlifting, circuit and then interval runs.
I want to get a bit bigger and lower my body fat to 8% what should i do?
Do you think it is not useful to do weight lifting “stnadard training”, then circuit for an hour, and running for 20 minuts? 3 times a week, plus one day for football?
thanks
Well you’re not going to get bigger while dropping to 8% body fat. You should cut back on your calories and carbs and lean down slowly to 8% before you think about trying to build muscle.
Yes, it sounds like you are doing too much. Three one hour strength training workouts per week is perfect. Maybe two cardio/interval sessions and some low intensity walking on off days. That’s about as much training as I recommend. Abs can be trained 2-3x per week either on lifting days or cardio/rest days.
Hello Greg. I really like your site. I went through all articles on all 9 pages on your blog. I wrote down all exercises from all plans. Then I choose exercises which are most frequent in all your plans.
So I made my plan out of your exercises by myself :D
I am 20 years old. My height is 182 cm (5′ 11.7″) and my weight is 79 kg. My body fat percentage is 16%. I already visit my trainer which made eating plan for me. Meals are through all day (6 meals). Around 2500 kcal through all day. On working days mybe around 300 kcal more.
Ok my question is. Is this exercise plan good for me or not? (Please consider that I start with sport activity when I was 5 years old till 18. Last 2 years I was somehow inactive…)
Monday – Back & Biceps + HIIT + ABS
HIIT
ABS (Between exercises rests)
Pull ups: 5 sets -> 6 reps
Chin ups: 3 sets -> 5 reps
Cable rows: 5 sets -> 6 reps
Cable curls: 5 sets – > 6 reps
Incline dumbbell curls: 5 sets -> 5 reps
Barbbell curls: 4 sets – > 4 reps
Tuesday – Triceps & Chest + HIIT
HIIT
Skull crushers: 5 sets -> 5 reps
Rope extensions: 5 sets -> 6 reps
Girdona dips: 3 sets -> 6 reps
Incline barbbell bench press: 5 sets -> 5 reps
Flat dumbbell bench press: 5 sets -> 5 reps
Flat OR Incline dumbbell flyes: 4 sets -> 4 reps
Wednesday – REST
Thursday – Shoulders + HIIT + ABS
HIIT
ABS (Between exercises rests)
Seated dumell shoulder press: 5 sets – > 6 reps
Lateral Raises: 5 sets -> 6 reps
Bent over rear delts: 5 sets -> 5 reps
Shrugs: 5 sets -> 5 reps
Friday – Starting exercise plan from beggining (Back & Biceps + HIIT + ABS).
Saturday – REST
Sunday – REST
Monday – Triceps & Chest + HIIT
Tuesday – Shoulders + HIIT + ABS
Wednesday – REST
….. And so on.
What do you think about this plan? Do you think there is something to change or something else?
Thank you for your answer in advance!
It’s not a very effective workout plan to be honest. Biggest problem I see is that you’re training triceps before chest. You should know that is one of the worst things you can do. Also I really only recommend 3 strength workouts per week on non consecutive days. Also 4 days of HIIT is too much. 2 is better.
So if I change plan to do chest before triceps on same day will this be ok?
And workout like this:
Monday: Back & Biceps + HIIT + ABS
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Chest & Triceps
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Shoulders + HIIT + ABS
Saturday – REST
Sunday – REST
And then doing all again…Sequence of exercises above is not right I know, but I will repair this later.
What do you think about this? Please advise me. I am new in fitness and I really do not know what is right and what now.
Thanks in advance!
Yes, that’s much better. The effectiveness of your workout routine will be in your rate of strength gain. If you’re not able to increase weight or reps then your program is not working.
Greg, how much of a difference do you think Christian bales body in ap is compared to daniels in sky fall? I’m having a hard time deciding which physique id like to chase as a goal, and what are some differences both had to go through? curious to know if bale had more muscle to start with, because he maintains a fairly good size thats cut, thanks man!
Christian Bale in AP is quite a bit leaner. He’s around 8% bf. Muscle development seems to be similar with both DC and CB. If you’re going for the DC physique then you wouldn’t have to get as ripped. Bale would require your to become extremely chiseled.
