1) Perform Serious Strength Training
It’s a critical mistake when people who want to lose fat decide to swap their heavy strength training for lighter high rep training.
I know the lighter high rep stuff will bring your heart rate up higher and make you sweat more, but this does NOT lead to greater fat loss. Instead, it encourages decreases of strength and lean muscle.
Don’t buy into the “just do metabolic conditioning circuits for fat loss” hype. Instead, make sure you hit some heavy sets of 3-5 reps on the big compound movements.
2) Emphasize Muscle Building (Hypertrophy) Work
This one may be obvious to you. Muscle building is absolutely crucial if you want to get ripped. Your lean muscle is the foundation of your entire physique.
Furthermore, the amount of muscle you have dictates your metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. And a higher metabolic rate will lead to greater fat loss.
Be sure to include multiple sets in the 6-10 rep range for each major movement pattern.
3) Cycle Your Carbs
Low-carb diets are effective for fat loss. Unfortunately, they are also effective for muscle loss. The key is to cycle your carb intake so you can benefit from the fat burning effect while avoiding muscle wasting.
There are several ways to accomplish this. One simple approach is to follow a lower carb diet on lighter training days to encourage fat burning, and then increase carb intake on heavier training days to encourage muscle building. Win-win.
4) Get To Sleep!
If you lack quality sleep, your recovery will be compromised. Without recovering optimally, muscle building becomes extremely difficult.
Additionally, shortage of sleep results in a negative cascade of hormonal reactions including: decreased insulin sensitivity, increased cortisol levels, decreased growth hormone release and lower testosterone levels.
All of these undesirable effects compromise fat loss and encourage muscle catabolism. To avoid this, make sure to get seven to eight hours per night.
5) Sprint
Sprinting for fat loss is a favorite secret weapon of mine. It can be a game changer in your “get ripped” program.
The intensity during sprinting is so high that (like weight training) only short bursts are needed. Due to the short duration of sprints, recovery is not an issue.
Additionally, force output is high during sprints, which encourages muscle and strength building. Let’s lace em up!
6) Walk
I know, walking isn’t the most exciting fat burner out there – but it does burn fat.
The intensity during walking is low enough that you can do it for as long as you like, as often as you like without worrying about impeding recovery abilities and muscle loss. In fact, walking actually helps to facilitate recovery.
A good walk can help you burn fat, get some fresh air and assist the recovery process all at the same time. This should be a stress free, non-goal orientated workout. Enjoy it!
7) Push a Sled
Prowler sled pushing is one of the most effective techniques around for getting ripped. It’s a great muscle builder and fat burner that is unique because it doesn’t have an eccentric component. In other words, your muscles are only loaded in one direction.
This is important because it is the eccentric component that makes you sore and is more difficult to recover from.
Do short burst sprints with the sled once or twice per week and watch how your body responds. You’ll thank me when it’s over!
Nothing beats a good sled workout!
8] Perform a Dynamic Warm Up Often
This is another great technique. A dynamic warm up workout can be done prior to all resistance training, sprint training, walking, and on “off” days. As you’re burning calories, you’re increasing mobility and decreasing injury potential.
If you’re tight and/or injured, your training will be seriously limited, which will negatively affect your overall results.
A well-designed dynamic warm up really kills two birds with one stone. Do it regularly.
9) Detox
When your body is under toxic stress, it will not burn fat efficiently. This is one of those “under the radar” problems that commonly occurs.
Some of the best detoxing techniques involve some potentially muscle wasting side effects (i.e. fasting). Avoid prolonged fasting during this time because we are looking to build muscle.
Start by eating organic produce and meats, drinking filtered water and cutting out the obvious offenders such as: booze, drugs, artificial sweeteners, coffee, environmental toxins- basically all of the fun stuff!
10) Super Hydrate
Everyone is so concerned with “how many carbs, how much protein, what type of fat, etc.” that the importance of hydration often gets overlooked.
This is a bad idea, since water is involved in every metabolic process. Efficient fat burning doesn’t take place in a state of dehydration. Even dehydrating by 1% results in a 10% decrease in performance.
First thing in the morning, before even considering breakfast, you should drink a large glass of water (16-32oz). Then keep on drinking throughout the day. Be sure to get a minimum of half your bodyweight in ounces daily.
