Lean Muscle Gains

Muscle density measures the amount of muscle you have compared to body fat

Increasing muscle density means achieving a defined, "hard" look that so many bodybuilders and trainees covet. Muscles typically appear dense when your body fat percentage gets around 10 percent to 12 percent. This will vary depending on the individual. However, by using a targeted approach that combines training and diet techniques (that I'm going to show you), you can increase your muscle density.

Rusty Moore over at Fitness Black Book I think put it best....

"Full Muscles are Great as Long As This Isn't Overdone"

***The last thing you want to become is a rounded mass of soft muscle. It is fine to get bigger, as long as you still have compact functional muscles. Hugh Jackman & Duane Johnson (The Rock) are great examples of a bigger guys who maintains the angular look. There is a fine line between "full muscles" and simply overdoing it. These guys have the right idea.***

And that is what lean muscle building and muscle density is all about

Keep your total sets and reps low. Bodybuilders do a lot of sets and reps a "high volume" of lifting to build muscle. You want to do a "low volume" of lifting to create a lean "special forces" type build ripped with lean dense muscle.

Let's Start With The Backbone of Lean Muscle Building

Weight Training

Weight training has been around forever. And for good reason. Now for our purpose here I always advise going with the big compound exercises. But I don't neccessarily go with the ones that are commonly reccommended.

But let me back up for one second

If you are a very skinny guy (or girl) you do want to spend some time on training with the Flat Bench Press, Barbell Back Squat and Conventional Deadlift. These are the exercises along with weight gaining nutrition that will pack on a little size.

For Our Lean Muscle Gains meaning for those of us looking to just Gain Some Lean Muscle, Refine And Define The Muscle We Have.

As an example: Instead of the flat bench to work your chest your main Chest exercise should be the Incline Dumbbell Press. The flat bench works your middle to lower chest for the most part. The Dumbbell Incline Press primarily works your upper chest. Try this experiment.

Take your shirt off stand in front of a mirror sideways. Look at your chest now don't you think you would look better with your upper chest having more muscle than the lower?

Take a look at someone from a side view with heavily muscled lower chest. They Look Like They Have Boobs Don't They? I don't know about you but that's not a look I want.

Here is a link to an article I wrote about Chest Training

I will be adding much more about building lean muscle with weight training but for now continue on and lets talk about what may be the best training tool there is for muscle density.

Hopefully you have discovered the powerful benefits to using kettlebells in your workouts.

Listen I'm an old school weight training guy. I've been lifting for almost 40 years now. Okay if you have to know I'm 54. Been around the block a few times seen alot of so called fitness experts and new bigger and better exercise programs come and go. Then a few years back we discovered the one training tool that can give weight training a run for it's money.

Kettlebells

Talk about Old school. I'm not going to get into a whole history and how to for kettlebell training here. I have a lens at The Kettlebell Training Page that has alot of information on kettlebells history, video demo's and more.

As I said I'm an old school weight training guy or to use a term I love but don't hear much anymore I would classify myself as

A Blood On The Barbell type of guy.

But once I started working kettlebells into my workout along with my weight training and bodyweight exercises the fat started shredding and the lean muscle gains I was experiencing took on another dimension. Talk about muscle density. And the strength gains!!!!

I am a big believer in total body workouts and kettlebells provide an incredible amount of one and two arm exercises for not only lean muscle building but metabolic resistance training or as I like to call it resistance training cardio.

There is a reason kettlebells have become a favorite training tool for MMA fighters (probably the best conditioned athletes around today). Strength, endurance, speed and total body power.

Whether you are looking for fat loss, strength training, muscle building, or general conditioning you should always use Bodyweight Exercises in your workouts

A quick glance at the bodies of gymnasts will show you just how muscular and fat free your body can become using just your bodyweight alone.

Lets get one thing straight. You don't need weights to get very strong. Your body IS a weight. It is a weight that you have wherever you go, whenever you go there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. If you doubt that bodyweight training can make you strong Try and keep up with the strength moves gymnasts put themselves through.

