How to Get Shredded body

                                  credit: wikimedia.com

Getting shredded requires a combination of building muscle and losing fat, so depending where you are in your fitness journey, this can take a while.

Achieving a shredded look requires some serious hard work, time, and dedication. However, getting there you doesn't have to be complicated. 

How Long Does it Take to Get Abs?

Many start a diet with the hopes of looking a certain way but don't realize that weight loss alone just means you will be a smaller version of yourself. If you really want definition, you've got to build the muscle underneath first. So depending on how much lean mass you have, how often you are working out, and the type of training you are doing, how long it will take you to get ab definition will vary. Genetics can also play a role. 

For many people, getting shredded requires them to build muscle mass or "bulking" before focusing on fat loss. And that's really it in a nutshell; there are only two requirements for getting a six-pack:

1. Build abdominal muscles
2. Lose body fat

And you can't just focus on losing belly fat alone; getting shredded requires losing total body fat - to see more abdominal definition usually requires a lower body fat percentage - around 15% or less for men and 20% or less for women. 

This overall process can take many months, if not years. The reality is, many people cannot build a beach body in six weeks, but you can still make drastic improvements in your fitness and health. And with enough dedication and patience, you will eventually get there. Having this understanding going into it is key. It allows you to be realistic with your expectations and will help ensure you don't get discouraged or give up when results don't come overnight. 

Do Fat Burning Supplements Work?

                               

                                                 credit: sculptnation.com

 Fat burning supplements are often dangerous, ineffective, and expensive. That's because a majority of them work one of few ways - increasing your body temperature or your heart rate, in the hopes of helping you burn more calories, or improving fat oxidation - although calorie control is still needed to lose body fat overall (4,5). Research has yet to conclude that any supplements promote more fat loss than diet alone. Bottom line, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

Your Complete Guide for Getting Ripped

Now that we've gotten common misconceptions out of the way, we can dive into what does work in helping you get more shredded. Here are ten steps, backed by science, that will assist you in getting those abs to show and the chiseled physique you're dreaming of. 

Step 1: Strength Train to Build Muscle

Probably the most important thing you can do for a more toned body is to increase your lean mass. Burning fat is crucial, but the more muscle you have underneath, the more ripped you'll look. Not to mention, muscle is your primary fat burner - driving your BMI and daily calorie needs more than anything else. 

Having more muscle mass means your calorie needs are higher - because you weigh more. And muscle takes up less space than fat, helping you look lean even at a higher body weight. So increasing your lean mass means you can eat more calories in a deficit and still lose body fat, compared to just calorie restriction for weight loss alone at a lower lean mass. 

Moreover, your abs are a muscle, and just as with any other muscle in your body, increasing the size of your abs and strengthening them can promote better definition in your stomach. But don't just focus on core exercises, increasing your lean mass overall can help give you better results and make the process easier. 

Best Core Building Exercises: 

1. Sit-ups
2. Leg Lifts
3. Oblique Twists
4. Planks

There are endless variations of these simple exercises that include hanging, weighted, decline, etc. Including a variation of these basic functional movements at least 3 days a week and increasing the difficulty can help build your ab muscles over time.

Step 2: Cut Calories to Lose Fat

Whether you are bulking first and then cutting, or working to change your body composition all at once, controlling your calorie intake is essential. 

The way calories work is that they provide 100% of the energy your body needs each day. You get calories from foods and beverages and burn calories through daily movements and bodily functions. If you are eating more calories than you need, they get stored as reserve energy, also known as fat. And if you eat less than you need, you must tap into these reserves, and essentially burn body fat for fuel. Thus, cutting calories consistently is the most effective way to lose body fat. 

It's also important to not cut your calories too low.

specially mentioning that starving yourself or going on rapid dieting is likely going to make the process much more difficult, by negatively effecting your energy levels, mood and appetite. 

Step 3: Eat Enough Protein

Whether you are looking to gain muscle or lose weight, increased protein intake is thought to be beneficial. Protein is very protective for your muscle in a calorie deficit diet, helping you lose more body fat and less lean mass.

Moreover, high protein diets (at least 25% to 30% of your calories from protein) thought to support better appetite control and reduce cravings, making it a dieters best friend.

Aim to get at least 30% of your calories from protein, or one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass - slightly more if in a calorie deficit. Or to roughly estimate, eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight.  

Step 4: Eat a Moderate Amount of Healthy Fats

Eating fat will not make you fat unless you are eating too many calories. However, limited research implies that some people may be more susceptible to changes in body composition from fat intake than others. After all, fat is more likely to be stored as body fat in a calorie surplus compared to others.

Fat is also calorically dense, meaning it can be easy to go overboard and add more calories than you realize. So, unless you are following a specific, high-fat diet, controlling your overall fat intake could be important in helping you maintain calorie control and promote more fat loss

Aim to keep fat at 20 to 30% of your total calories and opt for more healthy, unsaturated fats to keep you feeling satisfied and obtain potential health benefits. 

Step 5: Try Carb Cycling

Contrary to popular opinion, carbs alone do not cause weight gain. And if you are hitting the gym hard, you're workouts could benefit from adequate carb intake. Instead of going low carb, consider cycling your carbs. 

Carb cycling is the process of timing your carbohydrate and calorie intake around when your body needs it most - when you are working out, on high output days, and when you are generally more active. In theory, this would allow you to utilize carbohydrates more efficiently, supporting your workouts and energy needs, and reducing the chance of fat storage from higher carb intake. 

Step 6: Add High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

If your morning jog or the elliptical isn't getting you results, it may be time to up your intensity. Increasing the intensity of your cardio or conditioning workouts can not only help you burn more calories in the gym but may have additional fat loss benefits. 

Some research suggests that high-intensity interval training or HIIT workouts may promote fat loss and improve stamina faster than endurance training alone. This level of output is thought to create a significant shift in your metabolic output that continues a high calorie burn for after your done training.

Add two high intensity training days to your workout routine to support fat loss and help you lean out. 

Step 7: Get Good Amount Of Sleep

Rest is a crucial component to both muscle building and fat loss. When you are using your muscles, you are tearing them down - which supports strengthening and growth, but the actual building of muscle happens during times of rest, like when you are sleeping.

As for fat loss, poor sleep has been linked to increased belly fat in numerous studies.

Sleep is also essential for recovery in general, helping us keep our energy levels high and mood stable, both of which can effect our desire to workout and stick to a healthy diet if not managed properly.

Aim to get at least seven hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep each night. 

Step 8: Control Stress

When high amounts of stress are negatively impacting your life, it can lead to increased fat storage, mainly abdominal fat. And while calorie control will help counteract some of this, stress can do a number on our willpower and cravings making sticking to your diet that much harder. 

Learning to combat daily stress or at least channel it in a more positive way could be key to helping you lose more body fat and get better results.

Some common tips for stress reduction include:

1. Get more sleep
2. Exercise
3. Try yoga or meditation
4. Go for a walk outside or take breaks when you can
5. Go on a vacation
6. Talk to someone
7. Improve your time management or organization

Step 9: Stay Consistent

All of the steps above are meaningless unless you practice them consistently. And being consistent simply means repeating the same behaviors on a regular basis. 

The goal is not perfection, nor is trying to stick to a diet perfectly realistic for most people. Instead focus on getting it right a majority of the time. Consistency coupled with patience and enough time will ultimately lead you to your desired results. 

Do share this and lets us know what you think in the comment section.

Abhishek Rawat
(Content Writer)
@Day Light Media