Workout To Get Ripped?

Read this quick article for a workout to get ripped like Brad Pitt from Fight Club!

If you want a workout to get ripped, then you’re going to be excited by today’s blog post because I’ll share with you what you should focus on to get lean, mean and ripped!

First we’ll cover what getting ripped is, then you’ll discover the two most important ingredients to getting that “ripped” look:

1. How you should workout (what exercises, what weight, how many reps/sets, etc) and…
2. How you should eat (how often, what types of foods, etc)…

So lets get started with getting you ripped before summer gets here!

What Is Ripped?

If you wanna get ripped, you probably have a good idea of what you want to look like, probably like Brad Pitt in Fight Club right? But what does it take to look like that?

Well, first is your overall physique, the classic “X-shape” look of broad shoulders and back, a narrow waist, and powerful legs. Lots of guys refer to this as the “V-shape” look too (because most people are only focused on how the upper body looks).

But I don’t want you to be “all show, no go” so we’ll focus on getting you a ripped “X look” like a highly trained athlete.

Next, is your bodyfat levels. In order to get any six pack look at all you need to be at 10% bodyfat or less (if you’re a guy) and about 15-16% for a woman. But to get a REALLY ripped look (like Brad Pitt) most guys need to be 8% or under.

1. How To Workout?

You probably heard “heavy weights build size, and light weights build tone and get your ripped” right? Well that’s totally untrue!

You see, “tone” doesn’t exist — it’s simply residual tension left in your muscles — highly trained muscles which have the power to contract very forcefully (i.e. very strong muscles) have more residual tension… which means they look more tone. (Read my article How You Can Look More “Toned” for more info)

What about the pump you get from high reps in the gym? Well, it’s lactic acid buildup in your muscles and it’s gone in a couple of hours — that tone doesn’t last. But tone you get from strength training, from performing high tension exercises and teaching your muscles to “fire” harder and more forcefully lasts all day.

So the first ingredient to a toned body is focusing on high tension, maximal strength exercises. And to build that “X-shape” we were talking about you want to train your whole body as a unit with big compound exercises (using more muscles means you’ll be stronger, and generate more tension, which equals more tone!).

So get away from doing bicep curls, tricep extensions, and lat pull downs… Instead, start squatting, Deadlifting, and Overhead pressing. My DoubleYourGains’ 3-5 beginners strength training program is a good program to start with.

As for how heavy to lift, go as heavy as you can for sets and reps of 3-5 which will end up being in the 80-95% of your 1 rep max range which is perfect for building extreme strength, the “X-shape” and muscle tone/definition.

Next, lets get your body fat lower with your diet…

2. You Can’t Out-Condition The Kitchen Table!

A big part of how ripped you’ll get depends on your diet. I hate giving out advice for each and every situation, but here’s some ground rules to help you:

• Avoid anything that comes in a box, it’s bad for you
• Eat anything that a caveman would of eaten 1,000’s of years ago (meat, nuts, green leafy stuff, veggies, etc… cavemen did NOT have grain like bread, pasta, etc)
• Eliminate soda or sweetened drinks. Drink water and lots of it.

Does that sound too simple? That’s because eating “clean” and fixing your diet really is that simple. Most people KNOW when they’re not eating healthy… you don’t need me to tell you… it’s just choosing to follow those guidelines.

As for when to eat, how much to eat, specific examples you can read my articles What to eat to build muscle and burn fat, the six meal a day myth, and the ultimate muscle building fat burning diet plan.

One more tip: don’t try to be perfect. Aim for 80-90% perfection. What does this mean? If you try to be perfect you’ll get tired, run down and give into your cravings and eat a ton of stuff you don’t want. If you plan a day or two each week where you’ll let yourself eat some unhealthy stuff then you can look forward to your “cheat” day/meal and control the damage.

3. What About Cardio?

Glad you asked. If you’re already in decent shape, then following the two tips above will get your abs to start showing through… but if you have a lot of weight to lose or you want to get REALLY ripped… then you could add cardio into the mix.

Strength training should take up no more than 3x per week for you. On the other 2 days during the work week (M-F) you can do cardio. But don’t do “normal” cardio where you run on a treadmill for hours on end.

Read my article on Why Aerobics Suck, and How to burn fat fast in 12 minutes or less to see how you should be doing cardio to get the maximum fat burning, ripped-body producing benefits (not to mention make yourself a whole lot healthier!)

So follow the three guidelines above and you’ll be well on your way to having the most effective workout to get ripped there is!

Did You Enjoy This Article On How To Get Ripped?

Then, you’ll definitely enjoy the video below where you’ll discover 3 foods that KILL belly fat and other unique fat burning “secrets”: