Cristiano Ronaldo has one of the most envied jobs in the world as one of the planet's greatest ever footballers.
If that wasn't enough, he's an underwear model with his own clothing line. And he also has one of the most talked about torsos in the world.
The question many of you want answered is whether it's possible for mere mortals to sculpt a body like Cristiano's. What attributes does he possess and what can you do to achieve that super lean and muscular look?
Let me break it down into 5 simple stages for you:
1 THE WEIGHTS
Ronaldo is deceptively muscular, he is also deceptively tall (6"1). His waist appears to be slim but that is accentuated by his broad shoulders and muscular chest. To get your body to appear thinner at the waist it has to be bigger at the top.
I suggest doing heavy supersets of chest and back exercises back to back at least twice a week.
For example:
-Flat bench into seated shoulder press - Incline chest flyers into lateral raises- Press ups in to front raises- Flat dumbbell press into military press
To build size I recommend 4 sets of each of the above, pushing 70-80% of your maximum for 10-12 reps with 60 seconds rest between sets.
This will help to bulk the chest and shoulders at the same time.
2 THE ABS
As all underwear models tend to, he has great abs, that's just a given. But he combines them with strong obliques. A great exercise to get both of these muscles grouped popping is the side plank with dumbbell rotation.
Hold a forearm side plank and take a 5-8kg weight in one hand. Rotate the weight around your torso maintaining your hip height and keeping your core braced. Do 10-15 reps each side for one set.
3 THE DIET
The diet must be clean... Very clean! To maintain that amount of muscle and also stay that lean, means you should look at having a larger than normal percentage of your daily calories from protein.
I would suggest the following macro-nutrient splits:
Protein 50%Carbohydrates 30%Fat 20%
This larger protein intake will help with muscular growth and repair during and after all of your weights sessions, and the lower carb intake will help keep you leaner.
4 THE CARDIO
Ronaldo is a supreme athlete, and he looks like one. HIIT training is all the rage at present, and the principle is simple - elevate your heart rate up to around 80-90% of its maximum, recover for a pre-defined amount of time, and repeat.
However, fast and hard competitive sports do exactly the same thing, without the exact rest periods, and the pace of the game decides how long you get to rest/recover.
My advice would be to try and play some kind of competitive sport, at a decent level at least twice a week (sorry, and as much as I love it, golf doesn't count). It has to be something that really gets your heart pumping. Squash or 5-a-side football are great for this and very accessible for everyone.
5 THE EXPERT TIP
To look great in your boxers like Mr Ronaldo, you also need to have a great set of legs! Your quads are the largest muscle group in your body, and training them on a regular basis helps to increase your overall muscle mass, increasing your metabolism, meaning you burn more calories at rest.
My top 4 leg exercises are:
-Bulgarian split squats- Romanian deadlift- Barbell back squat - Hack squat
Again, press heavy for 4 sets of each exercise, 10-12 reps per set with 60 seconds rest between each set.
Get each of these five areas right and with a bit of time (and a lot of effort), you'll see that the lean and muscled look isn't just for athletes.
