Ok so summer is right around the corner, and you’re looking to get shredded. Whether its for the beach, an upcoming competition, or just because, I get it. By the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll have the tools you need to start the process. Let’s get to ’em.
#1) Get Stronger
The best way to get lean (and stay lean) is to focus on performance. First, check your mindset, as you’re starting this process, are you thinking things like.. I need to restrict my diet, I can only have this, I can’t have that? If so, stop. Not only does your metabolism increase when you put on muscle mass, but its a natural principle that when your performance improves, so does your body. Focus on getting better at exercise throughout the fat loss process.
#2) Big, Compound Exercises
When putting together your workout routine, center it around big, compound movements, movements that make your whole body work. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, pressing movements, etc. You’ll never get lean by curling all day.
#3) Prioritize Recovery
Once again, when putting together your workout routine, make sure to schedule your lifting sessions wisely, allowing for ample recovery time for your muscle groups. Let your body breath. If you’re doing this naturally, then 6 days a week, 2 hours a day is the worst thing you can do for your body. You’ll quickly dig yourself into a metabolic hole and not only will you lose lean mass, but you will fatigue your body and nervous system to the point of possible injury. Get in the gym, go hard, heavy and smart, get out and rest up for your next session. Make sleep a top priority.
#4) Water
Did you know that your muscle is over 70% water? All of this will be all for naught without drinking enough water every day. One gallon per day for the averaged sized person is a good starting point. Think of water as the transportation vehicle for nutrients you eat. If you want all of those quality nutrients you’re eating throughout the day to be useful, you need water to get them to their destination.
#5) Protein
Speaking of those quality nutrients, when training for fat loss, you must prioritize protein in your diet. If you want to maintain and even gain lean mass, you need to eat enough protein. How much? If you’re training as explained above, with enough recovery time and emphasizing big compound movements, then about 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight is a good baseline.
#6) Carbs
When looking to lean out, DO NOT cut out all your carbs. You need them for energy for those intense workouts you’ll be doing. Remember, we want to focus on getting stronger during this time, and to do that, we need to fuel our muscles properly. As far as how many carbs, there are many theories out there. Everyone is a little different in what their body works best with, but a good starting rule is to shoot for no more than 1 gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight, and eat 50% of those carbs during three meals, breakfast, pre-workout and post-workout. So if a person is 160 lbs, they would eat 160 grams of carbs per day, and would eat 40 grams for breakfast, 20 pre-workout, and 40 post-workout. Remember, use carbs when you need them, use them as fuel for your workouts. Eat the majority of them around your workouts. Eating lots of carbs, especially starchy carbs, at other times of the day, will be an easy way to put on fat around your midsection.
Another technique you can try is carb-cycling. Simply put, for the example given, the 160 pound person would eat 1.5 grams of carbs, 1 gram of carbs and .5 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight, on a rotating basis.
Day 1 – .5 grams carbs/lb. of bodyweight
Day 2 – 1 gram carbs/lb. of bodyweight
Day 3 – 1.5 grams carbs/lb. of bodyweight then Repeat
If using this technique, try and schedule your high carb days for your most intense lifting days.
#7) Meal Planning
Get ready to fall in love with tupperware. Try and eat 5-6 small meals per day, spaced out about 2.5 to 3 hours apart. Your biggest meals should be breakfast and post-workout. Prepare your food ahead of time, and tupperware it up a day or two in advance. You’ll be shocked at how simple this makes things. Just grab your meal and go. Without a commitment to this, you’ll quickly get frustrated, stressed and your chances of sticking to the diet will plummet. Attack your meal prep the way you attack your workouts!
#8) Further Fat Burning
Once you’ve got 1-7 locked in, try adding some of these secret ingredients that will aid in your fat loss efforts. They’ve all been proven to naturally increase metabolism.
Green tea, ginger, cayenne pepper, garlic, black pepper, mustard seeds, lemon infused water, calcium, CLA, L-Arginine, L-Carnitine, coconut oil.
Those foods and supplements will help give you that extra punch for fat loss you’re looking for!
Happy shredding fam.
Building Better Fitness 