The best time of year to display all your hard work in the gym is during the summer.
Even though it's usually best to start early, life can occasionally get in the way. This allows your body to adjust to less body fat.
Do not worry if you are running late or if you have not even begun. We're going to outline all the necessary measures so that you're shredded by the time summer arrives.
Step 1: Establish A Specific Goal
You must set a goal before you begin.
Knowing your goal, by when, and most importantly, why, is essential.
The most crucial component of goals and motivation is understanding your "why."
It's difficult to undergo a body transformation. Knowing your "why" can help you avoid grabbing for the bag of cookies or pressing the snooze button prior to your daily cardio on your alarm when you're dieting and exercising hard, and exhaustion sets in.
Anything might be your "why." "I just want to look good with my shirt off," or it could be something more profound making you realize that you need to make a difference.
Whatever it is, put it in writing and refer to it whenever you feel yourself straying from your course.
Simply stating that you want to “get in shape” is setting yourself up for failure.
This summer's objective should be:
"I want to have a six-pack on the beach(relevant) so in the next 10-12 weeks I need to lose X number of lbs. (specific) of fat in the next 12 weeks," you might say.
Step 2: Clean up Your Eating
Simple nutrition can help you lose weight. Simply consuming less calories than you need will cause you to lose weight.
For a better idea on calorie consumption vs calorie needs, use Simply's calorie calculator.
Although straightforward on paper, consistently carrying it through is challenging. For our subscribers’ sake, we like to keep diets incredibly straightforward.
We advise beginning with the low carb bootcamp if you're a beginner and want to lose fat quickly. You may read our post on it here to learn more about the ins and outs of it.
Following a high protein diet, modest amounts of healthy fats, and veggies for the next 2-3 weeks is the primary idea behind it.
What makes it so effective?
Jump start your progress.
It is possible to lose between 2 and 4% of body fat over the first two weeks of a low-carb diet. This is excellent for boosting motivation, and establishing focus for the next weeks.
Easy to Follow
This is the main justification for the "boot camp" period. There is no difference between a low, moderate, or high-carb diet if there is a calorie deficit and protein needs are met.
What’s important is what you can follow easily and for the long term. A low-carb diet is simple to prepare and adhere to at first for many people who are busy in their professional life and do not have the time to count macros.
Increased Sensitivity to Insulin
Brief intervals of low-carb eating can improve insulin sensitivity, enabling us to process carbohydrates more effectively towards the end of the program when we do reintroduce them.
Although carbohydrates aren't bad, if you've been eating a conventional Western diet, you've probably been eating so many that a small "reset" might be helpful.
After cleaning out your refrigerator and stocking up on meats, seafood, and veggies, you must now determine how much you require each day.
What you should do, to make things incredibly simple, is as follows:
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Set a protein target.
Aim for 1.2g per pound of bodyweight for men.
Aim for 1g per pound of bodyweight for women.
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Eat a lot of leafy green veggies with every meal.
Consider spinach, kale, and broccoli
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Include wholesome fats in every meal*
Aim for 0.5 grams per pound of bodyweight.
Think salmon, walnuts, and avocados
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Keep hydrated.
This is different for everybody. You don’t want to have to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes, however a healthy amount would be around one gallon of water a day throughout the day (not guzzled within a short period of time).
*This is important. People who follow low-carb diets are most likely to fail if they also follow low-fat diets, which reduce the diet's calorie intake even further.
When you commit this error, your energy levels are depleted. When this happens, you often hear of people who initially feel drained, tired, and ravenous before going on a binge-eating binge that undoes all their hard work. This also creates that “flat” muscle look which we want to avoid.
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Supplement as needed
This is also a largely subjective topic. Supplements are exactly that; SUPPLEMENTAL. You should not be taking anything to replace food or in lieu of the correct resting and diet. When you are in a calorie deficit but still working out hard, basic supplementation such as creatine, whey protein, or even a fat burner for energy and hunger pangs is useful.
