Best way to get ripped?

Nervouspriest

Hi,

I am male, 23 and 11 and a half stone to 12 stone.

Just wondering whats the quickest/most effective way to get muscle definition.

I gym 3 to 4 times a week and do two five mile runs also if I can bring myself to do them. I Generally do weights in the gym and 2km on the rower and 25 minutes swimming.

Whats the bestway to get a six pack? I presume it is to loose weight if you had to and then start doing crunchs?

Thanks.

kumate_champ07

eat less, move more.

Colm_OReilly

Crunches are not the way to a six pack, diet is.

Please post your full routine and diet though for us.

corkcomp

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

eat less, move more.

thats crap advice for the given situation tbh! based on the OP's stats he is not over weight so building some muscle and dropping little body fat is most likely what is required.

forget the crunches. post up a full typical days diet along with your height so we can get a better idea. also, do you have any idea what your body fat is at present?

the drifter

corkcomp wrote: »

thats crap advice for the given situation tbh! based on the OP's stats he is not over weight so building some muscle and dropping little body fat is most likely what is required.

forget the crunches. post up a full typical days diet along with your height so we can get a better idea. also, do you have any idea what your body fat is at present?

what he said....moooorrreeee info needed!!!

beegirl

Lose body fat!

Taken from here... he says that you should reach 'Very Lean' to see 6-pack abs...

http://www.tomvenuto.com/asktom/what_body_fat_to_see_abs.shtml

: Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle Body fat rating scale ::

WOMEN:
Competition Shape ("ripped"): 8-12%
Very Lean (excellent): < 15%
Lean (good): 16-20%
Satisfactory (fair): 21-25%
Improvement needed (poor): 26-30%
Major improvement needed (Very poor): 31-40%+
MEN:
Competition Shape ("ripped"): 3-6%
Very Lean (excellent): < 9%
Lean (good): 10-14%
Satisfactory (fair): 15-19%
Improvement needed (poor): 20-25%
Major improvement needed (Very poor): 26-30%+

kumate_champ07

corkcomp wrote: »

thats crap advice for the given situation tbh! based on the OP's stats he is not over weight so building some muscle and dropping little body fat is most likely what is required.

forget the crunches. post up a full typical days diet along with your height so we can get a better idea. also, do you have any idea what your body fat is at present?

so you're saying my advice wouldnt work?

corkcomp

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

so you're saying my advice wouldnt work?

What i am saying is that it might be prudent to put a little thought into replies - no body likes smart ass replies that are not helpful. Depending on the OP's height he may be under weight for his height so the eat less ocmment is not helpful. the op might also need to build some muscle so eat less doesnt apply here either. the move more comment is so vague that it is of no benefit here

Ciaran500

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

so you're saying my advice wouldnt work?

Depends on his current size. I don't think what he means by ripped is just a low body fat %. He might have to gain alot of weight in muscle and fat before cutting to lose the fat.

Khannie

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

so you're saying my advice wouldnt work?

It might, or might not. It wasn't very helpful tbh. If the guy was 20 stone or whatever then maybe, but that's obviously not the case.

kumate_champ07

corkcomp wrote: »

What i am saying is that it might be prudent to put a little thought into replies - no body likes smart ass replies that are not helpful. Depending on the OP's height he may be under weight for his height so the eat less ocmment is not helpful. the op might also need to build some muscle so eat less doesnt apply here either. the move more comment is so vague that it is of no benefit here

its pretty simple: eat less + move more = calorie deficit
everyone has a 'sixpack' under a layer of fat, remove some of that layer and it becomes visible. It's not rocket science hence 'eat less move more'

The Davestator

I've noticed a big increase in the number of people saying 'don't do crunches' etc to questions. Everyone who has decent abs does some ab work and most do a lot. I understand some people think you can spot reduce and crunches don't help in that regard but ab work should be part of every programme in my opinion as a lot of the people asking the questions here have no strength or condition in their abs

Chet Zar

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

its pretty simple: eat less + move more = calorie deficit
everyone has a 'sixpack' under a layer of fat, remove some of that layer and it becomes visible. It's not rocket science hence 'eat less move more'

Not framed in the most helpful manner, but you're touching on a key point often overlooked on here - you've gotta get the calories down to drop fat. Drop fat and you get closer to the 6 pack.

rubadub

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

everyone has a 'sixpack' under a layer of fat, remove some of that layer and it becomes visible.

