You rarely eat French fries or Donuts or Dairy Queen Blizzards, and Pizza is only for cheat days, so you have ruled out a poor diet. You hit the gym five, sometimes six, days a week with a good dose of cardio and lifting, and yet you still do not know what the problem is. Why am I still not ripped, you wonder? Why am I killing myself in the gym without a six-pack and an abundance of striated muscles to show for it?
You are right; diet may not be the answer. And genetics is not necessarily to blame either. There is a good chance that all the work you are doing undermines your efforts to build lean muscle. The fact that you are frequenting the gym is not the issue; it is what you are doing once you get there.
If your cardio sessions drag on forever and the dumbbells you use always seem to come from the lighter side of the rack—that could be your problem right there. We think we may have just discovered the three main training reasons why people are not getting shredded, and it is time to put an end to it, once and for all.
Reason #1: Too much Cardio
One of the excellent training misconceptions is that lifting weights gets you bigger and cardio gets you leaner, period. As a result, the guy (or gal) whose primary goal is to get more “defined” often makes cardio the centerpiece of his program, while lifting takes a backseat. And by “centerpiece,” we are talking 45-60 minutes on the treadmill followed by 15-20 minutes of pumping iron. You end up with some weight loss, perhaps (provided a clean diet is followed), but a body that is no leaner than before.
Here are the facts: Weight training can, and will, help you get leaner, and cardio can hurt body composition (percent body fat), as too much of it creates a catabolic (muscle-wasting) environment in the body, which slows metabolism. In the presence of adequate protein and carbohydrate consumption, lifting will help build muscle.
More muscle means a faster metabolism, which means more fat is burned, and the physique becomes leaner. And while you may burn more calories during a cardio session than a lifting workout, you will burn more calories at rest (like when you are sleeping or sitting around watching T.V.) due to lifting versus cardio.
“If you want to know what type of physique results from a lot of aerobic exercises, attend a local marathon or triathlon,” says Charles I. Staley, B.S., M.S.S., strength coach, competitive Masters-level Olympic-style weightlifter, and director of Staley Training Systems. Granted, long-distance runners and other endurance athletes are thin and lean, but who is more shredded: the Olympic marathoner or the world-class sprinter?
That is not to say that giving up cardio entirely is the answer; but rather, those endless sessions on the stair-stepper and elliptical machines must go. “A better cardio alternative is higher-intensity, ‘stop and start’ interval-type training, which burns more fat and spares your hard-earned muscle at the same time,” says Staley. The key here is intensity.
Reason #2: Not Enough Heavy Lifting
The “cardio burns more fat than lifting” theory is one of the excellent training misconceptions around, but we think we have a better one right here: Lifting with high reps and lightweight gets you more shredded than going heavier with lower reps. Oh really? Well, no.
The truth is, high-rep sets increase muscular endurance but not necessarily fat-burning. You can get more ripped training in the 8-12-rep range, as this is what has been identified as the best rep count for adding muscular size. Where muscle mass increases, so do metabolism.
Bodybuilders like eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman have proven that you can go very heavy and still do 8+ reps, but actual heavy lifting occurs at six reps and below. And while this is the ideal range for enhancing strength, studies have also shown that heavy sets keep testosterone levels elevated for longer after the workout, which helps keep metabolism high, resulting in greater fat-burning.
“Weight training is for strength, not endurance,” says Staley. “Low-repetition sets are optimal for recruiting fast-twitch motor units and raising testosterone levels—two essential preconditions for a leaner physique.”
Recruiting more fast-twitch fibers is significant, as these, compared to slow-twitch fibers, can get significantly more prominent, which will contribute to speeding up the metabolism, as muscle is metabolically active tissue.
Reason #3: Hidden Sugars Are Infiltrating Your Diet
According to the World Health Organization, sugar should make up five percent of a person’s daily calorie consumption. Currently, the national average is about 18 percent. You are probably stricter with your sugar intake than the masses. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back—but your gains (or losses) can still be hindered by eating too many foods with hidden sugar.
For example, salad and chicken are excellent food choices until you drown the riffage in high-calorie salad dressing or bathe your bird in sugary sauce. “Those hidden sources of sugar add up quickly, stalling fat loss,” says nutritionist J.J. Virgin, author of The Virgin Diet Cookbook. “Even if they don’t taste sweet, the food still might contain fructose and other sugars.”
Try dipping the tines of your fork into the dressing instead of dumping it onto your salad. With chicken, replace molasses or sugar-laden sauces (like B.B.Q. sauce) with vinegar-based hot sauce.
Reason #4 You Skip Post-Workout Stretches
Whether or not stretching is beneficial for reducing muscle soreness is a hotly debated subject, but a post-workout stretch can improve flexibility and range of motion (R.O.M.). Why is that important? Because being more flexible and increasing your R.O.M. can help your muscles, joints, and connective tissue remain healthy, enhance athletic performance, and reduce the risk of injury so you can level up your workouts and achieve more significant results.
Reason #5 You are Consuming Too Much “Clean” Food
Filling up on fruits and veggies is better for you than feasting on Skittles and Funyons. But no food is “free.” Portions must be in concert with the number of calories your body requires to yield the desired result, like losing weight or packing on muscle. That said, whether it is junk food or health food, if consuming it edges you to the point where you are taking in more calories than you are burning, those excess calories will be stored as fat.
Reason #6 You are Mismanaging Stress
High stress can cause an increase in appetite, weight gain, and loss of muscle mass. If changes to your exercise routine do not positively affect your weight, look at your emotional health. Plan to get a massage or do some relaxation exercises to help calm your body and your mind.
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