Your body recognizes resistance and tension. Do you think it cares or knows where that resistance comes from? No. The same principles that you use with your kettlebells or your barbells also apply to bodyweight. Do you think you are going to do a one arm pushup if your core isn't tight? Are you going to mindlessly go through pistol squats like you were doing curls with a pink Barbie dumbbell?

Some refer to the flat barbell bench press as the king of upper body exercises. And they are entitled to thier opinion.

But me I am much more impressed by someone that can do a high number of strict form Pull-Ups. For upper body strength and lean muscle gains I don't think you can beat Pull-ups. Follow the link below to anarticle I wrote about pull-ups...

For Lean Muscle Gains In Your Upper Body

Gain Lean Muscle And Get Ripped

3 Tips For Lean Muscle Gains, Muscle Density And Getting Ripped

Some people will tell you that you can't lose fat and gain lean muscle at the same time. I disagree. Are you carrying around some extra fat? It's your diet. Losing fat and muscle density is all about eating clean. Gain muscle? It's all in your workouts. Not seeing the results you want? Rethink how you train.

So Let's Talk Workouts To Gain Lean Muscle And Get Ripped:

What's the reason your here reading this? To gain muscle right? But what kind of workouts are you doing?

What Should You be doing to gain muscle? When it comes down to it we want to gain muscle like bodybuilders do right? We just don't want all the bulk. We want workouts to gain lean muscle, improve muscle density and get ripped, in a short amount of time.

Here are some tips to add muscle and lose fat, with our end result in mind:

Lean Body Workout Tip 1: Intensity For Muscle Density

Intensity is key, not how long your workouts take when it comes to muscle density, building lean muscle and getting ripped fast get your hands on the bar and get to work. For lean muscle gains keep your workouts short. I never go longer than 40 minutes. You don't need to. If you are working out with maximum intensity you don't need more than that.

Lean Muscle Building Workout Tip 2: Antagonistic Pairing

For my workouts this is the #1 tip that helped me go from having the body of a powerlifter to the more lean hard body look we are after. ( and my diet changes of course)

Antagonistic pairing simply means pairing up 2 exercises of opposite bodyparts.

As an example:

Chest - Back

Quads - Hamstrings

Biceps - Triceps

Now you can read a lot about this online and most will say go back and forth with no rest in between exercises. This isn't what I do, I rest for a minimum of 30 seconds in between. We are looking to gain lean muscle right?

It has been my experience that taking no rest, it becomes more of a resistance training cardio workout. That's not necessarily a bad thing but for me the rest gives me enough to keep pushing the heavy weights.

One of The Pairs I Use:

1A) Incline Dumbbell Press

1B) Pull - Ups

Talk about firing up your upper body.

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Muscle Gaining Workout Tip 3:

I keep my rep ranges for all exercise in the 4-7 range. I rarely deviate from this range for my muscle building workouts. If I am doing a week of deloading I'll go in the up to 12 range but that's just for a deload. The 4-7 range has worked best for me for strength and lean muscle gains. And when your using heavy weight (which you should) and antagonistic pairing it doesn't sap your strength to quickly. So there are 3 quick tips to gain lean muscle and get ripped. Now I didn't mention fat loss and muscle density a lot here although I did just mentioned getting ripped again. So what gives? Using all 3 of these tips in your workouts will contribute to getting ripped and muscle density. Your main fat loss will come from what and how much you put in your mouth.

I want to go back to points 1 & 2 again. I use timed sets in my antagonistic pairing. What I mean is taking the example I gave you above I will set a timer for 15 minutes. I keep the reps low and do as many sets as time allows. Next workout I aim to do more total reps than the last workout. That is where the intensity comes in. This is a great training style not only for muscle density but lean muscle building.

The Lean Muscle X Shaped Physique

I am on alot of lists for some of the top fitness sites online. And I do mean alot. So when I find a post that fits in well with my ideas on lean muscle building I like to pass it along to you.

