Q CAN I GET FITTER AND LOOK BETTER AT THE SAME TIME?
Building an impressive physique and improving your sporting performance aren’t the same thing – but they needn’t be mutually exclusive
First, let’s make one thing clear.
It is definitely possible to build a muscular, lean body while making strength, speed and power gains. In fact, I would say that training like an athlete and turning yourself into a performance machine is actually the best way to get an aesthetically pleasing body – you just need to pick the right performanceboosting exercises and tweak the loading parameters to optimise your body composition.
Lift off
If you want to build muscle, forget bodybuilding-style isolation exercises such as dumbbell curls and instead focus on compound lifts such as bench presses, squats and deadlifts. Sprinters and rugby players perform these moves in sets of one to three reps, using as much weight as possible. This is optimum for building maximum strength, but if you want get stronger and add functional muscle, you need to lower the weight slightly and aim for four to six reps per set.
I recommend focusing on one compound exercise per workout. Aim to complete five sets of four to six reps of that lift, paired in a superset with an exercise that works antagonistic, opposing muscle groups – so push presses with chin-ups or bench presses with barbell rows. Rest for 20-30 seconds between the first and second exercise, then for two minutes after the second exercise to complete one superset. Once you’ve finished all five, reduce the weight of the main compound lift by 30% and complete 30 reps of it in as few sets and as little time as possible for an extra musclebuilding boost.
Walk this way
A lot of guys lift weights to pump their muscles up, and then do steady-state cardio like jogging or cycling on the side. This is not an efficient way to build a greatlooking body. To get lean while maintaining muscle mass, ditch the treadmill and focus on strongmaninspired metabolic conditioning exercises such as sled drags, farmer’s walks, walking lunges or prowler pushes. These don’t just work all your major muscle groups; they also develop stabilising muscles and improve your posture, ensuring you look good both when in motion and when stationary.
If you want to get as lean as possible, do these exercises using a 1:1 ratio, so you work for one minute then rest for one minute. This will make your metabolism work harder and burn more calories. Try adding five rounds of one of these strongman exercises as a finisher to each of your compound lift workouts to improve your strength gains too. I had a client who added 30kg to his deadlift in a month, because heavy carrying had improved his grip strength and reinforced his glutes and lower back.
If you’ve got time, I would also add at least one weekly sprint session. As well as making you more explosive, sprints will get you ripped, without sacrificing muscle mass or negatively impacting your strength. Warm up, then perform six rounds of 60m sprints with 60 seconds’ rest in-between, then do two 200m sprints to finish. It’ll be tough, but if you can manage a combined five to six sessions a week you will make huge strength, power and speed gains – and have the physique to show for it.