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2 Simple Steps To Ripped Summertime Muscles
Summer is on the horizon, and the time has come
to kick back and relax under the sun. It's time
for beach days, barbecues and pool parties, and
for any serious weightlifter these activities
also mean one thing: it's time for the shirts
to come off and to showcase that rock-solid physique
they've been working on all year. No one wants
to be walking around with a soft, smooth and flabby
body, and for the next month or two, all of those
serious lifters will be shifting into "get ripped"
mode.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".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.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 become more "ripped".Training
with weights builds muscle mass, end of story.So
how exactly do you "define" a muscle?The only
way to "define" a muscle is by lowering your body
fat level in order to make your muscles more visible.
Body fat reduction can be achieved in two ways:1)
Modify your diet.You should lower your overall
caloric intake to around 15x your bodyweight and
focus 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.
Limit your intake of saturated fats and simple
sugars, and focus instead on consuming lean sources
of protein and low glycemic carbohydrates. It
is also very important to keep your water intake
high at a level of around 0.6 ounces per pound
of bodyweight.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
cardio workouts performed at a high level of intensity.
These types of workouts will shoot your resting
metabolism through the roof and will allow you
to burn maximum amounts of fat even when you are
at rest. I recommend 3-5 high intensity cardio
sessions per week, spaced at least 8 hours away
from your weight workouts.
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 defining
your physique.All you need to do to mold those
rock-solid muscles for the summer time is this:1)
Train with heavy weights and low repetitions to
build maximum muscle mass.2) Modify your diet
and implement cardio workouts to eliminate body
fat and create visibly harder and more defined
muscles.End of story.I'll see you at the beach!About
The AuthorSean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding expert,
fitness author and writer of top-selling Internet
Bodybuilding E-Book: The Truth About Building
Muscle.
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