Today I have a post from John Romaniello of Roman Fitness Systems. John is a New York based personal trainer, coach, author and model. Oh yeah and a 5.8 on the badass scale (his numbers not mine).

Whatever your fitness and physique goals are, it is important to structure your programming in a way that allows you to meet those goals in the shortest time period possible. You have a tremendous variety of tools in the tool box, and it is sometimes easy to forget that not all methods are effective for all goals.

Athletes training for their sport practice some highly specific drills; training for fat loss requires adjustment of nutritional strategies; powerlifters work on becoming skilled and efficient in their primary lifts.

Given these examples, is easy to see that none of these scenarios would really benefit from using strategies intended for the others.

And so, if your goal is simply to build a lean, symmetrical, attractive and sexy body, you have to gear your diet and training structure towards those goals.

Here are 5 tips to help you along the way:

1) Focus on Building an X-Shaped Physique

When it comes to being physically attractive to the opposite sex, it's important to understand that certain body dimensions are visually important, from an evolutionary perspective.

Our progenitors credited desirable traits like strength, productivity, and virility to corresponding physical attributes. While societal 'needs' may have changed in a way that no longer makes it 'necessary' to have the characteristics to succeed, to a certain extent we carry our ancestors tastes.

This means that physical traits which imply the presence of "mating qualifiers" are important for increasing your stock with the ladies.

To that end, an X-shaped physique means: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and strong, well-developed calves.

For broad shoulders, focus on core movements that allow for maximal recruitment, such as the push press, as well as some isolation exercises to focus on the medial delts and increases width, such as lateral raises.

A narrow waist is primarily the result of a low level of body fat, obviously. However, it is important to understand that the muscles around your waist respond to weight training in much the same way that all other muscles do: by growing! So while I don't ever advise avoiding certain exercises completely, I offer the caveat that one should avoid training rotational exercises with either heavy weight or high volume.

Strong, well-developed calves are not easy to come by. Calves are a notoriously stubborn body part to grow, so I recommend training them multiple times per week. Work your calves first in your training session, not last.

By focusing on these muscles and building a physique more in line with what our ancestors considered desirable (and let's be honest, we still do), you are on the road to a sexier body.

2) Push Less, Pull More

In keeping with the ideas from above, the goal of training for sexiness should also include balance and symmetry. This not only should you train the right way, but also that you need to make a concentrated effort to avoid training the wrong way.

You can finish reading at The Lean Muscle X Shaped Physique

The Leading Man in Hollywood is Now Slim and Toned, Not Bulky!

Remember back in the 80's when Arnold Schwarzenegger was the big action star? He was huge. He basically brought bodybuilding to the mainstream and influenced an entire generation of young guys to want to get as big and muscular as possible. It started with Conan, then the Terminator, Commando, Predator, Twins, and many more action flicks.

The Big Muscle Look Began to Die in the Late 90's.

You see, although many guys wanted to get as big as possible, women had a different idea of what looked great. They wanted their men to look good in dress clothes as well as with their shirts off. Women are physically attracted to the "GQ" look or lean and slim toned guys, not massive freaky muscular guys. If you ever have seen a soap opera, you will notice that all of the men have average amounts of muscle but with exceptional muscle tone.

1999, the Year Fight Club Came Out, Was The Official Death of the Massive Look

For years during the big muscle era, women kept trying to tell guys that they were more interested in muscle definition and not into the bodybuilder look. Guys didn't really listen until 1999, when Fight Club came out. Brad Pitt finally showed the masses of guys out there that being ultra-lean with a normal build is more bad-ass looking than being huge and bulky. Brad's character, Tyler Durden, was able to get a "hip" funky look, but had amazing muscle definition when he took his shirt off. This is a winning combination with the ladies and all actors are striving for this look.