11) Get Sensitive
The better you can shuttle glucose and amino acids to your muscles, the less likely you will be to store them as fat. The key to shifting this process in your favor is to increase insulin sensitivity.
The best way to do this is to:
a) Cut out most starchy carbs on non-training days (see point #3)
b) Limit fruit to one serving per 100 lbs of bodyweight daily.
c) Drink organic green tea (this helps direct glucose to muscle cells)
d) Balance out your omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. To do this, cut out omega 6 oils (safflower, sunflower, corn oil, etc.) and replace them with wild caught fish or pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled fish oil capsules.
12) Lower Estrogen Levels
High estrogen levels and a ripped physique go together like oil and water. Do everything you can to keep your estrogen levels low. If you are following the above 11 points, you are off to a great start. Additionally, be sure to:
a) Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, etc.) They contain compounds that promote a healthy estrogen metabolism.
b) Cut out all soy products. Soy contains isoflavones, which have estrogenic properties.
c) Limit your eating and drinking out of plastic containers. Plastics have xenoestrogens that leach into food and water. Avoid this as much as possible.
For a complete estrogen lowering, testosterone boosting meal plan, click here: How To Increase Testosterone
Start implementing these 12 strategies immediately. I guarantee you won’t regret it!
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johnnyal1
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Great ideas. How many days of sprints, sleds, walking, weight training? Is it more effective to do more sprints etc. Or more days of weights to get lean and strong?
@dr: Hey Dan, this would certainly vary from person to person. Generally speaking, do 4 resistance training sessions, 1-2 sprint workouts, 1-2 sled sessions and as much walking as you would like, per week.
Hi John,
I agree with all the ideas, but I don’t understand why on the point 9, coffee is in the list of things to cut. Organic coffee is very high in antioxidants and provides many health benefits.
@Adrià: Hi Adria, detoxing happens best in an alkaline environment. Coffee is very acidic.
A little organic coffee is ok. Just don’t buy into all of the hype. I’ve read all of the studies promoting it. But I know for sure that too much can lead to adrenal fatigue, addiction and excessive acidity.
@John Alvino: Thanks for the response, it seems that as usually, moderation is the answer.
I don’t remember if you have alredy written an article about the topic of acidic and alkaline foods, but I think it can be a good one.
@Adrià: I have not but I will do one in the future. Thanks for the suggestion, Adria
John,
Do you recommend regular consumption of decaf green tea? I usually limit my consumption of regular green tea to one bag a day, and try to get in a few bags of the decaf as well to boost antioxidant intake without extra caffeine.
Thanks,
-Chris
@Chris S: What you’re doing is fine but don’t feel like you “need” to get the extra bags in. If you enjoy it go for it. If you’re forcing yourself to down it just stick with the one
John, could you give an example program that involves weight training, sprints, sled work, walking, etc?
eg
Mon: Upper-Body (Strength)
Tue: Sprints (+ sled work)
Wed: Upper-Body (Hypertrophy)
Thurs: Sprints (+ sled work)
Fri: Rest/Walk
Sat: Lower-Body (Strength)
Sun: Rest/Walk
DS
@DiscoStew: Mon: Sprint am Lower Strength pm
Tues: Upper Body Strength
Wed: Rest
Thurs: Lower Hypertrophy with sled work
Fri: Upper Body Hypertrophy
Sat: Mobility
Sun: Rest
Walk whenever you want. This is just one of many possibilities
Thanks John.
As a once-a-week sprint session, what would you suggest?
eg Workout B of your “sprinting for fat loss” program
DS
@DiscoStew: Hey DS, yes, that would work well
Good stuff!
You look like a young Clint Eastwood mixed with Superman.
When I want to hit single body fat percentage, I follow your 3day high protein-1day high carb cycle from ‘how to get ripped’ eating plan, for aproximately two months.
It is a little bit extreme, but worth every sacrifice. The result is always amazing!
@Aris: Hey Aris, glad to hear about your success! It is tough but the results are definitely worth it
Hi John,
Really enjoyed this article but had some questions.
How many sets should be done for the strength and hypertrophy workouts and how many total exercises per workout?
