Getting Ripped for 2012

Q: I was googling programs on how to get ripped. I have been going to the gym on and off for three years and have tried several supplements such as Ripped Hardcore, Animal Cuts and protein shakes to mention a few. I have also tried eating 6 small meals a day. It could be that I am doing something wrong. Could you give me any advice?

Kind Regards,
Sakhile D.


My Answer: I was at the gym the other day, and it seemed a lot more crowded than usual. Then I realized that everybody was sticking to their New Year's resolutions. Normally people start off exercising consistently at the beginning of the year, but then they lose focus and next thing you know by mid April they saying to themselves, "I want to lose this gut for the summer."

Anyway Sakhile, I have no idea what you're doing wrong, because I have no idea how you're training and what you're eating. People lose focus in their training and dieting because of 2 things:

1) They don't know what specifically to do to achieve their goals.
2) They don't know how to measure their progress.

Getting ripped is a combination of diet and exercise (duh!), but what kind of diet and exercise? In Volume One and Volume Four I go over diet, but I'll summarize it in 3 words: NO WHITE CARBS. That means no sugar and no starches.

As far as exercise, in Volume One I go over 7 different strength training strategies for fat loss. All 7 strategies have these 2 common factors: low rest and high reps.

Those are the specifics of fat loss, but what are the metrics of fat loss? Obviously you have a scale and you should notice your pants getting looser. But you should monitor your food intake and your macronutrient breakdown. Go to Fitday.com and open up a free account. Log in your meals daily and it will show you your ratios of protein, fat and carb intake. Like I said, low carb intake is the key.

A lot of people think it's a hassle logging your food intake, but if you don't have an idea what you're eating, then you're not going to know what you're doing wrong. If you can't do something as simple as reading the nutrition facts, then what makes you think you can overcome millions of years of evolutionary biology by working out three hours a week?