For a busy 175 lb. male with 20% body fat who only has time for three substantial meals, the following is a sample starting diet:
Meal 1: 4 eggs, 150 grams of greens
Meal 2: 1 tbsp. Almond Butter and 2 Scoops Whey
Meal 3: 150g of greens, 1 medium avocado, and 200g of chicken breast
Meal 4: 1 tablespoon of almond butter and 2 scoops of whey
Meal 5: 150g of greens and 200g of lean beef minced (10% fat).
Step 3: Use The Correct Training Approach
There are many different ways to program this, and it would be impossible to give a precise prescription without knowing a person's lifestyle, level of stress, availability, etc.
But let's say, like most average gym goers, you can only workout three days each week.
If this describes you, you should begin with full body training for your 3 a week sessions. German Body Composition training is a useful method with this frequency.
The following are the main tenets of this system:
- Train three times a week.
- Put an emphasis on compound movements. 1 Leg Bosu ball push-ups are out; Primary barbell movements are in!
- Strict breaks every 30 to 60 seconds
- Keep your reps between 8 and 15.
- Alternate opposing or upper- and lower-body movements.
Here is a guide with some exercises on how to apply this methodology to men. You will alternate between Workouts A and B each day, taking a break after each.
Step Four: Stay Active
You don’t need to start with any specific cardio unless you have a short deadline (six to eight weeks). The diet and exercise will be sufficient.
You can start by becoming more active in your daily life, though.
Start using the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the train station rather than driving, answer calls while you're out and about rather than at your desk, etc.
Setting a daily step target that you work for each day is a wonderful idea. We like to advise beginners to set a starting goal of 8,000 to 10,000. Remembering this will motivate you to stay active all the time.
Step 5: Collect Data/Keep Track Of Progress
This is a big one, and a huge pitfall if you are not doing this.
You should monitor your development during a bodily transformation utilizing a few key indicators on a weekly or biweekly basis.
The major pillars:
- Weigh yourself (Try to do this 4-5x or every other day)
- Imaging (Take reference pics, back, front, side; shoot for every 2 weeks to a month)
- Dimensions (Chest, tape at your abdomen around your belly button, bicep cold or without a workout pump, thigh, waist)
The measurement technique you employ should be used regularly to deliver the most precise feedback because it will determine how you modify your food, exercise program, or cardio.
Step 6: Adjust and Advance
Now that you've started, it's time to begin moving forward.
You shouldn't need to modify anything for the first two to three weeks.
You may or may not wish to add some carbs to your diet after this initial low carb eating phase. Although it is not required, many find that it improves their sleep, strength, and gym performance.
One of two approaches is the best one to use for this:
- Around 50g give or take of carbs (preferably starchy) should be included in the post workout window.
- Once every week, include carbs. Those with higher levels of body fat may wish to start including carbohydrates once a week in a meal like chicken and potatoes.
Typically, as you measure the progress you are making, you can sort of “drip feed” carbs back into your diet without affecting your fat loss.
To sustain your calorie deficit when you do add carbs, you'll need to pay attention to your dietary fat intake.
After about a month of training, you might want to advance your plan. But once more, a lot depends on what stage you're at.
Here, we'll provide two samples.
If you're a novice, you should definitely continue using the complete body strategy but reduce the rep ranges to 6–10 now and advance some of the exercises.
If you're experienced, you can either:
- Train three times each week but change your split to upper body/lower body/upper body.
- Start working out four times per 7-day period, either on an upper/lower split or a three-day split like shoulders/back, lower body, and chest/arms.
To further build a deficit and maintain fat loss, you may want to start including some high intensity and or low intensity steady state cardio around the one-month mark.
One cardio set up may look like this:
- 30 minutes LISS 2 x per week
- HIIT for 15 seconds fast and 45 seconds cool down 2 x per week
Step 7: CONSISTENCY!
Most people give up. Don’t let that be you.
The most elaborate plans are useless without consistency. Consistent effort is needed if you want a dialed 6 pack for the beach.
This entails changing the dynamic of your life so that working out and eating right take precedence.
Transformations are difficult, and your level of motivation is always the key to your success.