Okay, I see I compared the two, and daniel looks a beefier, My question is, if I do pursue the christian bale body, How Can I do so without over training? Because I was following yours and rustys dieting tip on phase 3 visual impact of a couple shakes and a salad with chicken for dinner,to melt body fat and I felt I was overtraining, and weight actually coming to halt. Should I perhaps bring the the cals up to my body weight times 10 and continue the workout routine? thanks for the fast replies man appreciate it.
Yah, the shake salad diet is very low. 10x calories per pound of goal bodyweight is much better and more maintainable.
From a muscle hypertrophy perspective anything more than three days a week is not needed at an adavanced weightlifting phase, training smarter not longer makes a lot more sense.
I can assure you Dan that at 46 I certainly can not perform the same routine or lift the same weight volume as a younger bloke in his twenties.
Crosstraining or crossfit is a different system to the one posted here , I would however speculate that the same would hold true for any type of training.
I have been resistance training in one form or another for over 25 years , from sports specific cross training to powerlifting to bodybuilding and I can wholly commend the thinking and the logic behind the article.
To suggest that a 40 to 50 year old chap cannot work out for more 3 times a week is silly and shows how young you are.
I have no trouble working out four to five times a week for periods lasting between one and two hours.
I perfom a mixture of cross training, crossfit if you will, one day and standard weight lifting another day.
Rest and recuperation isn’t a problem as long as you’re ingesting the right amount of carbs and protein.
Creatine isn’t needed for the average man or woman. It’s just another supplement that has been widely promoted as a wonder workout, in reality most gym users don’t need to be taking it at all, as most gym users don’t push themselves hard enough to require the extra enegy creatine provides.
Tetosterone doesn’t start to drop at 40 by the way. It’s more like fifty plus. And then only if a fellow lives an inactive lifestyle.
Good day.
Dan.
I should have made it clearer but I was referring purely to strength training. I don’t feel that there is any benefit to lifting weights more frequently than 3 times per week for anyone. Strength and muscle gains tend to be the most consistent with every other day lifting. This is because in doing so you allow your central nervous system to recharge before every intense lifting session. From what it seems like you are following a similar program by alternating between standard lifting days and crossfit endurance based workouts.
Daniel Craig definitely could have handled some cardio/conditoning work on non lifting days. However this training wouldn’t be entirely necessary. Fat loss wasn’t a priority for Craig and staying lean wasn’t a problem for Craig either.
This workout works…….in fact it works really well. It really mixes everything up from compound to isolation. If you break it down to its nuts and bolts it hits all muscle groups with a well thought out strategy.
Bulking up or leaning out this workout covers all the bases from a natural perspective.
I’ve dropped 4lbs in a month with no decrease in muscle mass, I will be dropping the deadlifts though as my SI joint is problematic from an old judo injury.Will revert to close grip seated rows to isolate the mid back.
Might be something to consider as a possible replacement exercise for lifters who have lower back issues?….Nothing works like DL’s but sometimes needs must and adaptation is the only way forward.
Great comment Nagel!
I definitely encourage people to take their bodies, injuries, issues, weaknesses into account when following one of my programs. Some adjustments may be necessary. That’s great that you acknowledged that your lower back is a vulnerable area so you need to substitute it for another exercise. Seated rows would be an effective substitution.
Greg, thanks for the article and response to my question. What protein and creatine do yo reccomend for building muscle and losing fat (if there is such a thing) for the 40+ crowd? Hyper gain seems like it would add weight over all, not just muscle. I put muscle onwell, but have difficult losing that last 10-15 lbs of fat I’d like to be gone forever! Thanks again!
Hypergain will add entirely lean mass and improve strength, power and fast twitch muscle expression. If you take hypergain while eating at a calorie deficit you will see improvements in muscle, strength and leanness. The biggest thing will be reducing your calorie intake to 10-12 calories per pound. Once per week you can have a big cheat meal but that’s about it.
Hey Greg awesome article, but if I just wanted to maintain muscle and not really get much bigger would I do most of the workouts here in 6-8rep range wtih 2-3mins rest in between?
Yes that can work. Also 2 work sets per exercise is ideal for maintaining.
What about cardio? How many times per week and for how long?
