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There appear to be hundreds of various ways to gain muscle and lose fat via food and/or exercise. While becoming shredded isn’t a one-size-fits-all exercise, there are a few basic food and training habits that everyone should follow, regardless of their objective. First, make sure your diet is in order with these ripped-diet guidelines. Then, to speed up your results at the gym, observe these ground rules.
1. Weight train three to four times a week for about an hour each time. You can do a total-body workout or an upper-lower workout.
2. Concentrate on complex activities, such as presses, rows, squats, and deadlifts, which train numerous muscles at the same time.
3. Perform three to five sets every exercise, with repetitions ranging from eight to twelve. There are a million other ways to gain muscle, but this one never fails.
4. Three to five days per week, do high-intensity interval training or steady-state cardio.
5. Perform any high-intensity activity—sprinting, rope jumping, etc.—for up to 10 seconds as hard as you can for HIIT. Then take a break or do some gentle exercise until you’re ready to go hard again. A rep for a total of 20 minutes.
6. Work at a moderate level for 30 to 60 minutes to achieve steady-state cardio.
7. Go to mensfitness.com/21dayshred for a particular get-ripped training plan.
How to Get Ripped: Follow These Rules
Our models and sportsmen are so thin and ripped that they make it appear so simple to get a taut, muscular figure. But let’s be honest: it’s difficult, it takes time, and it necessitates unshakable discipline. We’ve put down the golden principles to becoming ripped as part of our continued efforts to help you create the physique you’ve always desired.
Rule 1: Have a carbohydrate strategy
“Carbs are the enemy,” you’ve probably heard. No, not at all. Cutting your carbohydrate consumption to nothing can surely help you lose weight (quickly), but you’ll also feel irritable, sluggish, and lethargic.
“Carbs are necessary for life since our brain and [central nervous system] require them to function correctly,” explains Tim McComsey, a trainer, dietitian, and HUMANFITPROJECT reporter. “By entirely restricting carbohydrates, any muscle mass may be metabolized to give us energy.”
As a result, it all boils down to eating carbohydrates right rather than altogether avoiding them. “A balance of the proper number of carbohydrates first thing in the morning and after a workout is best for getting lean,” adds McComsey.
Rule 2: Increase your fat intake.
Eat more fat, that’s what we’re saying.
“Fat doesn’t make you fat; too much food does,” McComsey argues. After you’ve lowered your carb intake, adding additional fat to your diet can actually help you suppress cravings.
“Fats assist to suppress appetite because they take longer for the body to break down, utilize, or store,” he explains. Hormones have a role as well, particularly when it comes to muscle-building testosterone. “Fats are required for our bodies to produce and regulate hormones in order to operate correctly,” McComsey says.
Rule 3: Replace fruit with vegetables.
Fruit is fantastic since it’s high in nutrients and antioxidants that help protect the body, but it’s also high in carbohydrates (read: carbs). How do you make sure you don’t miss out on all the perks? Substitute vegetables (or fruits that are often thought of as vegetables) for fruit.
This technique keeps essential nutrients and antioxidants in your diet while lowering your overall sugar/carb and total calorie consumption. A single apple has 125 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrates. One big red pepper, which is technically a fruit but is commonly served as a vegetable, has 40 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrates. You’ll have to do the math.
Rule 4: Switch to weights and circuits instead of cardio.
Another fitness myth: Using a cardio machine will help you grow slim and muscular. That is not the case.
“This technique will not help you gain muscle,” McComsey explains. Cardio burns calories, but it lacks the muscle-building stimulus that weight training provides. He claims that the more muscle you have, the more calories and fat you’ll burn.
McComsey suggests going to the gym three to four times a week, with one of those days being a circuit with a mix of exercises. If you need to get some cardio in, try 20 minutes of fast-slow intervals one day.
Rule 5: Lay off the sauce
Are you a party animal? If you’re serious about losing weight and being fit, you need to start thinking about how alcohol affects your body.
“Alcohol causes fat to be stored rather than utilized as fuel. “Basically, your body will put a halt on any food digestion until the liver can eliminate the alcohol,” McComsey explains. Alcohol also has two other negative effects: “It’s a diuretic, so it dehydrates you and lowers your energy levels.” It can also lower testosterone levels in our bodies, which is necessary for muscular growth,” he says.
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Stick to one or two light beers or hard liquor with a diet soda mixer the next time you have a boy’s night planned. The beginning of a six-pack begins in the kitchen.