Are you tired of standing and analysing yourself in the mirror and thinking “but why am I not ripped? I’ve been seriously smashing the gym but my abs are nowhere to be seen”. This is a plateau everyone comes to when part of his or her food or training regime simply isn’t quite on point.
The good news is that all you need is a few changes and if you follow these changes and give them 100% you will get SHREDDED! The images we see in fitness magazines and websites are somewhat of an illusion, try not to be utterly fooled because these athletes have dieted seriously hard to get in that condition and it’s not permanently maintainable unless it’s your job. Want to get results faster?
Here are 5 reasons why you aren’t currently shredded and what you can do to fix it!
Cutting calories too fast
Weight loss to unveil the shredded you underneath should never be hurried! There is no shortcut to success and when it comes to looking ripped and shredded you must follow the scientific approach or what’s the point in losing weight if you lose your hard earned muscle along with it?
Firstly, if you cut your calories super fast then your body can’t adapt and will punish you for it by getting too hungry and sending your cravings through the roof. Not fun!
Loss of muscle is also a reason it’s a bad idea to cut calories fast as they need regular food and fuel for maintenance. In order to lose at a safe and consistent rate, you need to create a deficit of 500 calories per day (to lose a pound per week) to 1000 calories per day (to lose two pounds). This is best done by a reduction in your calorie intake, coupled with an increase in the calories you burn through exercise. Which follows onto our next point…
The cardio plateau and not doing HIIT
If you aren’t doing cardio at all then you need to start! Cardio is a compulsory necessary evil when it comes to getting shredded. If you can’t commit to cardio then you won’t get shredded. Simple.
You should be aiming for around 5 sessions a week of cardio on top of your weights if you want to achieve a super lean physique. To burn more body fat and tap into those stubborn stores, then fasted cardio before breakfast in the morning is the most effective way to go.
If you have been doing cardio and not getting results, then switch it up. Try doing HIIT; this method of cardio is a serious fat blaster. HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a training technique in which you go all-out, one hundred percent effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. This type of training gets and keeps your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time meaning when your done and at home in bed, you are still burning calories!
Lifting too light
Let’s be honest, are you pushing yourself as hard as you could be? Don’t make the mistake of going to the gym every day and picking up the same set of dumbbells. Progression is the key to bigger gains and the more shredded look. You need to start lifting as heavy as you can in order to shock your muscles and tear those fibres. Filling them with protein daily will make them grow bigger and stronger, perfect for when you a need to cut body fat and reveal your muscular gains.
Can you get a good training partner to give you that extra push to get the PB? If not think about investing in a personal trainer.
Not taking much rest
On the contrary you also need to be careful and make sure your taking adequate rest. This goes for in between sets and on your rest days. Your body and muscles need time to recover from the hard hammer you have been delivering.
If your body and muscles don’t get ample time to repair, then they simply won’t grow back stronger they will just keep tearing and tearing. Rest days are there for a reason so use them wisely.
Sitting not supplementing
The staple part of any shredding regime is supplementation. The golden supplement you should never be without when cutting is BCAAs. Why is this and what are they? BCAAs are branch chain amino acids, which consist of L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine and L-Valine.
Without an adequate supply of the BCAAs your muscles can be deprived of them by the very exercises you perform to build them up! Counter production like this can seriously inhibit your effort and you will lose muscle instead of build it, thus the importance of supplemental BCAA intake is of paramount importance. A scoop in your water when your doing cardio and when you train is all you need to protect your shred!
If you are used to spending long periods sat down during the day you also need to try and become more active. Go for regular walks if you need to anything to get the blood flowing and the calories burning!
So now you have no excuse, get your gym head on get your new goal and plan started get shredded!