Since the late 90's, Many Hollywood Actors Have Begun to Slim Down

Remember how big The Rock used to be? He is now MUCH lighter and looks great. What about Mark Wahlberg or Ryan Reynolds? Both of these guys have really slimmed down and have the sleek and toned look instead of being bulky. Same with Matt Damon. More recently Will Smith really slimmed down for his role in "I am Legend". He had to get big and bulky for "Ali", but dropped a lot of that mass and really cleaned up his physique for his newest role.

Are You "Still" Trying to Get Massive?

Being big and massive is a great way to impress guys in the gym, but won't get you far with women. There is simply a "cheesiness" factor once you get too big. You can't really achieve a hip look and clothes don't fit well. Ever see a professional football player or professional wrestler in a suit? They look stupid. If you want to be more attractive to the opposite sex, then you may reconsider your goal of getting big muscles. Opt for the lean athletic look instead.

About the Author: Rusty Moore is a trainer who gives advice to men and women who want a body that has "The Hollywood Look". Download his FREE 56 page report... Vacation Body Blueprint. Get the slim & toned physique like Cam Gigandet, Brad Pitt, Jessica Biel, or Penelope Cruz. Click here to see the video and download the FREE REPORT----> http://vacationbodyblueprint.com

"How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?"

That's right up there with "How do I get six pack abs" as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time. The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers - even from experts who are supposed to know these things. So what's the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously?

Short answer: Yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat at the "same time."

The 4 X-Factors To Burn Fat While Building Muscle

The first X-factor is "training age". Ever hear of "newbie gains?" The less trained your body is and the further you are from your genetic potential, the easier it is to gain muscle. The reverse is also true - an advanced bodybuilder with 20 years experience would be thrilled just to gain a few pounds of solid dry muscle in a year!

The second x factor is muscle memory. It's easier to regain muscle you've lost than it is to gain new muscle in the first place (ergo, the fat out of shape semi retired bodybuilder who starts training again and blows up and gets ripped "overnight").

The third X factor is genetics (or somatotype). Ever heard of the "genetic freak?" That's the dude who sprouts muscle like weeds even when he's on the "50-50 diet" (50% McDonald's and 50% pizza) and he never gets fat. (That dude chose the right parents!)

The fourth X factor is drugs. It would stun (or sadden) you if you knew how many people take performance and physique-enhancing drugs. I'm not just talking about pro bodybuilders, I'm talking about "Joe six pack" in the gym - not to mention those fitness models you idolize in the magazines. How did they get large muscle gains with concurrent fat loss? Chemicals.

I'm not a gambling man, but I'll place a wager on this any day: I'll bet that in 99% of the cases of large muscle gains with concurrent large fat losses, one or more of these x factors were present.

That's not all! There are actually 5 more X factors related to your body composition and diet status (the X2 factors). But I'll have to talk about those later.

So you're not a beginner, you don't take roids, you're not a genetic freak and you have no muscle memory to take advantage of. Are you S.O.L? Well, I do want you to be realistic about your goals, but

To Continue Readining Please Click Here===>Burn Fat While Building Muscle

How 007 Trained For Lean Muscle Gains And Muscle Density

Daniel Craig is possibly now in the best physical shape that he has ever been in. It seems that he is in as good shape as the average British spy or special armed services soldier would be in. So, how does Bond build that lean muscle?

For the Quantum of Solace Daniel Craig employed a new strength training coach, Simon Waterson, to help him to build on the success that he made while working on Casino Royale. This workout is a 5 day a week split training regime, with active rest at weekends. As we know Bond was a swimmer and tennis player, so these activities are ideal for weekends.

For Part 1 We Have Daniel Craig's Chest, Back and Leg Training

The Bond lean body workout concentrates on different muscle groups each day, with an intensive interval training afterwards.

The three main weight training workouts are Chest and Back, Legs, Shoulders and Arms, with some plyometric training and Power Training (Olympic weight lifting) exercises thrown in too.

Functional training is the key to success when it comes to attaining a James Bond physique.