It really depends on the individual, their goals and activity level. If you are very active during the day then you won’t need cardio for additional calorie burning. On the other hand if your sitting down all day then it’s highly beneficial to get some cardio exercise and burn 350-500 calories on days you’re not lifting weights.
For cardio I recommend 30-45 minutes at a low-medium intensity level. IF fat loss is your goal then there is no need to kill yourself. Do what you enjoy and will most consistently do. For most people this isn’t running 5 miles or doing full out 400-800m intervals. But rather its breaking a sweat while still being able to hold a conversation.
what about traps
Most people don’t need direct trap work. If you want to do traps then you can add shrugs on workout c.
Greg, what workout would you recommend to get in the shape of your display pic? I emailed you a few weeks ago, not sure if you got it or not.
Hi Greg, i’ve been reading the rest of your site and i have to say i’m impressed. This workout looks appealing, i will definitely give it a try, however, if i was to add running or swimming to this, which days would you suggest i do it?
Cheers
Best to do running/swimming on rest days. If you want to do it on a workout day then limit the duration to 20 minutes.
Hey Greg, I was looking for a workout that I use to incorporate both bodyweight and weights. I found this one really useful, and I can twist it a bit, e.g. by changing the first exercsises written in here with the ones mentioned in Convict Conditioning. Thanks a lot : )
Just one question though, what tempo should I use when lifting the weights?
I don’t obsess about tempo. It depends on the exercise. For compound movements think about exploding on the concentric and controlling on the negative. For isolation movements focus on controlling during the entire rep.
Excellent article , simple-concise and basic workout.
Hitting 46 soon and have been weight training over twenty years so will go with this routine as it’s appealing in both its content and its concept.
I would think this workout could also work as a cutting up routine by decreasing calories as it allows recovery and a combo of solid principles.
Currently leaning out on 1600-1800 cals (5 ft 8 180 lbs Oct 1st) so will start this workout this week.
Sounds good man! Seems like you have the right idea. Depending on your rate of fat loss don’t be afraid to bump the calories up a bit. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to go too low in calories and either they’re miserable or they can’t take it and binge.
As long as you’re losing about 1 lbs per week you’re doing great.
Cheers Greg – gotta say I’ve been more than impressed (and I’m not too easily impressed lol) with both your philosophy and common sense approach to all things physique related.
Competed as a natural back in the 90s against artificially enhanced bbs but my goal was the symmetrical aestethicism that can be achieved…it was never about winning a bauble…it is all about getting to where you want to be.
Your blog is a wealth of valid information in one place with a real world method of self improvement for all, be they beginners or gnarled old iron heads.
Added to bookmarks and looking forward to keeping abreast of things.
I appreciate the kind words my man! Fitness and nutrition has been my passion since I was fourteen. The past few years I’ve been really honing in on my approach to building a chiseled physique. Congratulations on your bodybuilding accomplishments and for staying natural during the whole process. Keep up the lifestyle man.
Hey, really liked your website can you help me with the diet please like what to eat coz I want to gain musles not weight, I am 20 yrs old with 65 kg 174 cm got about 20% fat percentage and will this workout routine will help me
Thank you
and also decrease my waist which is 34 inch want to get back to 32 or lower
I recommend looking through my website for the various dieting articles I’ve written. This will give you more than you need to get started.
Hi Greg,
42 y/o – 5’10 – 185 and a 34″ waist…think about 15% bf. Want to drop to 11% and look better than most at my age. My strength lifts are: deadlift 315 x 2, shoulder press 140 x 2, chins 60 x2. I’m already feeling a decrease in testosterone, thus longer recovery and harder to do as much as I used to in the gym. Purchased hypergain from your link to ASR – want to start the Skyfall workout – the questions:
1. With a decent diet high protein / fat (no alcohol) for 30 days, can I get there?
2. Will I maintain my current strength?
3. I’m AF Reserve so I have to keep a 12 minute 1.5 mile run time – can I maintain that time just doing this workout? 0
Thanks so much for all the free information – got to you through Rusty Moore.
Hey Nigel! Looks like you’re doing great so far and awesome work with the strength lifts.
