Fitness transformation stories are a marketable trend in the industry that keeps growing bigger on the internet, Reddit’s fitness subreddit is always full of fat loss photos and is currently hosting a 12 week transformation contest. Flex magazine owner Joe Weider says of them: “What I love most about these contests is that they really illustrate the idea that you can transform yourself in a short peroid of time if you commit to a goal, work hard, and don’t let day-to-day obstacles get in the way of achieving your dreams.”
Visualize the end goal and burn the image into your brain
The fitness industry is full of bullshit. Machines to electrocute your abs, steam belts, over priced supplements with no peer reviewed evidence to back their claims and Photoshop. It is possible though to make fairly dramatic looking progress in a short space of time through appropriate diet (low carb) and intense lifting routine. You could go from 15% bodyfat to 7% in 12 weeks but the issue is always going to be sticking with it. If you ultimately want to be a shredded 220 lbs you’re going to need short term goals in the present to keep you going, to keep you accountable. Having a specific short term date marked on the calendar to work towards when you plan to go out and look your best will keep the pressure on and stop you eating cake when you’re sick of chicken breast and tuna every meal.
In the book ‘The 33 Strategies of War’ author Robert Greene writes: “As the opposite poles of a magnet create motion, your enemies – your opposites – can fill you with purpose and direction. As people who stand in your way, who represent what you loathe, people to react against, they are a source of energy.”
Whether it’s someone trying to belittle your goals, an ex girlfriend who dumped you out of nowhere and is now getting passed around like a cold, use these people as fuel to achieve the mission, to increase your focus on that day when aesthetics will conquer all. As the Emperor in Star Wars said “Use your aggressive feelings. Let the hate flow through you.”
CUTTING DIET
Your diet needs to be low carbohydrate with a small caloric deficit (eat less calories than your maintenance level). Carbs can be cycled with some extra complex carbs added in the form of oats or brown rice to help replenish glycogen stores after they have been depleted, this is in order to ensure you have energy for workouts and your muscles look ‘full’.
Maximal glycogen storage is approximately 15 grams per kilogram of body weight (15 grams per 2.2 pounds). With this math, a 175-pound athlete could store up to 1200 grams of glycogen (4,800 calories) which could fuel high intensity exercise for quite some time. To make it psychologically easier you can allow yourself one high carb cheat meal a week. All fats should come from animal fats and nuts. If your diet is high in protein and not at a major caloric deficit then you will not lose muscle when cutting, some people overestimate how much lean body mass they had in the first place.
Here’s an example cutting diet for a 190 lb (86 kg) male, adjust the total calories relative to your weight and height:
Meal 1: One can of Tuna in spring water and one tablespoon of low fat mayonnaise
Meal 2: Whey protein shake with 1 scoop of whey, 60 ml semi skimmed milk and 200 ml water
Meal 3: 2 Large eggs, 100 g turkey breast slices, 100 g low fat cottage cheese
Meal 4: Chicken breast fillets (400 g) and broccoli
Meal 5: Whey protein shake with 1 scoop of whey, 60 ml semi skimmed milk and 200 ml water
Meal 6: Pork loin chop (143 g), broccoli, 70 g cheddar cheese
Before Bed: 6 Brazil nuts
Totals: Calories: 2,049 Protein: 260 g Carbs: 29 g Fat: 96 g
Only drink water and green tea and take a multivitamin supplement daily. Calories and macro nutrients can be calculated at www.myfitnesspal.com a brilliant diet resource.
WHAT FOODS CAN I EAT?
- Chicken breast
- Turkey breast
- Lean cut beef
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Pork loin chops
- Cottage cheese
- Eggs
- Brazil Nuts
- Almonds
- Whey Protein
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Fine green beans
IF IT FITS YOUR MACROS
The premise of ‘If it fits your macros’ (abbreviated to IIFYM) is it’s ok to accommodate some foods in your diet that aren’t typical bodybuilding foods. You can eat ice cream everyday and it won’t effect your body composition or fat cutting if it fits in with your macro nutrient goals (how much protein, carbs, fat and fiber you need to consume for the day).