I have seen plenty of skinny blokes with no real 6 pack, you could barely make out a little definition I suppose. I have seen many a person asking about the "fight club body" on various forums, and people saying "oh just don't eat, he probably did little or no working out". Well Christian Bale was a big enough bloke who did "just stop eating", you can only see a slight bit of definition

The Davestator wrote: »

I've noticed a big increase in the number of people saying 'don't do crunches' etc to questions. Everyone who has decent abs does some ab work and most do a lot.

But do they bother with situps? I heard a FOAF had a 6 pack and did 500-1000 situps per day. People are not saying do not bother with ab work at all, it is that time would be better spent doing other exercises. Like a guy saying "I want to look good in a t-shirt, will I do loads of bicep curls all day everyday", -no, time is better spent doing deadlifts, chins, dips etc.

kumate_champ07

rubadub wrote: »

Christian Bale was a big enough bloke who did "just stop eating", you can only see a slight bit of definition

I didnt say just stop eating, I said 'eat less'. He seriously damaged his health while preparing for that role, if irecall correctly he lived on a few cups of coffee a day and 1 snack, but he's a method actor and will make sacrifices for acting. theres eating less and theres becoming anorexic which is what he basically undertook, not only do you not get calories but you dont get any nutrients for muscle to actually look healthy.

the fight club body is mostly ridiculed by bodybuilders who think even Arnie is a bit skinny

walshb

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Crunches are not the way to a six pack, diet is.

Please post your full routine and diet though for us.

A combination is. Exercise the muscles in the stomach and cut weight to define/show the muscles. Medicine ball and plenty of ground work. Make sure the crunches are slow and aren't using your momentum. No rocking!

You need to remove any fat/weight from the stomach, otherwise the muscles won't be seen and accentuated.

kumate_champ07

walshb wrote: »

A combination is. Exercise the muscles in the stomach and cut weight to define/show the muscles. Medicine ball and plenty of ground work. Make sure the crunches are slow and aren't using your momentum. No rocking!

You need to remove any fat/weight from the stomach, otherwise the muscles won't be seen and accentuated.

I presume youre speaking from boxing experience where strong & conditioned abs are needed, If its just a cosmetic need to have a sixpack then diet is practically all of the work

corkcomp

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I presume youre speaking from boxing experience where strong & conditioned abs are needed, If its just a cosmetic need to have a sixpack then diet is practically all of the work

not really true. in order to have visible abs you need to have muscle, as rubadub pointed out you can be really skinny and not have a visible six pack, so it is NOT all down to diet. you do need to do appropriate exercises to build muscle

The Davestator

Rubabdub - I agree with you, but more and more people on here are saying 'forget about abs' and 'deadlift, sqaut, chin and bench' etc etc. for all queries! There is not a 'one solution fits them all' available or else all the trainers on here would be out of jobs!

The truth is that visible abs are mostly diet, but you still need plenty of ab / core work to achieve strenth and volume in your abs.

Nervouspriest

Hi,

I am 5 foot 10. I am 11 and a half stone, sometimes when I weight myself after having a lot of water I am closer to 12.

I try and go to the gym around 3 to 4 times a week and run 2 days of the week as I don't like being in the gym everyday. The only reason I would go everyday is to look at the Polish women...I can't get over some of them.

I do 2km on the rower, thats the only consistent thing I do everytime I am in the gym. Some days I do the crosstrainer/spinning class and weights, other days I do weights and a bit of a swim.

2 days during the week I go on a 5 mile run. I have only started doing this recently and am going to try to run 7 miles tomorrow.