1. With a diet you also need to pay attention to calorie intake. I would recommend anywhere from 10-12 calories per pound of bodyweight if fat loss is your goal and 14-16 calories per pound for maintenance. After setting calories then you want to aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. How you make up the rest of your calories between fats and carbs is up to you. It won’t make any difference as far as fat loss is concerned. With that said I would never let any single macro nutrient (fat, protein, carbs) fall below 20% of total calories consumed.
2. Yes you will be able to maintain your current lifts. Especially once you start taking hypergain. You may actually notice your lifts will increase even while dieting.
3. I’d recommend two running workouts per week to maintain your run time. Maybe 400m intervals x 4-6 once per week and 2 mile jog once per week.
@Greg I’m going to try this workout I’m 20 years old but It looks like a great routine to me. I need to add some mass to my chest it’s my weakest area. I feel like recovery has been an issue possibly.
When you fast for 16-18 hours with no breakfst, how do you not feel hungry?
You adapt to it and you no longer feel hungry at all. Instead you feel clarity, freedom and focus.
Hey Greg, Is it okay if I perform low reps with longer rest time and high reps with shorter rest time for the same set of exercise for strength and muscle building…..
Like for example while I’m doing the Incline Barbell Bench Press. I’ll do it like
2 sets x 3-5 reps (3 minutes rest between sets) and
2 sets x 6-10 reps (1 minutes rest between sets)
That’ll be 4 sets in total for that exercise……
Thank You
If you’re going to do the pump stuff for higher reps and short rest then you need to do at-least 3-4 sets to get a good stimulus. Unless you’re just trying to maintain muscle then 2 sets is fine.
K, Thanks for your reply btw what kind of rep tempo should I do for low reps and high reps….
I don’t really stress about tempo. For most exercises I just focus on powering through the concentric and controlling the eccentric.
K..Thanks a lot 4 the info..Looking forward to reading your next article….
Nice article. So over how much time did he put the 20 pounds of muscle on. I have been doing pretty well lately with getting lean. As of last week I am down to 9% body fat.
Craig actually had quite a bit of time to put on the muscle. 6 months or longer. There was actually a delay in filming for the movie due to production reasons.
Six months is a reasonable amount of time to put that kind of muscle on. Certainly not easy but he didn’t have to do it in 3 months. I am excited for the new movie!
I use Crepure. German brand creatine and for me and other people I know, that is thee best,cleanest and effective creatine mono I ever tried. I may try Hypergain, but after trying Creapure, I see no reason to try anything else. I’ll keep an open mind regardless. I also heard Allmax Creatine is decent.
Hey Greg thanks for answering my question about rest breaks. Given your answer would you modify your Daniel Craig workout above to include any lower rep ranges? Looks like most of the ranges you recommend are 6-10.
6-10 reps is more effective for building muscle then 3-5. 5-8 reps is also very good at stimulating growth. However going heavier than your 5 rep max doesn’t have any additional benefits. Your muscles are already using near 100% of their muscle fibers. With the super heavy weights you aren’t able to do as many reps so they aren’t ideal for stimulating muscle growth.
So, is it better to do a fixed rep range and increase weights like 3×8 or
is it better to do a range and then move up a larger amount like 3×6-10?
A fixed rep range can work if you are able to make small incremental increases in weight (1-3 lbs total). If you don’t have access to fractional plates then you will need to give yourself a rep range to build up to before increasing the weight by 5 lbs.
What’s your recommended rep range for a beginner? do you think starting strength will help upper body at all?
6-10 for a beginner. Beginners usually have problems using proper technique with weights greater than their 6 rep max.
Starting strength isn’t ideal for building the upperbody. Gains will be very limited. The problems is two fold. First starting strength has you doing upperbody lifts after squats. This kills your strength and potential for gains. In addition starting strength has relatively low volume for upperbody. Not enough volume to adequately trigger muscle growth.
I never heard of that creatine before? I always avoided creatine because i felt like it made my muscles less defined in a more bloated type of way and my abs were not as ripped looking.
how long of a period do you used this creatine? Do you notice these issues? I am in Phase 3 of Visual Impact now so i am cutting, and I plan to use a creatine to gain back any muscle loss for shrink wrap
I’ve been using this creatine for 3-4 weeks now. Definitely haven’t felt bloated at all. Muscles feel harder and fuller. You can continue to use this creatine as long as you like.
