Getting ripped takes time, patience, and of course some strategy in order to accomplish your goal. When considering your own plan for getting the body of your dreams it is important to make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row so that you are maximizing the amount of fat you are losing while also maintaining your lean muscle mass. With this post I wanted to give some simple tips and troubleshoot some common problems that people experience while trying to get shredded. Now let’s look at some ways to ramp up the fat loss.
Not Enough Calories
One major problem of people that are trying to get cut is that they end up going too low with their calorie restriction. This will actually make your body lose muscle and try desperately to hold on to the fat it has stored. Also, this puts you at risk for binging on food because your body will be craving the nutrients that you haven’t been feeding it. If you start feeling very tired especially during workouts or you are losing a lot of weight fast then that might be a sign you need to increase the calories a bit.
Figure Out Your Carbs
There are plenty of diets out there that advocate low carbohydrate or no carbohydrate intake. When getting shredded it will be necessary to manipulate carb intake but often times we will take the carbs too low and make things more difficult than they need to be. Personally, low-carb is hell, a sustained diet of cutting carbohydrates makes me feel miserable and my workouts flat. Other people I know that have gone low-carb for some period of time feel great and have no problem with it. The amount of carbohydrates that your body will feel optimal at is entirely a personal thing.
If you are significantly over weight and are starting a journey to get ripped it would probably be a better idea to simply cut out the junk first before you focus on the amount of carbs, protein, and fat you get each day. That way you can adapt your eating habits to something healthier. If you are closer to having a great six pack then you need to experiment with the amount of carbs you get. If you choose to follow a low carb diet, the results within the first month will probably be amazing but you will eventually hit a wall and have to work exceedingly hard to keep the results going. This is why I like to keep the carbs higher to get through the hard workouts and if I’m not losing the fat that I want I begin to drop them down until I see my energy levels suffer. I repeat this process throughout the diet so that I can find my optimal level of carbs that will let me workout hard and not feel like crap while also shredding the fat.
Get Your Protein
Protein is absolutely critical for someone who is trying to get ripped. It will help to keep the cravings and hungry feelings away and also help to build that lean muscle mass that you will see once your strip all of the fat away.
Use Fat for Fat Loss
Yes, fat can actually be beneficial for fat loss. Now before you run to the drive thru window, let me clarify by saying that certain kinds of fat are beneficial for fat loss. Obviously you should stay away from greasy fast food or some nachos soaked in cheese but omega-3’s found in salmon and other fish can actually help you to lean out. Also, fats from nuts and certain oils can also help to ramp up the fat loss.
Mix Up the Cardio
Some people like to do short HIIT type cardio while others prefer the steady state cardio and both can produce great results. However, switching up the type of cardio exercise you do can help to keep the body guessing and that fat melting off. Also, it’s good for your overall endurance and strength.
Cardio First Thing
Many people swear by doing their cardio first thing in the morning in a fasted state. It is a good way to see results and get your body going for the day ahead. It does seem to work well for losing fat so it’s always worth giving it a try.