Day 1: Plyometric Circuit

Day 2: Chest, Back and Leg Exercises (see below)

Day 3: Active Rest - gentle swimming, yoga or other activities

Day 4: Arms and Shoulders

Day 5: Plyometric Circuit

Day 6/7: Active Rest

007 Chest and Back Exercises

Incline push-ups and plyometric push ups:

The foundation of a strong back and powerful chest is the humble push up. Never discount the lean muscle building effects push ups have, this exercise is too often overlooked. With your feet up on a bench, or chair, perform push ups, keeping your back straight at all times. Aim for 3 -5 sets of 10 to start with. In the final set, place your feet on the ground and attempt "clap ups", i.e. push up powerfully enough to do a quick clap on each push up.

Dumbbell Incline Press:

To work the upper chest, lie on a bench at a 45 degree incline, and pump out 4 sets of 4-8 incline bench presses. You can use a barbell but dumbbells are better, do not lock out your elbows. Keep the movement steady.

Pull Ups:

Another under used great upper body exercise. Hold the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width. Pull yourself up until your chin just passes the bar, then carefully lower yourself, take a few deep breaths, and go again. If the overhand pull up is to tough for you use meatral grip till your strength increases.

Incline Flys:

Back to the 45 degree incline bench, this time using dumbbells. Hold a dumbbell in each hand directly above your chest, then lower your arms downwards and out to the side, keeping your elbows slightly bent, so that the chest expands, then lift again. 3 set of 10 reps.

James Bond's Leg Training

Squats:

No proper weight training session is complete without squats. Ideally use a barbell in a squat rack/cage. With feet shoulder width apart, perform full squats. Good form is essential. Perform 3 or 4 sets of 5-8 reps.

Deadlifts:

The snatch grip deadlift is one of my go to lean muscle building exercises. Perform 3 or 4 sets of 5-8 . Form is essential (on all exercises) but especially on exercises like deadlifts.

Hamstring Curls:

My 2 cents here this is not an exercise I would choose for hamstrings I would do Romanian deadlifts.

The hamstring curl is not a classic exercise, but is a good isolation exercise to go along with the squats and deadlifts. Basically it performs the opposite movement to the squat, so that you are contracting the hamstring rather than expanding. Lie flat on a hamstring extension bench, stomach down, with ankles hooked under a padded bar. Lift legs as much as possible, and return slowly.

Lunges:

The lunge is another fantastic leg exercise. They can either be done with or without weights. Simply hold a dumbbell in each hand, ideally use the heaviest weight that you can hold and take a long step forward, bending your front knee, keep your back upright and straight, then return to standing position and repeat with the other leg.

Tommorrow I will be back with part 2 of Daniel Craig's Bond lean muscle building workout, with Shoulder and Arm workouts, and intensive plyometric workouts combined with power lifting techniques.

While You Wait These Articles Should Interest You

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Daniel Craig's Bond Workout - Part 2 - Arms and Shoulders

In part 1 we looked at Daniel Craig's Chest, Back and Leg Exercises. Now let;s look at his arm and shoulder workouts. In the final instalment we look at the Bond Plyometric Circuit.

We suggest this routine, but do whatever fits in best with your current training;

Day 1: Plyometric Circuit
Day 2: Chest, Back and Leg Exercises
Day 3: Active Rest - gentle swimming, yoga or other activities
Day 4: Arms and Shoulders (See below)
Day 5: Plyometric Circuit
Day 6/7: Active Rest

James Bond's Arms and Shoulders

Incline Biceps Curls: The first of the exercises to build 007 bigger arms are incline dumbbell curls. To do this lie on a bench inclined to 45 degrees and hold a pair of bells at your side, with your palms facing inwards. Slowly curl the dumbbells to your shoulders, turning your wrists as you lift, so that your palms face your shoulders when you finish the movement. Return dumbbells back to your side using the same twisting motion, finishing with your palms facing each other once again.