Greg,
Gaining 20 lbs of muscle with minimal if any fat gain is impressive especially at his age. Kudos to him for pulling that off particularly under a time constraint as I’m sure he was.
Alykhan
About time we had a post like this again :)
hey greg, quick question about rest breaks. i’ve read a lot of stuff that says if your goal is hypertrophy (which mine is) then rest period between sets shouldn’t exceed 90 seconds. if your goal is strength, then take longer rest periods. do you not agree with this? can you receive optimal muscle stimulation for hypertrophy with these longer rest periods?
Great question.
80% of your muscle growth is going to come from progressive overload in weight lifted. So get as strong as possible in the 5-8 rep range. You will rarely see people who can bench 275 lbs for 5 and perform chin ups with 100 lbs for 5 reps that are not very, very muscular. To achieve this level of strength you need to take full rest periods (3 minutes).
The other 20% of muscle growth is from high volume lifting with short breaks. This is also known as pump training. Ex: 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps with 45-90 seconds rest between sets.
great post, especially for us older types. i agree with an earlier comment that even at a higher age (i’m 47) the metabolism can work just fine, but in my case this is due to the fact that i exercise 6x per week and keep a close eyeball on my calories. monday to friday fasted early-morning 30-min calisthenics/isometrics followed by a short 10-min session of hiit sprints has improved my physique out of sight and on weekends i do one day of 45-min weights only and one day of sweet f.a. for recovery. at my age the key is to never work out to failure, fatigue or exhaustion, otherwise injury will catch you up sharpish and bite you in the arse. but doing something daily is vital the older you get, trick is to ensure that intensity and duration are adequately balanced out against each other. cheers greg, fab site!
Thanks Phil. I wasn’t saying the metabolism declines. Only that testosterone declines which make big calorie surpluses more likely to cause fat gain.
cheers greg, you’re absolutely right with your comment on declining testosterone and its negligible effect to deal with surplus calories, shows how important calorie control becomes as you grow older.
Exactly!
Younger guys who are lifting weights can eat quite a bit over maintenance and gain mostly muscle. Testosterone is key here. Same for guys who are taking steroids. I’m only 21 but I am way past those days since I am pretty close to my maximum muscular potential. Therefore my body is unlikely to get any bigger/stronger without accompanying fat gain. So I have to be pretty careful with my diet as well.
why so much rest between sets 3 min ?
3 minutes rest allows you to use heavier weights and make better strength gains. Overall this leads to greater muscle growth. It takes roughly 3-5 minutes for muscles to recover between sets.
Hi there, thanks for your input; If I may say, I quite don’t agree with your statement about slowing down metabolism over 40 and I can tell, I’m 46 and never felt in such a great shape as now;
Same for the workout you describe, this is the kind I would give to someone around 55-60 who wants to get in shape again;
I can ensure you metabolism over 40 is a good as it is at 25, go to bodydbuilding.com and look for “tranformation over 40” there are plenty of guys and girls who are achieving awesome results ;-)
Anyway I still enjoy reading your posts, keep on the good work;
cheers,
Dan.
Dan I never said the metabolism declines over 40 years old. I simply stated that testosterone levels decline. Younger guys can tend to handle bigger calorie surpluses better (more muscle and less fat gain). The older you get the more at risk you are for spilling over from a given calorie surplus.
Also I prefer minimalistic approaches to building muscle and strength. This is how I’ve built my muscle mass and physique. There is really no benefit to 1 hour plus workouts 5-6x per week. If you train hard, smart and consistently you can get the job done in 3 workouts per week.
okay, my mistake then ;-)
No problem. Should of made that more clear.
I remember reading about Craig’s training protocol for Casino Royale. He was performing approximately 8 exercises all done in a circuit with very little rest between movements. The repetition range was 10 or so and he averaged around 3 to 4 sets. Those protocols, however, are fitting for someone who needs to trim adipose tissue (body fat) and harden his muscles up with a net gain of 3 to 5 pounds of lean tissue. Circuits evoke a large quantity of lactic acid which increases GH (growth hormone) release. Your suggestions above, however, seem to be more fitting for what Craig needed to transition from a skinny cowboy to a buff Bond. Yes, if I needed 15-20 pounds of brawn in a relatively short period – 2 months for instance – I would go with a Scwarzenegger type 4 day split (Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday), and perform abdominals on the days that I lift.
