We always thought you had to slog your guts out at the gym day and night if you want to get shredded.
While smashing huge weights sessions and spending hours endlessly pounding away miserably on a treadmill will probably do the trick, there might be another way.
John Hilliard is proof you don’t have to spend endless hours pounding away miserably on a treadmill to get in razor-sharp shape.
The 37-year-old father from Southampton found a better way – and managed to lose an incredible 22lbs to finally get his abs back.
He shifted all that excess body fat while barely breaking a sweat – and didn’t go near a treadmill.
A big part of his body transformation was something called LISS (Low Intensity Steady State cardio) – or if you want to call a spade a spade – walking.
Over 18 weeks John clocked up an incredible 2.1million steps, which works out at around 950 miles in four and a half months.
It was nothing fancy and he wasn’t left dripping with buckets of sweat – he just went out walking the dog, walking to work or nipping to the shop on foot.
LISS works because your body will use its fat stores for energy on a moderate walk when your heart rate is between 50 and 60 per cent of its maximum.
So every one of the 2.1 million steps John took counted towards his overall calorie burn. If you’re expending more calories than you’re taking in, you will lose weight.
His started doing LISS as part of his body transformation after downloading the LDN Muscle Cutting Guide to help him get back into shape.
“I think one of the biggest things which impacted on my fitness and well-being was the introduction of LISS,” he said.
“Before the program I had never heard of LISS and now taking the dog for a very brisk walk in the morning, walking to work, and even the ironing all contribute to my daily calorie burn.”
Another huge part of getting shredded was making changes and tweaks to his diet.
Incredibly John was eating more than he ever had before, but he was still losing weight and dropping his body fat percentage.
He said it was down to learning more about nutrition, understanding how to get a better balance to his diet and understanding how to work out his macronutrients (which we have a handy guide on here).
“I’ve never really looked into the food side of things,” he said. “I learned about how to control macros, and balance the protein fats and carbohydrates I needed to make sure that my body was in tiptop condition.
“Using the guide to help provide me with the information I need regarding nutrition, I was able to make very simple choices and changes to what I usually ate, so I could still feel like I was having my favourite things. I could still do everything I wanted, and I had so much more drive and energy.”
Balancing his macros allowed him to control his calorie intake to the right levels for fat loss, while still allowing him to eat things that he enjoyed.
The results of his 18-week transformation speak for themselves. You’re in incredible shape, John.
