By Sean On September 15th 2009
Picture this scenario…
You’ve been training your tail off for the past 4 months, trying to get ripped fast. You’ve bulked up considerably and are quite happy with the size you’ve been able to achieve.
There’s just one problem…
Along with all of that solid, lean muscle you’ve gained, you notice that you’ve also packed on some excess body fat in the process.
Let’s face it, no matter how “huge” you might be, no one wants to be walking around with a soft, smooth and flabby body. After most trainees have finished their “bulking” phase, they decide that it’s time to “cut down” and strip off the excess body fat that they gained due to their high calorie, muscle-building diet.
How do they usually go about this?
They lighten up the weights and perform higher reps.
This has always been a widely accepted method of “cutting down” and if you ask most trainers in the gym they’ll tell you that “heavy weights bulk up the muscle and lighter weights define the muscle,” helping you get ripped fast.
Do you want to know the reality behind the “light weight and high reps” method of obtaining a ripped and defined physique?
It is completely, totally and utterly DEAD WRONG.
It couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, there is no logical basis for this way of training whatsoever, and whoever dreamt up this downright ridiculous way of thinking has caused the vast majority of lifters to waste their time and impede their progress in the gym while trying to get ripped fast.
Let me clear this up once and for all: you CANNOT spot reduce.
In other words, it is physically impossible to target fat loss from a specific area on your body. Performing bench presses with light resistance and high repetitions will not magically burn fat off of your chest or cause it to appear harder and more defined.
Every single time you wrap your hands around a barbell, dumbbell or cable, your goal is to stimulate as much muscle growth as you possibly can. There are no special, secret weightlifting exercises that will “define” your muscles or cause them to get ripped fast.
Training with weights builds muscle mass, end of story.
So how exactly do you “define” a muscle and get ripped fast?
The only way to “define” a muscle and get ripped fast is by lowering your body fat percentage in order to make your muscles more visible. Body fat reduction can be achieved in two ways:
1) Modify your diet.
You’ll need to create a slight caloric deficit within your body to stimulate the fat burning process. This can usually be achieved by lowering your overall caloric intake so that you are consuming 15-20% fewer calories than is needed to maintain your weight.
You should also be focusing on consuming smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism naturally raised at all times and will keep your body in a constant fat burning state, helping you get ripped fast.
2) Perform proper cardio workouts.
Let go of the traditional method of moderate intensity cardio in 30-45 minute durations.
If you want to maximize your body’s fat burning capacity and also minimize the muscle loss that inevitably accompanies a fat burning cycle, focus on shorter, 15-minute interval-based cardio workouts performed 3-5 times per week at a high level of intensity.
That’s all there is to it, folks.
Take the notion of “light weight and higher reps” and throw it right out the window, down the street and around the corner. Following this misguided method will only cause you to lose muscle mass and strength, and will not assist you in burning fat or help you get ripped fast.
If you’re looking for the complete inside scoop on lowering your body fat levels while maintaining your muscle mass in order to get ripped fast, check out www.HowToBurnFat.com. I’ll show you exactly how to eat and train for maximum fat loss, using simple but powerful techniques that guarantee results.
Posted in Fat Loss Tips | Comments (4)
January 8th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Sean, it isn’t clear for me how this 15-minute interval based cardio works?
Could you give us more details in a future post?
Regards
January 9th, 2010 at 7:07 am
Hi Pedro
In a nutshell you will warm up properly and then perform sprint based training, by way way of example you can perform 8x 50 metre sprints, I start slowly by utilising the first 3x sprints, after a 2x minute jog warm up, as a prelude to 5x 95 % effort sprints and thereafter a 5x minute cool down jog.
When you train in this manner you put your body in an anaerobic state which will aid muscle growth and burn fat, as opposed to an aerobic state which occurs with long slow distance training and burns fat as well as muscle this becomes apparent when one compares the physique of a sprinter to a marathon runner.
Kind Regards
January 17th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Good article Sean..
It is important to watch out my diet and do some
proper cardio in order to cut. However, does that mean I should stop weight lifting during my cutting process? Say for 2-3months. Please reply,
Thank You.
July 21st, 2010 at 8:04 am
How does pre and post workout nutrition work for the interval cardio?