Getting ripped is never easy. But when you finally sculpt a traffic stopping six-pack you’ll know the effort and dedication was worth it. While I can’t promise it will be painless, I can offer 10 tips that will help you get ripped faster and feeling trimmer.
1. Circuit Training
Circuit training is one of the best ways to get ripped fast. It keeps your heart rate elevated and burns a tremendous amount of calories. A circuit typically consists of 3 or more exercises performed back to back.
A lower body circuit, for example, would consist of leg extensions followed immediately by hamstring curls, and then straight to calf raises. You can’t get ripped unless you have muscle definition, and circuit training builds muscle and blasts body fat.
2. Avoid Carbs at Night
When you eat carbohydrates the body responds by releasing the hormone insulin. Insulin then stores carbohydrates in the muscle as glycogen, or as body fat. The body is more sensitive to insulin release at night, and glycogen stores will likely be full from carbs eaten throughout the day. This increases the likelihood that carbohydrates eaten at night will be stored as body fat.
In the morning, however, you are waking up from an all-night fast. The body utilizes glycogen stored in the liver to fuel the brain and other parts of the body as you sleep. This makes the morning an ideal time to consume carbohydrates. Carbohydrates then replenish glycogen stores and are less likely to be stored as body fat.
An exception to avoiding carbs at night should be made if you work out in the evening. Your post-workout meal or shake should always contain carbohydrates. This helps drive amino acids into the muscle cell. Even if you finished your workout just before bed you still want the carbs.
3. Don’t Over-Train
When you hit a plateau there is a good chance that you are in an over-trained state. Overtraining happens when the body is stressed beyond its capacity. Along with exercise stress, personal stress contributes to overtraining.
Getting completely “peeled to the bone” ripped is impossible if your body is over-trained. Avoid overtraining by scheduling workout rest days throughout the week, eating right and getting sleep. The volume (sets and reps) you do is all relative. Some people can handle more sets than others. When you don’t have a pump and the amount of weight you’re lifting is decreasing, that is usually a good time to stop the workout.
4. Get Enough Sleep
5. Take Fat Burning Supplements
Fat burners won’t do all the work for you. However, they can be great way to jump-start the getting ripped process. Fat burners have ingredients that release more fatty acids from fat cells to be used as fuel. Metabolic rate increases as well so you burn more calories during workouts.
6. Eat Frequently
“You are what you eat” is a popular idiom for a reason. It doesn’t matter how much you exercise, if you eat pizza and donuts every meal, you won’t get ripped.
Eating 5 times a day boots the metabolism and helps you stay full. You don’t have to eat 5 full meals, but can choose 3 full meals with 2 snacks. Make sure you are getting at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body-weight to build and maintain muscle mass. Also make sure one of those meals or snacks is immediately post-workout. This accelerates the recovery process.
Eating throughout the day also provides a constant amino acids supply to muscle tissue. When you go too long without eating the body enters what is called a catabolic state. Catabolism involves literally breaking down muscle tissue for energy which obviously makes building muscle difficult.
Protein is made up of amino acids and prevents catabolism from happening. Amino acids put the body in an anabolic state, which creates an environment for building muscle instead of tearing it down.
7. Cardio Intervals
One of the best ways to burn calories is by doing cardio intervals. Intervals elevate metabolism for up to 24 hours after exercising, and can be highly effective with just a 20-30 minute session. Studies show that intervals can be more effective than traditional endurance exercise. [3]
8. Cheat Meal
The body is constantly striving to achieve balance or homeostasis. No matter what it is, the body eventually adapts, which leads to plateaus. This applies to eating as well. A healthy diet is important, but constantly being in a caloric deficit or dieting for too long leads to a slow metabolism.
Offset this metabolic shift by throwing in a cheat meal once every week or two. This causes the body to work overtime to break down this radical increase in calories and resets the metabolism.
9. Eat Your Vegetables
Dark fibrous vegetables such as spinach and broccoli contain a wealth of vitamins and fiber. These nutrients slow down food digestion and prevent huge blood sugar spikes. They will also keep you full which helps you eat less and maintain a caloric deficit.
10. Stay Active
One of the best ways to get ripped is by staying active year-round in a community sports league. Active hobbies like pick-up basketball or ultimate Frisbee help you shed fat and stay lean. You can also commit yourself to vigorous endurance and individual exercises such as swimming.
11. Get Going With a Goal
When it comes to getting ripped you should always have a goal in mind. Whether you want to get as ripped as Thor or just tone up, writing down exactly what you want helps you stay focused. Motivation combined with these 10 tips will help you get ripped and ready for action.
References
- [1]Gottlieb DJ, Punjabi NM, Newman AB, Resnick HE, Redline S, Baldwin CM, Nieto JF. Association of sleep time with diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance. Arch Intern Med 2005 Apr 25;165(8):863-67.
- [2] Kohatsu ND, Tsai R, Young T, VanGilder R, Burmeister LF, Stromquist AM, Merchant JA. Sleep duration and body mass index in a rural population. Arch Intern Med 2006 Sep 18;166(16):1701-5.
- [3] Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, et al. (1996). “Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max”. Med Sci Sports Exerc 28 (10): 1327–30.
