subject: Find Out How To Get Cut Muscles [print this page] Find Out How To Get Cut Muscles Find Out How To Get Cut Muscles
If you want to get a muscular look, the fastest way to do this is to get lean. People with average muscle mass look great if they are cut. But the clean lines of hard muscle look even better. For anyone who wants to get cut muscles, getting toned abs is usually their number 1 goal. Here I will explain how to do it.
Before we go any further, let's discuss what we mean by "ripped" If you have a body fat level of 20% or less, you will show good definition. Doctors consider anything from 14-20% to be in the healthy range. But less than 14% is needed if you want your abs to show through properly. From my own personal experience, the average "normal weight" person is between 25 and 30%, with fairly serious regular lifters in the 18-23% range, and serious ones in the 12-17% range. It just goes to show, even a 5% difference in body fat can really determine your chances of being ripped. This is the reason why: a guy weighing 200 lbs with a body fat of 25% has 50 lbs of fat on his body. Getting down to 20% body fat will require losing 13 lbs of all body fat. Now he weighs 187 lbs with 37 lbs of fat. If the 13 lbs that were lost consist of a 50/50 mixture of fat and muscle, the fat percentage will still be 23%. So it's easy to see how hard it is to reduce your body fat by 5%, unless you are able to lose JUST THE FAT. There's the million dollar question. What's the best way to lose body fat? Answer:
Extremely slowly..
It has been said by some people that your body can't lose more than 2 lbs of fat per week without losing muscle mass too. They are wrong. If you're a millionaire with your own dietician and chef then you might be able to. But for everyone else, it's a no-go. For most people, your goal should be to lose a pound of body weight a week. Now there are many who will tell you that you can cut in 6-8 weeks, and they are right. Just be prepared to lose 50/50 fat to muscle, and to only eat 1000-1300 calories a day. Not for me.
The healthy correct way is to drop 500 calories a day from your current intake. Try to make sure you mainly cut out processed carbohydrates and sugar. Spread your remaining calorie intake evenly through the day (though a higher percent in the AM verses the PM speeds up fat loss) and finish with a slow release protein shake one hour before going to bed (although make sure this is milk, egg or soy rather than whey). This will give you a 2% fat lose each month. 3 months later and you will have kept your muscle but significantly dropped your body fat so that the muscle can show through!
