Jermaine Nelson asks...
Will the 5x5 program in your book keep me from being cut, I was under the impression that if you want to get cut its about diet but what about lifting to get cut. There are no specific muscle groups being worked on because of compound using all.
I like the program but still want the fitness model look to go with it. I guess my question is can I get look like a fitness model using this program and proper diet combined?
Fitness models are a joke. With all the Squatting and Deadlifting you'll be doing on StrongLifts 5x5, you'll look more like Chris Hemsworth in Thor, Huge Jackman in Wolverine or Daniel Craig in James Bond than Brad Pitt in Fight Club.
Just compare Chris Hemsworth powerful physique in Thor to his fitness model physique in Home & Away. Everyone will agree he looks a lot more manly today. And according to Men's Fitness, Chris Hemsworth's training consisted of Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press and Barbell Rows for 4 sets of 4-6 reps - sounds similar to StrongLifts 5x5 to me. Check the physique he accomplished with this...
Chris Hemsworth skinny in "Home & Away" and after bulking up for "Thor".
You really don't NEED isolation exercises at all. Hemsworth's had an "arm day", but it consisted of Weighted Chin-ups and Close Grip Bench Press says Men's Fitness, and he also did Weighted Pull-ups/Dips. That's right - no frigging curls and triceps kickbacks but heavy compounds is how he built his arms.
Getting "cut" is calories in vs. calories out. Most guys with busy schedules like mine will choose to clean up their diet rather than adding cardio. Whatever you choose, it's way easier to lose fat if you have built strength first, so start by gaining muscle using heavy compounds and lose fat later... if still necessary.
This isn't only the training strategy that Arnold Schwarzenegger used back in the days, it also turns out to be what Chris Hemsworth's personal trainer, Michael Knight, used to get him in shape for Thor. Quote from Men's Fitness...
Once Chris put on the muscle I needed to get him lean, which meant stripping away any fat he had accumulated during the first phase while maintaining all his newly built muscle, I did this by getting him to do this total-body circuit based around classic strongman moves, such as log presses, tyre flips, sledgehammers and prowler sprints, as well as circuits with kettlebells of varying weights. This got Chris down to his fighting weight of 220lb – and as you can see from the pictures, it was all muscle.
So good old fashioned HIIT work obviously combined with a proper diet as Chris Hemsworth himself revealed in an interview. Quote...
I was eating a lot of clean protein, fruit, vegetables and some carbs, as well as drinking four to five litres of water a day. I put on a lot of weight — I put on about 20 pounds at one point. It was purely eating, eating, eating, working out and working out, trying to sleep as much as you can — that's the other third of the equation. The eating was the biggest thing; since stopping shooting I probably work out the same but don't eat as much, and I've probably lost 15 pounds or something. Chicken breasts and protein shakes, boiled chicken . . . clean meats, the right carbs. Sickly stuff."
Remember that when you see him taking his shirt off in Thor - the guy doesn't look like that all year round, he already lost 15lb. It should be obvious that it's a different game without the paycheck motivator. My advice: forget about the grueling HIIT - just do StrongLifts 5x5, eat healthy foods, be consistent and you'll easily look a heck of a lotter than most guys... year through.
Pfff, weighted chinups and weighted dips… I can’t even do regular chinups for more than 3 reps, let alone a dip. Such a long way to go… guess I’ll have a second serving of dinner tonight before hitting the gym tomorrow morning.
too bad Chris didn’t keep it up. Working out with only a paycheck in mind. I get no paycheck for my work in my garage gym, just good results which keep me going strong at 64, same as it has since I was 17.
it’s a way of life. Chris doesn’t get it.
As for Brad Pitt, I heard right after competion of TROY he immidiately quit working out and went back to his cigarettes….
Great post Mehdi, just saw Thor and could not believe Hemworth’s physique. The next Marvel film is Captain America and has Chris Evans in similar shape – how about a feature on him too?
Elmer, I’m still in the early stages of 5×5, but almost magically, have had to add 5k weight to my dips (3×10). Eventhough I can’t pull up or chin up more than 6 reps. So it won’t be long! Keep going.
Cheers Itrain!
It would be interesting to know, in which timeframe he added the 20 pounds.
