‘If you build it, they will come’… them gainz, that is.
Building your own gym programme doesn’t have to be a ball ache if you follow JOE’s 14 golden rules.
If you want to get more shredded than a muscly whippet, then follow these commandments to the letter and results will follow.
In Part 1 of our fool-proof ‘get ripped quick’ scheme we covered everything from designing your masterplan and picking the right training split, to identifying weak points and cramming those luxury muscles into your weekly plan.
Part 2 delves into training volume and knowing how to programme your reps and sets to keeping your body guessing, increasing your workout intensity and ensuring your muscles get the recovery they need to grow.
Polish your perfect training plan with Part 3 of the series…
11. Diet
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t be decking fast food and fizzy drinks every day if you’re trying to rip up. If you eat sh*t, you’re going to look sh*t.
JOE sets out 5 easy ways to clean up your diet here.
But a really good training programme should be backed up with a really good eating programme that is balanced with the right macro nutrients (proteins, fats and carbs.)
There are several decent macro nutrient calculators available online which will tell you the exact amount of calories you need to consume per day (according to your age, bodyfat and training frequency) and how these break down into your proteins, carbs and fats overall and per meal.
Some people will benefit from higher carbs and lower fats and others will thrive more from fewer carbs and more fats (depending on body type).
But your protein intake should be constantly high to stop you from losing muscle.
You should try and split your overall calorie intake equally into at least five meals per day.
12. Calorie deficit
In order to burn fat and get those abs out, your body needs to be in calorie deficit (so more calories used up than eaten.)
Often people think this is just a case of ‘going on a diet’ and limiting your calories from the outset.
But you have to be clever about it.
If you start a 14-week programme and start cutting your calories immediately it won’t be long before you can’t drop your calories any more, your workout intensity suffers and your body adapts, your metabolism slows and your fat loss grinds to a halt.
Bad news for that beach body.
So, the best course of action is to keep your calories high and instead just increase your training volume to achieve this calories deficit.
So you can add more reps, more sets and even more training sessions to your week and you will find your muscles growing and your body shedding fat.
When you get to the point where you can no longer add any more training volume and intensity this is when you can start slowly dropping your calories.
Week on week you can cut carbs or decrease the amount of fat you have in the daily total to create that calorie deficit.
Gradually depriving your body of those calories will mean it is forced to burn up those fat stores to fuel your workouts.
But make sure you keep your protein intake constantly high to stop your body eating into your hard-earned muscle.
13. Cardio
Cardio is another key tool in your fat loss arsenal. You can use cardio to put your body in that calorie deficit.
Again, you don’t want to be hitting an hour of cardio from the outset in your programme because as your body adapts, you will have to do more and more to reap the fat loss benefits.
There are two types of cardio which are good for fat loss – Low Impact Steady State cardio (LISS) and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) explained here.
The best time to do your cardio is first thing in the morning when your body has had no fuel in it. This is called ‘fasted cardio’. It works best at this time because your body is in a ‘fasted state’ (i.e. it hasn’t been fed) so it is prime to use your body fat as an energy source.
You can also hit your cardio after a heavy weights session when you will have used up carbohydrates from food and any stored as glycogen in your muscles – so your body will again turn to body fat as an energy source.
14 Cheat meals
Yes, you heard us right – cheat meals. We’re not just making it up, it’s science. You can factor in cheat meals into your diet where you can wolf down a big dirty pizza once a week and it will actually help your gains.
Miami Pro Men’s Physique champion Joel Corry swears by it.
Basically, when you diet and train hard your body becomes depleted and your metabolism will slow down pretty quickly.
You’ll notice this when fat burning will slow down even if you’re cranking up the training intensity and sticking to that puritanical diet like your life depends on it.
A brilliant way to rev up your metabolism is by guzzling down some dirty calories in a cheat meal which will boost your fat burning hormone leptin too.
*Note that we said ‘cheat meal’ not ‘cheat week’ – don’t use this as an excuse to enjoy a fast food extravaganza.
