Cristiano Ronaldo…
What a man!
Not only does he know how to kick a ball…
But he also makes £3.4 million pounds per week
Looks like a male model…
And has the physique most guys only dreamed they had!
He’s got the perfect body for the beach…
One that turns heads…
He’s Lean and athletic, repping a toned chest, sculpted shoulders, defined arms and a six pack so sharp you could grate cheese on it! Haha
The other day I put out a poll on my instagram - and out of 235 votes - 80% said he had the perfect physique (188/235 voters said he has the perfect body)
So, I thought I'd write a blog post on How To Build A Physique Like Cristiano Ronaldo - looking at both the training and nutritional side.
If you’re a guy (20-45 years old) who wants to build a Ronaldo physique, buckle in because I've got some absolute gold for you…
Why Trust Me?
You may be thinking “Nick! Why should I trust you?”
Great question.
Well for starters I've built a lean and athletic physique myself…
I’ve been in shape for the last 20 years…I’ve walked the walk!
I’ve also helped hundreds of guys all over the world achieve JAW DROPPING head turning physiques - but don’t just take my word for it… check out the testimonials and before and after pics on my site.
Finally, I’ve been a coach for 15 years, completing over 15,000 x 1-1 coaching sessions...
And I’ve spent over £130,000 on my education...I know my shiz! Haha.
If the above doesn't convince you to trust me ...I don’t know what will!
This article will be broken into 4 parts:
Training like Ronaldo
Eating like Ronaldo
Supplementing like Ronaldo
Bonus Tips and Hacks (to further accelerate your progress and give you the edge)
#1 Training Like Ronaldo
The main thing to do if you want a body like Cristiano Ronaldo...is lift weights!
You ain't gonna build a body like that doing a few push ups…or running around the block! Haha.
You need to be lifting weights at least 3-5x per week.
OPTION 1 - If you train 3 x per week - do full body workouts, where you hit every single muscle group in your body…all in one session (chest, back, shoulders, arms, abs, thighs, hamstrings, calfs).
For example:
Monday - full body 1
Wednesday - full body 2
Friday - full body 3
OPTION 2 - If you can train 4x per week - do 2x upper body sessions and 2x lower body sessions. Where one session you focus on your upper body, the next lower body.
For example:
Monday - upper body 1
Wednesday - lower body 1
Friday - upper body 2
Saturday - lower body 2
OPTION 3 - If you can train 5x per week - I recommend doing more of a split routine, where you only focus on a few specific muscle groups each session.
For example:
Monday - chest, shoulders and triceps
Tuesday - back, biceps and abs
Thursday - upper body (chest, back, shoulders, arms)
Friday - legs (thighs, hamstrings and calves)
Sat - arms only (biceps, triceps)
Choosing The Right Exercises:
You want to be choosing compound lifts, exercises that recruit multiple muscle groups all in one go, for example:
If you click on any of the above exercises they will open up in Youtube!
Choosing The Right Rep Ranges:
To Build A Physique Like Cristiano Ronaldo you want to be hitting between 12-20 reps on each exercise and performing 2-3 sets for each exercise. Taking 1-2 minutes rest in between sets.
BONUS TRAINING TIPS:
Make-sure to record all of your workouts in a gym diary - each week you should be aiming to progress, either by adding more weight, reps or improving your technique and execution.
Slow down the speed of your reps - take 3-4 seconds lowering the weight and 1-2 seconds lifting the weight. This type of training is called TUT (Time Under Tension Training). It’s the most effective way to build and sculpt muscle.
You can also add in some cardio (20-30 minute sessions) and perform 2-3x per week. Id’ recommend trying to keep your heart rate between 100-130 bpm - nothing too intense as the goal is to burn fat (and lower intensity cardio is better for fat loss)...
For example, you could choose a fitness bike, cross trainer, or treadmill. You could add the cardio at the end of your weight training sessions.