I know alot is possible but at his already trained stage it´s not humanly possible to add 20pounds in a short time frame without any kind of juice and since he is from hollywood, he would have the right doctors for it.
Otherwise his plan is great and works
Good overview but… Mehdi, you are pretty inconsiderate in your articles. Don’t berate other people because they have different goals than you, treat other people with respect, especially when they did nothing to offend you. I’m a powerlifter but I still respect athletes from other disciplines. I may not agree on the methods when they become unethical but I still respect other people’s dedication. They clearly see something in it that I don’t. Many fitness models aren’t into heavy squats and deadlifts. They are into marathons and triathlons and generally into endurance sports. Can you honestly say that a triathlon is a joke? Working out is one thing, job is something else. Generally fitness models are lucky to combine job and hobby into one. Actors… well, that’s something else. For the most part they aren’t athletes but I still respect (most of) them since they also put a lot of dedication into their profession.
Dude’s not going to get roles looking like Brian Bosworth. He has to cut back down. Amazing work though.
You know whats the key to all those hollywood physics ?? Supplements , legal or illegal , I dont care . They make the things easier . These people deal with a lot of money . Its hard and takes long time to achieve this body , with supplements it takes a lot less time . without supplements he would have a belly 100% .
Totaly agree with evgeni on this one, and with that sort of cash at stake id do exactly the same.
Just another thing to mention… In men’s health interview with Chris, he says that before training for Thor he hadn’t ever lifted weights! He surfed alot and played sports, so we are talking about a pretty gifted guy genetically.
If this is true and he hadn’t lifted weights before, getting his nutrition spot on and training consistently for the first time ever– he definitely could have made this transformation naturally and in a short time.
Important side note:
Never strive for a fitness model look!
They can hold the state on the photo’s only for like 1 day! For a shoot they have a complex diet for losing water etc.. Besides that they are photographed by professionals under perfect lighting, afterwards the photo’s are edited.
Its just not a good comparison!
thanks for the support buddy , anyone who thinks he only takes vitamin C with his food is wrong . Strength training also is very important . But if you know what you are doing ( experience ) you dont need to be very strong to be big or lean . I have seen such people .
Apparently he did the whole transformation in 3 months – 2 months bulking up and then 1 month cutting. Wish I could do that!!
Chris,
I agree 110% with you. I’d be surprised if Jermaine comes back to the site, which is a bummer with all the great information here.
Otherwise, a decent blog post.
If you were taking what he obviously was and had the personal trainers you probably could. A little bit of testosterone and human growth hormone can work wonders. bodys like that are built over years naturaly not months. The human body can only gain about 2 lbs of muscle a month naturaly with ideal nutrition and training, all these gomad diets add mostly fat and water and just pack out your cloths to give the illusion off size.
If what scottm says is true then I find it too much of a coincidence that a steroid cycle takes around 84 days (12 weeks) and that Hemsworth made this tranformation in 90 days.
Sad but true, transformations as quick as these are mostly due to steroids.
I agree that without prior lifting experience it would take many years to achieve that physique in a natural way. But even with juice achieving that result in 3 months required him not losing time with what doesnt work well.
Absoluty-steroids only amplify hard work,good diet and solid training,with out these roids are useless
Neil, can you provide a reference for the 2 lbs/month figure?
The two lbs of muscle per month figure is flawed for several reasons. For one thing, it refers to dry muscle, which is different from the typical conception of muscle, which includes large amounts of water (the human body is majority water) and glycogen.
Second, it is based on a study of elite athletes. The doctors who did the study inferred that since these were elite athletes, they had elite genetics and these results were on the upper end, but anyone who knows anything about strength training knows that an elite athlete, who is already at the peak of their game, is going to gain mass and strength more slowly than an unadapted beginner. So those results are actually on the very low end when we’re talking about untrained individuals.
It’s all about context.
Also, am I the only one who thinks that those pictures look a lot different than 20 lbs? Looks more like 30 or 40 to me.
I get the impression most guys on here don’t take supplements. Read up on creatine, adding that can add a great deal of muscle size through water retention alone, combined with the benefits it provides for lifts and again adding tons of food with proper supplementation and lots of sleep with good genetics some people can make unbelievable progress in rapid time.