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I started going to the gym around June/July, and so far not doing too badly.

I'm 5'7" and currently weigh 12 and a half stone (175 lbs). Not too fat or not too skinny.

Here is my current workout:

  • Mondays: 20 minutes on the treadmill at 11 speed. 45mins doing resistance training on my upper body/arms
  • Tuesdays: Same as Mondays
  • Wednesday: Rest
  • Thursday: 45mins resistance training on upper body and then 20mins on the treadmill, 11 speed
  • Friday: 45mins resistance training on upper body. 20mins treadmill at 11 speed again. Then swimming for 30mins doing front crawl (50m non-stop, 1-2min rest, do another 50m, 10x times).
  • Saturday: 20mins on treadmill, 45mins of resistance training, 30-40mins of swimming again, front crawl.

For resistance training I typically do this:

  • Chest press(50kg)
  • Shoulder press(45kg)
  • Dumbbells (biceps 12.5kg, triceps 15kg).
  • Bench press(30kg using dumbbells of 15kg each)
  • Lat pull downs(45/50kg).

Each exercise I do 4-6 sets of 10 reps with a 30-60second break between each rep.

Diet:

  • Morning: Dried cereals, and a few oranges later in the morning
  • Lunch: Chicken and rice (various type, curry, filipino dishes etc etc) or pasta.
  • Evenings: Sometimes the same chicken and rice/pasta plus sometimes steak, pork or fish dishes for dinner.

I do not take any protein shakes though.

My goal:

Develop a bit of muscle mass (Similar to Daniel Craig ;) ) whilst having healthy stamina and not being overweight.

Is there anything I can do differently to help produce more muscle mass and be more toned up? So far I don't look TOO bad, but still far off from looking like Daniel Craig.

Do I need to adjust my diet a bit? Am I taking in enough protein and do I need protein shakes? If I do need a protein shake, which one? I am allergic to dairy products and most protein shakes have dairy?

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  • Could you go into some detail on the resistance training? Exercises, weights, sets, reps? Commented Oct 29, 2012 at 14:38
  • edited my post.
    – Jono
    Commented Oct 29, 2012 at 14:50
  • Are you counting calories at all?
    – tmesser
    Commented Oct 29, 2012 at 15:35
  • If you want to get to Daniel Craig as fast as possible, then I would cut out cardio until you are ready for your cutting cycle. Focus on explosive lifts in the 10-20 rep ranges (to failure), and eat lots of healthy protein-rich foods. The BEST way to change your body composition quickly is to calorie count and force feed yourself the same calories every day. That said, I accept that this is not for everyone.
    – Mike S
    Commented Oct 29, 2012 at 23:17
  • 1
    Just from my little knowledge, it looks like you're setting yourself up for some serious muscle imbalances with your workout. You're not doing any sort of strength for the lower half of your body or for most of your back. I highly recommend you read Starting Strength, or follow Strong Lifts, if you really want to build strength and muscle. Or, you know, not hurt yourself by creating muscle imbalances.
    – DForck42
    Commented Oct 30, 2012 at 16:37

2 Answers 2

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I don't think there could be more appropriate URL citations than what I am about to provide: how to look like Daniel Craig [nerdfitness.com] and the James Bond workout [menshealth.com]. Granted these are from 2009 when Daniel Craig was preparing for Casino Royale--not Skyfall which I suspect you are referring to--however I would say the advice is even more important because it covers his transition from absolute beginner to "Bond."

Essentially, Daniel Craigs workout was a circuit of:

  1. Clean and Press
  2. Weighted Knee Raise
  3. Weighted Step-ups
  4. Pull ups
  5. Incline Push up
  6. Triceps Dips

The circuit would be 10 reps per exercise, then move to the next exercise, with 3 circuits altogether.

Now, just as important as the workout is the diet. For Daniel (with respect to preparing for Casino Royale), he was a fairly large guy so he didn't have to worry about bulking up, but rather cutting fats while building a muscular base. To quote nerdfitness.com:

Because Daniel was more concerned with cutting body fat while building muscle, his carb intake was very low. Also, the guy’s 40 (damn!), which means he has a slower metabolism; if you’re 20, skinny as a rail, and trying to look like James Bond, you’re going to want to eat WAY more complex carbs. If you’re on the bigger side of the spectrum and trying to slim down…this diet will work for you.

EDIT: If you want additional details on Daniel Craig's diet, here is a summary of it taken from http://www.squidoo.com/daniel-craig-workout

  • Breakfast: 2 Poached Eggs and 2 pieces of Toast
  • Snack: Protein Shake -or- fruits and Nuts
  • Lunch: Meat or Fish with small amount of Brown Rice -or- Baked Potato
  • Snack: Protein Shake -or- Yogurt with some Nuts
  • Dinner: Meat -or- Fish with some type of Leafy Green Vegetables like Salad, Spinach, or Broccoli.
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  • That routine sounds decent. how many sets of 10 reps? me i normally do 10 reps of 4 sets or sometimes 5x5 when i am pushing the big weights. The diet seems good i eat the same sort of dish for lunch and dinner but my snack in the morning is a couple of oranges and afternoon it is a apple. Breakfest i just have plain cereal, no milk as i am allergic to it. i use to have fried garlic rice and bacon for breakfest a few years ago and when i did that i put on weight :(
    – Jono
    Commented Nov 20, 2012 at 9:13
  • @jonney As explained above, it is a circuit routine so you do 1 set of 10 reps, then go to the next workout; when you finish the final workout you repeat the whole thing again for a total of 3 times.
    – Moses
    Commented Nov 20, 2012 at 16:51
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I found this article to be very useful personally:

Summary below:

You've been under the bar for a while, but you're a little disappointed—you haven't built the size or achieved the shape you so desperately want. Your chest could be wider. Your back could be thicker. You could have more defined shoulder caps and a sharper biceps peak. What you need, my friend, are some tweaks.

Strength and size training have many similarities, but there are some particular things you can do to get the most from your hypertrophy workouts. Try these eight tips to build muscle, shape, and density.

Superset For Size To do a superset, pair two exercises and perform them back-to-back with no rest in between. It's best to do supersets with antagonist muscles like the biceps and triceps, or quads and hamstrings. Supersets are great for increasing muscle size because they enhance the release of testosterone, which is key to building muscle.

...

Always avoid people who have bad attitudes or who whine a lot. They will always be there to drag you down if you let them. This advice applies to all things in life and I find it nice to have a reminder of every now and again.

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