Also if I was looking to put on some size (to fill out tshirts) but also looking to get ripped when taking tshirt off would this be the recommended program for me?
@Tim: Hey Tim, all of the training variables need to be varied. If not, progress will stop after 4-8 weeks, max. So I can’t give you guidelines on sets, total exercises, etc. To answer that honesty, I would need to do a complete consultation and know everything about your injury history, training equipment, goals, skill, training age, nutrition and a host of other factors. Sorry I couldn’t be more specific.
These strategies will absolutely work for your goals. Just be sure to eat a decent amount of carbs on your high days or you will just be doing a fat loss plan. That would not help your muscle building efforts.
Oh also what are the recommended rest periods between sets for strength days and hypertrophy days?
Hi there, aren’t points 1 and 2 contradicting one another ie
1. do 3-5 and forget higher rep range (strength) yet
2. do 6-10 reps (muscle building) ie higher reps are required for hypertrophy..
@tabs: Hi Tabs. There is no contradiction there. It says “include” sets for each rep range. It doesn’t say to do either one in isolation.
the metabolic / higher rep range seemed to work for Mark Twight and the 300 movie cast
@tabs: Hi Tabs, true they did include higher rep training but they also did plenty of heavy work.
Hey John, I love the tips! I have a question though. Do women need to worry about estrogen or is that tip just for men? Thank you in advance for answering my question. Keep up the great work!
@Gina: Hey G, there are certainly some gender differences in the battle with estrogen but the environmental estrogens should be avoided by both men and women
Does stevia count as an artificial sweetener?
@Tony: Hey Tony, stevia is cool, go for it
Hey John
How you feel about sub maximal weights, nowhere near failure, but with higher amount of frequency per muscle group for hypotrophy?
If so do you beleive that still warrants high carb on training days with volume being moderate and weight nowhere near the max?
@Geno: Hi Geno, I think it’s a great option.
Since you’d be training with much greater frequency, you may be able to increase carbs a bit on all days. This would depend on your personal carb tolerance.
John, do you think its ok to train legs twice a week (eg as part of 2 full-body workouts) and also sprint once a week?
eg
Monday: Full-Body
Wednesday: Full-Body
Friday: Sprints/Conditioning/Sled work
DS
@DiscoStew: Hey DS, yes, that’s ok
Hey John,
I train one area everyday eg monday-back, tues-shoulders, wed-chest, thurs-legs, fri-arms and take the weekend off. Is this enough weight training for each area in order to build muscle? Also my Body Fat % is 16%…will my weight training program be enough to help me lower this?
Thanks
@Farg: Hi Farg, I don’t like the split that you’re doing. Try doing a 4 day upper/lower split. Have your diet take care of the body fat. Hope this helps you out
Great Article. No BS, No Fluff.
One of the best on net.
Regards
John
@John Max: Thanks, John
Hi. U didn’t mention hiking for weight loss, is hiking good for muscle building and to get ripped
@mady: Hey Mady, hiking is great exercise. If your goal is to get ripped, hiking could be a supplement exercise to your resistance training.
Uhmm, about eating the heavy carbs on heavy days, what a about if your working out in the morning, should you eat the meal the night before?
@Griff: Hey Griff, good question, man. This would be a consideration if your goal was strictly size and strength. I’m assuming that your goal is getting ripped. Since getting ripped involves losing body fat, I would not suggest any carb loading on off days. Instead save that for days when you are training.
yes
John,
I am running for 2 years and run 40-60 mints 4 – 5 days a week and lost 65 lbs, now I would like to get ripped body what’s the best way to start it.
@Bal: Hey Bal, congrats on your fat loss success. The best way to start is by following the 12 tips above. Keep up the great work!
Hey John,
I am a soccer player looking to gain about 20 lbs of muscle. I am currently doing 3 full-body workouts each week with 3-4 interval sprints at the start and 3 sprints at the end of my workouts (sometimes prowler pushes). Should I be doing any more cardio or should I be resting on my off days?
Thanks!
@Isaac: Hi Issac, gaining 20 pounds of muscle and doing a lot of cardio are conflicting. Hit the weights heavy and only do enough cardio to prevent fat gain during your muscle growth cycle