How to get ripped and stay in shape (for men)

When I decided to get ripped a friend of mine who is a personal trainer laughed at me, he told me that getting ripped, healthy or what ever you want to call it, is 85% a good diet, 15% exercise and 100% willpower. Having been there myself I know its hard to get motivated about an early morning run or food that looks fit for a dog, but belive me at the end of the day its worth it! Getting fit will help every area of your life as it improves self-discipline and helps you to be more motivated in what you do.

When I decided that I was going to get in shape and muscular I weighed only 145 pounds I now weigh 185 pounds of lean muscle! And you can get in shape too, it wont be an over night transformation but it is 100% possible!

Exercise is essential for getting in shape and gaining muscle, without exercise additional protein taken on will just be converted to stored energy, in other words fat. A key question when it comes to exercise is: is it better to do resistance training or cardiovascular training. Essentially one should do both types as gaining muscle and becoming healthy relies on overall fitness aswell as how much you can bench press. BUT resistance training will give you the muscular figure you desire, it will also burn off fat.

The best form of cardiovascular training in my opinion is running outdoors because it works out your whole body, anyone can do it and when outdoors you get to see the world. However other good forms of cardiovascular fitness include: cross trainers, rowing machines, exercise bikes, swimming and running machines.

Whilst resistance training requires weights (both dumb bells and barbells), a weight bench, a weight stand and some inginuity. You can either purchase these items, see the links on this page, or you can invest in a gym membership. Personally i buy my equipment as you have unlimted access to it and its less effort than traveling to the gym.

Good resistance exercises to get ripped include but are not limited to:

• Bicep curls (using dumb bells or a bar bell).
• Press ups and sit ups (add weights for a more intense workout).
• The bench press (using the bar bell).
• Dead lifting (works abs as well).
• More exercises can be researched on the net or found in the fitness guides at the bottom of this page!

The key to your workout is varying your routine forcing your muscles to constantly adapt. When aiming for a 6 pack it is important to not over work the abs give them time to recover, most models that you see in magazines such as mens health only the work out the abs three days a week, if you over do it you will have a rock hard stomach without any definition.

 When getting in shape and getting the body you have always wanted diet is key, if you workout every day but eat two times a day at McDonalds and you are still going to look like Homer Simpson. A good diet is the solid foundation on which health is built. When gaining muscle it is essential to eat more especially protein!!! When I got ripped I ate 3500 calories on traing days (all healthy food) and 3250 on rest days. Once the body has worked out and the muscles have ripped, they need protein in abundance to regrow stronger than before. One successful and famous 3500 calorie diet is Jordan Yuam's diet found on his virtual fit club website: http://www.jordansvirtualfitclub.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18:lets-talk-food&catid=3:content&Itemid=26.

Along with a high protein diet similar to this, you can swap the chicken for tune and the salmon for beef etc, you will need high quality protein shakes and muscle fuel. I recomend those on the right of this page. There is no time like the present make decisions about your fitness whilst you are motivated!!

Supplements will also maximise the efficency of your workout, supplements like creatine will keep you working out for longer and increase muscle recovery when combined with exercise and a good diet their effects are more than noticable. Supplements like this are usually expensive but the cheapest i have seen have been online on sites like Amazon.

When taking supplements and vitamins it is vital that your diet remains unaltered and that you do not replace food with supplements!

Finally good luck!!!