Whilst it’s possible to eat a big mac everyday and have it fit your macros you should also consider a big mac has a high sodium and salt content, in the final few weeks of a cut you will have to cut it out and be reduced to chicken breast and water at the start of the final week whilst trying to avoid water retention and look as dry as possible to bring out definition.
Natural bodybuilder Dr. Layne Norton has this to say of IIFYM:
“I think the concept is fine, I think people get too carried away a little bit. I think that if you’re doing typical bodybuilding macros, it’s pretty hard to do that and eat crappy foods all day, foods that are high sugar or high fat, it’s going to be hard to hit decent bodybuilding macros doing that. I think it’s alright to follow something like that but you need to get enough fiber in because fiber’s thermogenic, it has a beneficial effect on digestion.”
What is best in life? To have ripped abs, flex them and hear the temptations of women. That is good, Conan.
CARB CYCLING
A recent meta-analysis (study of other studies) suggested that lower-carb, higher protein diets are indeed best for body re-composition (Krieger, et al., Feb. 2006).
“I consider low-carb to be when the daily carb intake is below 0.25 grams per pound of bodyweight. In other words, a 200-pound man (90 kg) ingests only 50 grams of carbs per day.”Charles Poliquin, Strength and Conditioning Coach.
When carb cycling you would typically eat low carb (under 50 grams) 4 days in a row then on the fifth day go high carb adding in oats, brown rice and a cheat meal. Then repeat the process until you reach your goal which will take 8 to 12 weeks. On a restricted carbohydrate diet, getting enough fiber and vitamins is of critical importance.
SUPPLEMENTATION
EC Stack: A popular bodybuilding fat loss aid for the last 20 years, it’s ephedrine pills combined with caffeine pills which can also be taken with aspirin pills but is not thought to be necessary. It will raise your blood pressure and works by increasing metabolism to burn fat whilst also suppressing appetite and giving you a boost before a workout due to caffeine acting as a stimulant. Dosage: 20 mg of ephedrine with 200 mg of caffeine 3 times a day, cycle it so you use it in the first 4 weeks and last 4 weeks as your body may build a tolerance to it.
It is illegal to market ephedrine in the United States as a dietary supplement but it can be found in cough medicines.
Green Tea: One of the main phytochemicals in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate, which, among other things, ensures that your body maintains higher levels of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine, which regulates metabolic rate. More norephinephrine, more fat burning.
Whey Protein: Protein shakes can help fill your macros but research has shown that drinking whey protein shakes can also increase satiety, keeping your appetite under control and making you less likely to stuff your face with extra calories.
Multivitamins: A large dose of vitamin D daily can help spike testosterone levels whilst also playing a crucial role in keeping the immune system in good working order. Around a quarter of UK residents are thought to be deficient in vitamin D due to lack of sunshine and not supplementing it. By taking a multivitamin supplement you can ensure you get sufficient vitamin A, C and D whilst eating a restricted diet for rapid fat loss.
HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)
Avoid steady-state cardio like the plague. Long, steady-state cardio exercise can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol which encourages fat storage, rather than burning it. It might be useful as endurance training for a marathon but bad for aesthetics. Studies have shown that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a more effective method for burning fat. HIIT also significantly lowers insulin resistance and causes skeletal muscle adaptations that result in enhanced skeletal muscle fat oxidation and improved glucose tolerance.
HIIT should be performed after your resistance weight training session and it should last about 15 minutes in total. The original protocol set a 2:1 ratio of work to recovery periods, for example, 30–40 seconds of hard sprinting alternated with 15–20 seconds of jogging or walking. Using a treadmill you might put it on a slight incline and would look to perform 8 to 10 repetitions of sprinting which could last 45 seconds, 15 seconds of jogging while you bring the speed down then walk for 30 seconds.