I want to get a six pack/lean down. I am just unsure how to get my BMI down. Do I need to just keep doing a lot of running/cycling? The leaner I get the less weight(not that I have much) there will be on my stomach section, so a six pack should be visable easier?

Some people are telling me to eat more to build up muscle and others are telling me to eat less....

I have no set diet, I believe this could be my downfall.

justaday

it sounds like you have no plan at all.

rubadub

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I didnt say just stop eating, I said 'eat less'.

Yes, instead of "eat less, move more" maybe "eat less, lift more" is more appropriate. As I said I have seen loads of skinny lads I know with barely visible abs, I don't think emaciated visible abs is what people think of when they say "6-pack". I would agree fully that diet is of paramount importance.

The Davestator wrote: »

Rubabdub - I agree with you, but more and more people on here are saying 'forget about abs' and 'deadlift, sqaut, chin and bench' etc etc.

It is usually "forget about situps", and that deadlifts and squats will work your abs well, so it is not leaving abs out at all. You will also see other ab exercises recommended which are more worthwhile for most, like hanging leg raises or using a proper ab wheel (not the granny rocker yokes!). I think the advice is more about getting the fundamental compound exercises in and then worry about isolation ones. Many come on with preconceived ideas of what is best, like doing endless situps or curls will help them reach their goal sooner than any other.

Chet Zar

List out your diet in complete detail.

Also - people seem to think that being 'ripped' is about being lean and having a six pack.

Being ripped means having a six pack (or close to it) AND being muscular/built.

Nervouspriest

justaday wrote: »

it sounds like you have no plan at all.

Yeah I am a bit all over the place.

I don't have a set plan in the gym when I go, as if I did I would get bored with it.

Nervouspriest

Chet Zar wrote: »

List out your diet in complete detail.

Also - people seem to think that being 'ripped' is about being lean and having a six pack.

Being ripped means having a six pack (or close to it) AND being muscular/built.

There is no point me listing out my everyday diet as I haven't been set one by a gym instructor......

I just try and eat healty.

Breakfast: Weetabix or Toast and Tea.
Lunch: Few Bananas and plums/grapes .
Dinner: Try to eat fish or Steak as much as possible.

I feel running is helping me with building up my six pack. Just my opinion, but I feel if I can get my BMI down through cycling and running and then continue with this, and do daily sit-ups I should have ab's within the next few months. I will be continuing with doing weights also.

If I wanted to lean down I would need to eat less calories, and if I wanted to put on muscle I would need to be eating more...is there not a middle ground?

I will check my BMI in the gym tomorrow.....

Chet Zar

Nervouspriest wrote: »

There is no point me listing out my everyday diet as I haven't been set one by a gym instructor......

I just try and eat healty.

Breakfast: Weetabix or Toast and Tea.
Lunch: Few Bananas and plums/grapes .
Dinner: Try to eat fish or Steak as much as possible.

I feel running is helping me with building up my six pack. Just my opinion, but I feel if I can get my BMI down through cycling and running and then continue with this, and do daily sit-ups I should have ab's within the next few months. I will be continuing with doing weights also.

If I wanted to lean down I would need to eat less calories, and if I wanted to put on muscle I would need to be eating more...is there not a middle ground?

I will check my BMI in the gym tomorrow.....

Sounds like you're determined anyway. What I would say is that people need to find what works for them, some people can drop fat a lot easier than others. Pretty much though, if you aren't getting to where you want you need to change something - whether that's dropping calories lower, lowering carbs, upping the ante with training, or a combination, is something you need to play with.

Nervouspriest

Chet Zar wrote: »

Sounds like you're determined anyway. What I would say is that people need to find what works for them, some people can drop fat a lot easier than others. Pretty much though, if you aren't getting to where you want you need to change something - whether that's dropping calories lower, lowering carbs, upping the ante with training, or a combination, is something you need to play with.

The main issue I have is sometimes I get cravings to go out on the piss at the weekend, and this can throw a training regime completly out the window.

I am just going to try and be a recluse for a few months....Its the only way..

