Transform your Body and Get RIPPED, How to get RIPPED

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about intensity. The word intense gets used too much I think for things that aren't intense. It's in the kid's slang, "that's intense," and they apply it to things to indicate something is pretty cool in their opinion. That's OK, but it downgrades the real meaning of the word intense.

Webster's dictionary defines intense as taking something to an extreme degree. That is what I am talking about! You want to have an intense workout every time. Taking that to a deeper level; you want to do every session, every set, and every rep with intensity.

This is one of the keys to getting a transformation in the quickest, most efficient way possible.

An example of having this RIPPED Intensity is thinking about your grip on the weight. Everyone has to grip the weight, no kidding, but how you do it is what I am talking about. Not your actual grip or your hand position; I am talking about holding the weight like someone is trying to tear it out of your hand. Hold on to it like you are hanging on a tree branch over the Grand Canyon. Do you get the picture? This is only one aspect of intensity, and the best way to get results is having these sorts of things in your head all the time you are at the gym. It is like you are turning on a switch as you are heading for the gym and then amping up the energy at you hit the floor and get into your routine.

Your intensity in all things is what can take you to the next level with your lifting and muscle development. Have you ever gotten stuck at a plateau? All of us have. You are benching X amount of weight and maybe you have a mental block about putting on that next plate. Many times this is a 'benchmark' weight level, if you can excuse the pun. It was many years that the four minute mile stood as a record. Runners had it in their heads that it couldn't be broken, but as soon as it was broken, it was like the dam broke, and a few people went sub-four quickly after Roger Bannister did it.

The trick to breaking these barriers is intensity. Maybe you have a block about benching 200 pounds, or 300. Whatever level you are at, you know what I am talking about. Ratchet up your intensity and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. Remember, what you believe you can achieve.

There are many very good reasons to build the muscle in your body. First is the obvious health benefits. Muscle is stronger and sturdier then fat and a toned body has less of a chance for injury. Not just injury during training either ,but everyday activity injury. You go to lift something and slip a disc or fall down and hurt yourself. Muscle will help prevent these injuries from becoming common place. If you are stronger you can lift more and not get hurt. If your muscles are tight there is less room for things to shift, such as disks, in your body. Strong, Flexible muscles are less prone to pulls and tears as well.

Another reason is weight loss. Although Muscle is heavier then fat it also help burn fat. More muscle eats more energy and so you will store less fat as your body will be using more of your fat as energy

The most popular reason is looks. Bottom line is most people like the look of a muscular body over a fat one. Especially in men, big muscles means more attention. You do not have to be freakishly big ,but a well muscled body draws attention. Women with muscle is also becoming more popular. Again we are not talking about getting huge or as many women say" looking manly" ,but muscle will enhance your figure. a well shaped back and shoulders also helps to hide a bit of stomach while you are working on losing those extra pounds.
The benefits are many. Always consult your Dr. before starting a new program.

One of the biggest myths when it comes to building muscle is that you can't do any cardio at all. This is far from the truth. Now if you are concentrating on getting big more then cutting up it's really going to be more about diet then cardio. Truth is no mater what your fitness goals, if you are working hard it is all about diet. So is cardio bad when bulking up? Not really, last thing you want to have is a lot of big muscles covered by even more fat. All you will do is look big and fat, not healthy and not pretty.

The key with your cardio is going to be timing and intensity. Timing basically means you really should not do your cardio right before your weight training. You will exhaust your body's energy stores which will give you a less effective weight training session. You are much better off doing cardio after weights as you will burn off more of your fat stores. Another option is to separate your cardio sessions from your weight training sessions all together. I personally like to do weight training in the afternoon and cardio at night.

By doing weights in the afternoon( say during lunch) you have a couple of meals in you and more energy to use. You are also more awake and alert. There are even studies that have shown you release more hormones when training mid day as opposed to morning or evening.

By doing your cardio well after you have now already fed your muscles to start the growing process. If you are eating properly your carbs should be less as the day goes on so you will also tap into those fat stores better.

When doing cardio you want to concentrate more on intensity then time. Longer cardio sessions will put your body in a catabolic stage and begin to eat away muscle. The idea here is to burn calories without burning muscle so shorter more intense cardio session are what you will need. Instead of adding time to your cardio sessions to burn more fat try going harder or faster. Now instead of being big and fat you can be big and ripped.

Just like in anything you do in life half the battle to building muscle is mental. Not just thinking I want to build muscle but also mentally preparing to do the work necessary. Gaining muscle is very hard work and if your head is not in the game your going to lose the battle quickly.

Another mental aspect that is very important is having a very specific goal in mind. You need a mental picture of exactly what you want to look like. As you reach certain points in your training you may change these goals a little but you need a starting point. Picture what you want and then work towards it.

You have to be mentally strong in the face of adversity. There will be a lot of people that will try to sabotage your training. Not on purpose but just because they are not in to the training lifestyle. They may try to get you to break your diet or skip a workout to do something else or just give you a bunch of crap because you are working so hard towards your goals. Most of this is in fun but it can greatly effect the outcome of your training.

You need the mental strength to change what you are already doing. Bottom line is if what you are doing now is not helping you build muscle then it is not going to work later. You have to be willing to accept change and learn what you will need to make your body gain muscle.

You have to mentally prepare yourself before each workout.Find something that gets you going, music, a TV show or anything else that inspires you. You have to go in to every workout 110% ready to give it your all or you will just be going through the motions and accomplishing nothing.

These are just a few aspects of the mental game involved in building muscle and getting ripped. So get your head in the game and watch how much more successful your training sessions become.