ISOLATION EXERCISES FOR ABS
Heavy squats and single digit body fat percentage won’t be enough for a great six pack. The symmetry of your abs will be determined by genetics and visibility by diet but in order to build thickness you will need to perform isolation exercises for the abdominal muscles like any other muscle group. You should target these muscles twice a week, performing these three great ab building exercises:
1. Hanging leg raises
Grab a chinup bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip (or use elbow supports, if available), and hang from the bar with your knees slightly bent and feet together. Simultaneously bend your knees, raise your hips, and curl your lower back underneath you as you lift your thighs toward your chest. Pause when the fronts of your thighs reach your chest, then slowly lower your legs back to the starting position. Suggested: 3 sets of 20 reps.
2. Kneeling cable crunch
Choosing a weighted ab movement lets you train in a low rep range, the kneeling cable crunch highly engages the abdominal muscles. Suggested: 4 sets of 8 reps.
3. Decline weighted crunch
Secure your legs at the end of the decline bench lying down, hold a 20 kg (45 lb) weight plate on your upper chest and then perform a crunch. Your shoulders should come up off the bench only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the bench. At the top of the movement, contract your abdominals hard and keep the contraction for a second. Focus on slow, controlled movement – don’t cheat yourself by using momentum. Suggested: 4 sets of 12 reps.
FINAL WEEK
The final week calls for some drastic nutrition techniques. You’ll be carb-depleting for the first part of the week to get any stubborn fat off and getting rid of glycogen in your muscles. In the final two days you will be carb-loading, your muscles will greedily gobble up the carbs making your muscles look full and larger. On the carb-depletion days you will cut all carbs out and be on ketogenic diet and will survive on low-sodium protein, you will have to stick to chicken and turkey breast, white fish, lean beef like rump steak and whey protein with water. Casein protein is out because it’s too high in sodium.
Salt needs to be cut out as it can cause the body to hold water, particularly right under the skin, blurring those all important striations. Avoid using spices, dressings and marinades all of which could be unintended sodium sources. Only lean meats and a small amount of fresh vegetables. Add in a natural diuretic supplement, something that contains Uva ursi leaf and dandelion root extract to assist with losing water weight.
Five to Six Days Out: Cut your water intake. Drink 5.5 to 7.5 litres of spring water (which is lower in sodium than mineral water or even tap water) per day.
Four Days Out: Drink 3.75 litres of spring water per day.
Three Days Out: Drink 3 litres of water distilled water (which has absolutely no sodium in it) per day.
Two Days Out: Drink 2 litres of distilled water per day.
One and Zero Days Out: Sip distilled water when needed.
Layne Norton, Natural Bodybuilder
THE MENTAL GAME
Dieting with a ‘feed the machine’ mentality is more of a mental battle than physical. Most people associate certain foods with feelings and inevitably experience moments of weakness when they’re craving simple carbs; doughnuts, pizza and chocolate. But you have to pause, take a deep breath and say “No, fuck that, I won’t go through life being weak.” The short term satisfaction you get from eating something loaded with sugar pales to the long term satisfaction gained from energy stimulating, muscle building, fat burning, libido increasing lean meat that raises testosterone.
Being lean will make you feel better about yourself more than a short term hit of sugar can. If you eat crappy food you will be fat and fat produces estrogen and suppresses testosterone and suppressed testosterone leads to moodiness.
If you’re starting from a high body fat percentage you will probably experience a period that could last a month where you have to contend with the loss of foods that bring you joy whilst not seeing enough progress in your body, nothing appreciable seems to be happening and you feel disheartened which may push you to the edge of failure and threaten to break your resolve. But you cannot quit, you have to remain methodical in your approach and trust that when you get to 10% the visible results will push you on. You must be completely focused on the date you’ve marked on the calendar.
People around you, friends, family and co-workers will try to break you. They’ll want you to make concessions, you’ll have to turn down alcoholic drinks and junk food, ignore their uniformed opinions on what you’re doing. It is at this point that you need to remember that you’re better than every single fucking person around you. Stay positive and stay aggressive.
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