Colm_OReilly

You're diet seems to be quite lacking in protein. There's nothing there before dinner, really.

Eat protein at every meal.

Nervouspriest

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

You're diet seems to be quite lacking in protein. There's nothing there before dinner, really.

Eat protein at every meal.

Protein as in Tuna, or get onto Protein Supplements?

What exactly is the main benefit of Protein - muscle mass building?

I don't really like Tuna though and couldn't see me eating it everyday.

injured365

Nervouspriest wrote: »

Protein as in Tuna, or get onto Protein Supplements?

What exactly is the main benefit of Protein - muscle mass building?

I don't really like Tuna though and couldn't see me eating it everyday.

Protein can come from loads of sources...chicken, eggs, nuts and dairy products
A meal with protein and good fats along with some carbs will give you a full stomach feeling faster than one based around carbs

Reading the fitness sticky in the forum will fill you in a lot more on nutrition than i can

Nervouspriest

injured365 wrote: »

Protein can come from loads of sources...chicken, eggs, nuts and dairy products
A meal with protein and good fats along with some carbs will give you a full stomach feeling faster than one based around carbs

Reading the fitness sticky in the forum will fill you in a lot more on nutrition than i can

Thanks.

I will read the Fitness sticky later on tonight.

I will try and get more protein into my diet. I really need to look more into my diet, as I haven't really considered until now what effect it will have in the look I want....

I try and push myself hard these days especially as I am currently out of work so have a lot more time to be in the gym etc...

One of my friends in the UK lives with a weight lifting champion and they have like 1,000 calorie shakes and that every day pretty much. As far as I can see they must be eating 5 to 6,000 calories a day.....

Nervouspriest

My body fat is 11% got it checked in the gym yesterday. I only used the machine where they check your height and weight and then you hold a little machine between your hands which reads your body fat.

Going to get it checked out properly next week.

aDeener

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I didnt say just stop eating, I said 'eat less'. He seriously damaged his health while preparing for that role, if irecall correctly he lived on a few cups of coffee a day and 1 snack, but he's a method actor and will make sacrifices for acting. theres eating less and theres becoming anorexic which is what he basically undertook, not only do you not get calories but you dont get any nutrients for muscle to actually look healthy.

the fight club body is mostly ridiculed by bodybuilders who think even Arnie is a bit skinny

They are fcukin idiots

justaday

zac efron is 'ripped' but not muscly so the person is wrong who said to the contrary befor.e alot of people aspire for that body.

Ryan!

Nervouspriest wrote: »

My body fat is 11% got it checked in the gym yesterday. I only used the machine where they check your height and weight and then you hold a little machine between your hands which reads your body fat.

Going to get it checked out properly next week.

I wouldnt say thats a very accurate machine if it measured bodyfat % without taking body measurements.

injured365

Calipers are the only really accurate way of measuring bodyfat. The results those machines come up with can differ depending on the amount of water you have drank or the amount of food in your stomach

legend365

Best way to get ripped?....

chainsaw

Nervouspriest

injured365 wrote: »

Calipers are the only really accurate way of measuring bodyfat. The results those machines come up with can differ depending on the amount of water you have drank or the amount of food in your stomach

Yeah I am going to get measured with the Calipers either today or tomorrow. The machine I used can vary by a few percent. My goal is to get to 6-9% bodyfat. The more I read up the more I realise that its all to do with reducing your body fat to 'very lean' - 6-9% to get the look that I am looking for.

How long would it take to get from 11 to 9%. On fitnessireland it said that body fatwas the enemy not weight, I thought it was a good quote, as people are generally more concerned about their weight and don't even get their body fat measured....God I need a job..:)

billyhead

Nervouspriest wrote: »

Yeah I am going to get measured with the Calipers either today or tomorrow. The machine I used can vary by a few percent. My goal is to get to 6-9% bodyfat. The more I read up the more I realise that its all to do with reducing your body fat to 'very lean' - 6-9% to get the look that I am looking for.