Good post, comrade!
Nice post. DC is such an inspiration. I know this guys get paid a lot cash, but honestly it kind take a toll on you mentally having to transform your physique soo often.
Good post, though, im kinda against creatine. Sorry for my english :)
I thought that to build muscle we were required to train each muscle 2 times per week for maximum efficiency. That’s what you said in every posts until this one
Two times per week works pretty well. Since Daniel Craig is 44 year old 2x per week isn’t as effective. Providing the body with sufficient rest is far more important. For that reason I recommend hitting each muscle group heavy and hard once every 5 to 7 days. I provided a 3x per week template and a 3x per 5 day template.
Honestly even for the advanced younger guy (18-30 years old) I think once every 4-5 days is probably the most ideal. Beginners can handle more frequency (2x per week).
Hey there Greg,
I have been following you for a while now and I am completely impressed with your website. Thank you for all of your feedback. I am trying to loose 10 lbs (currently 5*10 175lbs) Mostly in my abdomen area. Do you recommend I follow this workout schedule and add some cardio? The routine I have now has made me stronger but I cant see any real muscle. Especially not in my abdomen. I do have a good diet but cheat on the weekends. What do you recommend I do? Thanks!
You can follow this workout to maintain/build muscle. With that said seems like the biggest thing for you is going to be diet. Get your diet under control so that you are losing between 1 and 2 lbs per week.
Thanks for responding!. I am not big on fasting but I tend to have a breakfast, lunch and two snacks. Not really big on dinner. Do you recommend I change it up? I will try this workout thanks for your feedback!
Well that depends. If you enjoy this eating pattern and are able to stay relatively lean then I see no reason to change anything. Intermittent fasting is not a dogmatic approach to me. I just find it helps the majority of people stick to a diet without feeling deprived. It’s not the answer to everyone. You could very well be someone that functions better on more food during the day and less at night.
Do you suggest hypergain to a 16 year old. I have heard about liver or kidney toxicty from many people about creatine.
thanks!
Liver and kidney toxicity is not an issue with creatine. With that said I would get a couple years of strength training under your belt before considering taking creatine.
Pull-ups instead of weighted chin-ups? Any reason as to why, considering you’re usually recommending chin-ups over pull-ups?
Oh and btw are you still accepting consultations? E-mailed you a while ago, but never received an answer?
You can go with either variation. Since there is plenty of biceps work in the workout it makes sense to do pull ups.
Send me the email again and I will respond.
Sent you an e-mail, could you verify if you’ve received it or not?
http://7thspace.com/headlines/421363/a_buffered_form_of_creatine_does_not_promote_greater_changes_in_muscle_creatine_content_body_composition_or_training_adaptations_than_creatine_monohydrate.html
To each his own I suppose. I know some people that swear they see better results with other creatines maybe placebo maybe not. You take any pre-workouts?
Yes. The research shows there are equal. I am talking from personal experience and I never saw great gains from monohdyrate. I thought I was one of the 10% of non responders. When I started taking hypergain I saw very impressive results.
I don’t use any pre workout supps! Coffee is my favorite pre workout. Coffee + fasted state = incredible energy.
Great article!
But you should know that buffered creatine is no better than creatine monohydrate: http://1.usa.gov/PAPszW
Yes, you are right. The research shows they are equally effective. With that said I am speaking from personal experience and anecdotal evidence. For me and a bunch of my fitness friends the difference has been night and day.
Fair point on the personal experience! Always go with your gut.
In your opinion, what kind of loading phase, daily use and cycling do you go through to get the best effect?
With the kre-alklyn (hypergain) I just take 3 tablets per day. This is equivalent to 10 grams of creatine monohydrate. On workout days I take it about an hour before my workout. On rest days days I’ll take it with my first meal.
No cardio or HIIT?
Daniel Craig was extremely lean before getting ready for Skyfall. He didn’t require any cardio or HIIT to burn fat.