The Taylor Lautner Workout Routine and Diet - Build Muscle Fast

 

Taylor Lautner, rising star and certified hunk from the Twilight Saga trilogy, packed on an immense amount of rippling muscle for Breaking Dawn in just one year with this simple workout - and you can too!

 

Like most guys out there, Taylor Lautner isn’t a naturally muscular or naturally strong guy, but as with all Hollywood stars, his career depends on how he can sculpt his body. In the time between the first and second of the Twilight films his character developed into a powerful werewolf not to be messed with. That sudden progression meant he had to put on a full 30 lbs of muscle - and not only did he do it, but he made it look easy.

 

Consider that for a second: Taylor Lautner was once a 5’10”, skinny teenager weighing in at just 140 lbs, and now he’s earned himself the right to be labeled a true fitness animal - and if he can do it then so can you. Taylor’s trainer, Jordan Yuam, is quoted as saying, “Inexperience works to your advantage...The less muscle you have, the easier it is to gain muscle mass more quickly.” And that’s music to our ears!

 

So how exactly did this teenager achieve a physique that men worldwide are slaving day and night in the gym to get close to? Well he certainly didn’t have to work like a dog (excuse the pun...werewolf...dog..get it?)

1. Firstly and most importantly, push your limits.

 

To build large muscles your body needs to get used to handling heavy weights. His trainer says "That's why I had Taylor 'taste' a much heavier weight," stacking a bar with roughly 40% more weight than Taylor could lift and do 10 reps with. In other words, if you can lift 120 lbs 10 times repeatedly then up your weight to 170 lbs and do as much as you can with it, even if you’re only performing the lower half of the lifts. The reason this is so effective is because it lets your body feel what a really heavy weight feels like and it begins to adjust long before you’re ready to begin lifting it for real. Remember to always use a spotter and always ensure your spotter is strong enough to lift the weight up by himself. Also, try to limit these ‘tasting’ sessions to between 2 and 3 sets of just 5 reps every other week so that you don’t do any damage to yourself or push yourself too far too soon.

 

2. Heavier isn’t always better, so vary your volume.

 

To maximize his gains and ensure he ends up with a balanced, ripped physique, Lautner regularly varies the number of reps he does as well as the amount of weight he lifts. The fact is, your body will acclimatize to any weight unless you keep it guessing. In other words, the more your muscles are forced to adapt to a new routine, the more they grow. For instance, rather than always using a heavy weight and doing 4 sets of 10 reps, occasionally reduce the weight and aim for 6 sets of 15. It doesn’t just apply to Taylor Lautner either - a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that men who regularly varied their reps and worked different muscle groups increased their benching strength by an impressive 28 percent and their leg-press strength by a whopping 43 percent.

 

3. Tension can be good for you!

Free weights are always best to train with, but they do have a drawback: your body will always find some parts of a lift to be easier than others, and this means your muscles aren't being worked consistently. It’s for this reason that Taylor Lautner often attaches a large rubber band to a bar or dumbbell he's intending to lift, anchoring the band to the base of a heavy stack or a pair of extremely heavy dumbbells. "The bands create more tension, making the lift harder and forcing your muscles to peak out at the top of the movement," Taylor’s trainer says. As a result of lifting the weight and coping with the resistance, your body creates more muscle fibers and works them harder, massively accelerating your body’s muscle growth. Luckily, resistance bands are available in most gyms but you can also buy them online if you want to train at home.

 

4. Cut down on cardio

 

Unless you have fat to shift before you want to start building muscle, then limit your cardio sessions. "I was exercising so hard that I began to lose weight," said Taylor Lautner. This might sound great to most of us but it’s not good at all if you ordinarily have difficulty building and maintaining muscle mass. According to researchers at Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, when combined with weight training cardio saps your strength and limits your body’s muscle growth, especially if you go hard out on the bike or treadmill for longer than 20 minutes before or after lifting. Instead, Taylor’s trainer, Yuam, says: "If you're trying to gain lean mass, focus on weight-lifting with the proper technique and the right plan."

 

5. Don't overwork your abs

 

"A lot of guys hit their abs every time they hit the gym," says Yuam. "That's why so few of them have six-packs." Your abs are like every other muscle group, and although you may be desperate to feel the burn and see a six pack emerge, the same rule of muscle building applies: Don't overwork them. When you work your muscles in the gym they get what are effectively tiny little tears all over them. Your muscles need time to recover because it’s only when they are repairing themselves that they can grow. That’s why you should alternate muscle groups every day, giving each area of your body time to repair itself and build mass, and that’s exactly why Taylor Lautner only targets his abs 3 days a week, doing a combination of exercises to work his entire core. "The result is a balanced, more detailed musculature," says Yuam. Apparently one of Taylor’s favorite abdominal combinations is the hanging leg raise to reverse crunch, holding for 7 to 10 seconds. That particular exercise works your whole core, preventing a muffin top - but it’s not easy so be careful!

 

6. Sidestep

 

Most weightlifting exercises involve moving backwards or forwards; forgetting to train your body to explode in other directions. To get a lean, ripped and balanced physique you need to be equal all over, and that means training to move in all directions! Not only will you look better for it, but your colleagues will be impressed with your ability to cover ground at your annual basketball match! Taylor Lautner also needed a versatile, balanced body because he does his own stunts on the screen.  The solution, according to Yuam, is to perform side-to-side exercises as well as traditional lifts.

 

7. Lastly, have a recovery plan

 

Physical training and diet are only two-thirds of the muscle-building equation. "The other third is recovery," says Lautner. He says he takes every third day off from the gym and never works out for more than 5 days every week. Why? Because, "If you constantly pound your muscles, they'll never have time to repair."

If you are ready for a complete step-by-step workout routine that will get you a Hollywood Body like Taylor, check out Visual Impact.