How long would it take to get from 11 to 9%. On fitnessireland it said that body fatwas the enemy not weight, I thought it was a good quote, as people are generally more concerned about their weight and don't even get their body fat measured....God I need a job..:)

The machines for mesauring bodyfat are crap. I got measured with both in diffrent gyms and the machine read 12% while the calipers results was 8%

Nervouspriest

billyhead wrote: »

The machines for mesauring bodyfat are crap. I got measured with both in diffrent gyms and the machine read 12% while the calipers results was 8%

Yeah I agree they are a load of crap sure the Instructor told me they were as well. He said he would measure me with the Calipers...I know he works on Tuesday so might just wait to get it done tomorrow as the rest of the 'Instructors' are a joke.

How hard would you need to work to loose 1% of body fat when you are already down in the lean category? I am sure its easier to go from 26% to 23% than it is to go from 11% to 8%....

Big Ears

Nervouspriest wrote: »

Yeah I agree they are a load of crap sure the Instructor told me they were as well. He said he would measure me with the Calipers...I know he works on Tuesday so might just wait to get it done tomorrow as the rest of the 'Instructors' are a joke.

How hard would you need to work to loose 1% of body fat when you are already down in the lean category? I am sure its easier to go from 26% to 23% than it is to go from 11% to 8%....

yes it is easier to go from 26%-23%, than 11%-8%.
>25% is overweight and people in this category generally won't have a very good diet and won't be doing much training(there are of course exceptions).

Where as people with 11% , barring those suffering from conditions such as anorexia or bulimia will generally have a very good diet and have a reasonably intense training regime. So it's a lot harder for them to lose body fat as they already go about the interventions that people make to go from 26%-23%


1lb of bodyfat is equates to about 3,500 Kcal.
To lose fat you've to create a calorie deficit where you have 'burned off' more than you've consumed. This is a gradual process as otherwise your diet will probably lack the nutrients required to get a 'ripped' look and you won't be able to train hard enough if your not eating enough.

When people say you should eat more, basically they mean you need to consume more protein in order to help muscle growth. While protein supplements are helping in attain this extra protein they are not a necessity and it's possible to get enough protein from other sources(already mentioned) such as lean meat, nuts(careful they're often high in fat), milk(low fat/semi-skimmed being better), lentils etc.
Too much protein will turn into fat, but you're unlikely to suffer this problem if you're training hard and not taking/taking too much protein supplements.


be careful not to cut carbs out of your diet too much.
Without them you'll cathobolise more protein during your aerobic work(running etc) and you'll find it harder to maintain/increase muscle mass.
Obviously too much will lead to fat and not allow you to create a calorie deficit.

You should probably go see a dietician if you are really serious about getting your diet sorted out. They'll be able to sort you out as to exactly what foods to eat and also quantities for you specifically, rather than just general advice you'll see here.

The more muscle you have the easier you'll find it to lose fat, as your Resting Metabolic Rate will be higher. This basically means that your body will be burning more calories while going about your basic daily live because your increased muscle mass means you'll be expending more energy in fuelling those muscles.

Without wanting to seem condescending, you're knowledge about this is basic enough and your best off seeking the help of professionals than just reading stuff here. There are of course some very knowledgeable people here, but stuff like 'eat less and work harder' isn't very helpful imo and therefore you mightn't be sure which advice to take and which to ignore.

Nervouspriest

Big Ears wrote: »

yes it is easier to go from 26%-23%, than 11%-8%.
>25% is overweight and people in this category generally won't have a very good diet and won't be doing much training(there are of course exceptions).

Where as people with 11% , barring those suffering from conditions such as anorexia or bulimia will generally have a very good diet and have a reasonably intense training regime. So it's a lot harder for them to lose body fat as they already go about the interventions that people make to go from 26%-23%


1lb of bodyfat is equates to about 3,500 Kcal.
To lose fat you've to create a calorie deficit where you have 'burned off' more than you've consumed. This is a gradual process as otherwise your diet will probably lack the nutrients required to get a 'ripped' look and you won't be able to train hard enough if your not eating enough.