Tricep Dips: Tricep dips are the ultimate tricep exercise. They are also a compound exercise, and build a more athletic / functional muscle than isolation exercises such as tricep extensions. No dipping bars? No problem I use 2 chairs work just as well. Start by supporting yourself on the bars with your arms straight, head up (dips are an all around great upper body exercise) and then slowly lower yourself until your upper arms are close to parallel to the ground. Push back up until your elbows are straight, but not locked. If you find this too easy, then use a weight belt.

Lateral Raises: Lateral raises are performed with two dumbbells. They work the front deltoids and lateral deltoids. Start with the bells in front of your waist. Keeping your knees slightly bent and your arms slightly bent at the elbow, raise your arms up outwards to the side, leading with your upper arms, until your elbows are at shoulder height. Slowly lower and repeat.

Military Press: The shoulder press can be performed with either dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell, and either seated or standing. With a standing dumbbell shoulder press, hold the dumbells at your shoulders with palms facing inwards, and then push upwards and finish with the palms facing forwards. Return to start. With a barbell shoulder press, hold the bar on your upper chest, then push upwards. If
you have a bench with an upright back support, use this, as by steadying the body your focus more on the shoulders. Avoid leaning back, as this will utilize your pecs, and although easier, your shoulders will not gain so well.

My 2 Cents

For Shoulder Training

I would reccommend the Clean and Press (the military press is great don't get me wrong) but the Clean and Press (barbell, dumbbell or kettlebell) adds a whole new dimension with the added clean. Not to mention the full body effect great for lean muscle gains

Daniel Craig's Bond Workout - Part 3 - Plyometric Circuit Training

The first parts of the James Bond workout, which Daniel Craig used to build his athletic frame for Casino Royal and Quantum of Solace, focused on weight training exercises to build lean muscle.

Plyometric circuit training is more concerned with building functional athletic strength, as well as core strength. There are only four exercises.

You can perform these either as a traditional circuit, with one set on each exercise, and repeating the circuit several times, or you can just perform several sets of each exercise before moving on to the next.

Bond Circuit Training

Weighted Knee Raises: For this you will need a Captain's chair (also known as a hanging leg raise station). Position yourself on the chair with your forearms on the supports and holding that hand grips. Lifting a dumbbell with your feet, while tensing your abs, raise your knees as high as possible towards your chest. Pause and hold before returning the weight to the floor.

Clean and Press: The clean and press is the classic compound exercise. If you are performing this routine on its own, ensure that you warm up well first. Start by standing in front of a barbell, with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down and grab the bar with a overhand grip (knuckles facing up). In one fluid motion, raise the bar to your chest while quickly standing. The "clean" means that you lift the weight to your chest without it pausing along your legs/waist on the way up. One "clean" movement. From here, press the weight overhead. Return the weight to your chest, then lower back the floor, squatting down to the start position.

Weighted Step Ups: The weighted step up is a simple but often neglected exercise. Hold a pair of dumbbells with one foot on a bench. Then, while keeping yourself upright (do not lean forward!) push up off the floor with your other leg, to quickly stand up on the bench. Return the leg to the floor and repeat. Work each leg separately, do not alternate on each rep.

To make "more plyometric" perform box jumps instead. For this a stable box is essential - do not attempt on bench. Simple stand facing a box, and then quickly squat down slightly before powering yourself up onto the box. A simple standing jump up. Extremely effective.

Combining the Workouts

Together these three James Bond workouts can be combined into one session, or they can be performed individually. It depends on how intensive you want each exercise to be. If you are planning to combine this with the Back and Leg Exercises with the Arms and Shoulders workout then you will need to modify or omit some exercises. For example you will not be able to perform the clean and press in the same session as the squats and shoulder presses. It is recommended that you follow a routine similar to this:

Day 1: Plyometric Circuit
Day 2: Back and Leg Exercises
Day 3: Active Rest - gentle swimming, yoga or other activities
Day 4: Arms and Shoulders
Day 5: Plyometric Circuit
Day 6/7: Active Rest

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