#2 Eating Like Ronaldo
The second piece of the puzzle is nutrition…
You ain't gonna get abs like that eating Doner Kebabs and sinking pints of beer on the weekends! Haha
To Build A Physique Like Cristiano Ronaldo, you’ve got to be eating to get lean, while at the same time building muscle.
You can do this by…
1) Creating a Calorie Deficit - to figure out how many calories you need to drop body fat.
How do you figure out your fat loss calories?
Weight in lbs x 12 = ideal calorie target
For example, say you weigh 200lbs x 12 = 2,400 calories per day
That’s what you want to be aiming for.
2) Protein Target - the second thing you need is to hit your protein targets. For most guys hitting between 130-180g of protein per day is plenty for building a Cristiano Ronaldo type physique.
Foods high in protein include:
Chicken
Turkey
Steak
Mince
Eggs
Avocado
Tuna
Salmon
Protein shakes
Protein bars
Ideally, you want to be consuming 4 servings of protein per day and hitting at least 30-50g of protein with each meal.
Here’s how I do that:
Breakfast: Protein Milkshake = 50g whey protein shake, with 200ml unsweetened almond milk and 100g dairy free ice cream
Lunch: Chicken Wraps = 250g chicken (cooked in 30g Nando’s sauce) with 2 x tortilla wraps, lettuce and 30g light mayo
Snack: 1 x protein bar + 100g fruit
Dinner: Usually 200-250g meat/fish with a serving of carbs and green veg. Meals include: tuna, pasta, mayo and sweetcorn. Or Steak and homemade chips. Or Gammon and eggs. I usually mix up my evening meals for variety.
If you’d like some free high protein meal plans - just drop me a message with the word ‘FREE MEAL PLAN’ and I'll shoot one over!
BONUS NUTRITIONAL TIPS:
Aim to consume 2-4 litres of water each day
Buy your weekly food shop in for the week (get organised and avoid emotional decisions with food)
Prep your meals ahead of time
#3 Supplementing Like Ronaldo
The are 6 supplements that I recommend if you want to build a body like Cristiano Ronaldo:
Creatine - 5g per day - to help with strength, muscle pumps and recovery
Whey protein - 1x shake per day - to help hit your protein target
Protein bar - 1x bar per day
Multivitamin - for overall health
Magnesium glycinate to help with sleep and muscle recovery
Zinc - to help with testosterone and strength
I also recorded a podcast episode on my top 10 favourite supplements to help you perform like a beast both in and out of the gym - you can listen to that episode here
#4 Bonus Tips and Hacks (to further accelerate your progress and give you the edge)
Outside of the training and nutrition you also want to be focusing on:
Getting enough sleep - ideally 7-8 hours per night. Check out the podcast episode I did on sleep - and how to sleep like a baby each night
Steps - aim to walk 7,000-10,000 steps per day - this will help with fat loss, digestion and mental health.
Rest - on your rest days, try and get your feet up, watch some football, Netflix, read a book, and let your body recover. You don’t grow in the gym…you grow outside of the gym…with good rest, hydration, and nutrition.
Final Thoughts…
I hope you’ve found this article helpful…
I’ve tried to cover the key aspects of training and eating to get a body like Cristiano Ronaldo, and keep things as simple as possible.
Hopefully, now you have a much clearer picture of how to train and what to eat to get that CR athletic physique.
If you apply a bunch of these tips you’ll be well on your way to building that Ronaldo physique.
And if you’d like more specific help putting together all the pieces of the puzzle (like the ones I create for my clients)...
Why not check out my 8 Week Physique Challenge
This program has helped hundreds of guys to drop 6-10 kg of body fat, build a bigger chest, shoulders and arms…
It gives you the exact road map you need to build an athletic physique. You also have me in your corner, giving you support, and accountability.
It’s a formula for guaranteed success…if you follow the program it’s impossible not to succeed and get head turning results.
If you’re interested in checking out the program
click here → 8 Week Physique Challenge
Thanks for reading,
Nick Screeton (founder of LEP Life)