How To Look Jacked Without Hitting The Gym All The Time

Photo of Author looking kinda jacked while only working out for 75–90 total minutes across 3 days per week

I find it interesting how many people think Bruce Lee and Brad Pitt in Fight Club were jacked when they were only 145lbs and 155lbs respectively.

Despite their lower bodyweight for their height, there are 2 big reasons they had that muscular look:

1. They built muscle
2. They got insanely lean

This isn’t a knock on those two physiques because they’re super impressive and take a lot of work to achieve…

But I’d go as far as to argue anyone could achieve a similar jacked look given enough time, as long as they’re able to do those two things.

If you’re curious about what it would take for you to accomplish this, here’s what to do so you can look lean and muscular without hitting the gym all the time:

1. Get down to a BMI of 21–22

No one likes BMI because it sets a standard of bodyweight for your height which is a whole lot lighter than the majority of the population…

But not only is it a tool to measure your general risk for cardiovascular disease, it can give you a good idea of the body weight range you’ll need to be at to get that jacked look:

Brad Pitt in Fight Club had a BMI of 21.6.

Bruce Lee at his heaviest had a BMI of 22.

And I’m clocking in at a 22.7 BMI so I’d need to drop about 5 pounds of body fat to get under that same range, which would make me look a whole lot leaner than I do now.

But that’s only half of the equation…

2. Lift heavier weights… better

In this particular case, you really only need 8 exercises across the week:

• Some kind of chest press
• Some kind of shoulder press
• Some kind of chest supported row
• Some kind of pull up or lat pulldown
• Some kind of squat or leg press
• Some kind of deadlift or hip thrust
• Some kind of crunch-like ab exercise

And just because it’s hard to convince anyone otherwise…