When people say you should eat more, basically they mean you need to consume more protein in order to help muscle growth. While protein supplements are helping in attain this extra protein they are not a necessity and it's possible to get enough protein from other sources(already mentioned) such as lean meat, nuts(careful they're often high in fat), milk(low fat/semi-skimmed being better), lentils etc.
Too much protein will turn into fat, but you're unlikely to suffer this problem if you're training hard and not taking/taking too much protein supplements.


be careful not to cut carbs out of your diet too much.
Without them you'll cathobolise more protein during your aerobic work(running etc) and you'll find it harder to maintain/increase muscle mass.
Obviously too much will lead to fat and not allow you to create a calorie deficit.

You should probably go see a dietician if you are really serious about getting your diet sorted out. They'll be able to sort you out as to exactly what foods to eat and also quantities for you specifically, rather than just general advice you'll see here.

The more muscle you have the easier you'll find it to lose fat, as your Resting Metabolic Rate will be higher. This basically means that your body will be burning more calories while going about your basic daily live because your increased muscle mass means you'll be expending more energy in fuelling those muscles.

Without wanting to seem condescending, you're knowledge about this is basic enough and your best off seeking the help of professionals than just reading stuff here. There are of course some very knowledgeable people here, but stuff like 'eat less and work harder' isn't very helpful imo and therefore you mightn't be sure which advice to take and which to ignore.

Hi,

Thanks for that, lot of helpful points.

I admit I don't know a lot about this, but really I don't think I need to know much more than what has been provided on this thread.

I am going to increase my protein Intake with Tuna, Chicken Breast, Salmon etc.. and might start taking Maximusle or Sci-Mx shakes during and after workouts to help with muscle recovery and to try and help me to Increase Muscle mass.

I am going to up the amount of running that I do by myself gradually and try to get to more spinning classes. If I can lower my Body Fat through Cardio then I feel that it will be easier to get a six pack, rather than doing crunchs with a layer of flab covering my ab's.

Big Ears

Nervouspriest wrote: »

Hi,

Thanks for that, lot of helpful points.

I admit I don't know a lot about this, but really I don't think I need to know much more than what has been provided on this thread.

I am going to increase my protein Intake with Tuna, Chicken Breast, Salmon etc.. and might start taking Maximusle or Sci-Mx shakes during and after workouts to help with muscle recovery and to try and help me to Increase Muscle mass.

I am going to up the amount of running that I do by myself gradually and try to get to more spinning classes. If I can lower my Body Fat through Cardio then I feel that it will be easier to get a six pack, rather than doing crunchs with a layer of flab covering my ab's.

That fair enough, if you feel you can achieve your goals without consulting professionals you will of course save yourself a bit of cash.

As for protein intake, between 1.2-1.8 grams per Kg of bodyweight is recommended for a person who is quite active and participates in strength training. Anything more than this won't be doing you any real benefit and may cause you to put on fat.

I recommend you read through the supplements thread here before purchasing anything. You'll be able to find better quality, and cheaper alternatives(imo) to maximuscle.

Muscle will obviously not show if there is fat covering it. So you will indeed have to lower your fat %(I'm guessing because I don't know how much fat you possess currently). However even without much fat, muscle will not show if it isn't there, as pointed out with the picture of Christian Bale.

There are many more abdominal exercises than crunches, and you won't see proper gains unless you vary your workout exercises. Make sure to work your obliques aswell if you are intent on this 'ripped' look. Other core exercises which work your back would be recommended aswell, as problems can occur from an imbalance in strength between your abdominal muscles and your back muscles.

You should probably just do core exercises every 2nd day, as otherwise your muscles won't get the time to recover and rebuild and you won't see any real gain.

Some work on a heavy bag will strengthen your serratus muscles.
This is the muscle just to the side and slightly underneath where your pecs are, which helps form the 'ripped' look. Straight punches only though.
It's also useful, because a heavy bag can be very good cardio work, and help vary your routine and prevent it from becoming boring.

Best of luck with it anyway.