Just do a bunch of sit ups and eat less.
Those are obviously the only things you need to know about how to become shredded, right?
Not exactly.
I’ve covered a few different topics on getting shredded recently, and this time I’m explaining how building muscle fits into the method.
Plus, I’ll show you what you can do to get started…
Why is “Building Muscle” a Part of How to Become Shredded?
I probably don’t even need this section to convince you to build muscle, but I think it’s important that you understand why building muscle is part of the “get shredding” process.
A lot of guys will just read an action plan about getting ripped or shredded and not think twice about why they’re actually doing something…
Well, I’m going to present to you the real reason why you actually need to put more muscle mass on your frame in order to get the shredded body that you’re looking for.
So let’s get to the first reason…
Just Having Muscle Burns Calories
Your body is constantly burning calories all day long in order to maintain your metabolism.
… And your metabolism runs just about every vital process in your body like pumping blood, maintaining your central nervous system, keeping your heart beating, etc.
Now, your body works very hard and your metabolism revs up based on how much body weight you carry on a day-to-day basis.
However, lean muscle, and lean body mass requires more metabolic upkeep than body fat.
In other words, someone who has more lean muscle mass on their body will have a faster resting metabolic rate and can burn more calories while they’re sitting on their ass playing Call of Duty.
Creating a Caloric Deficit with Cardio is Like Paying Off Student Loans…
You have to create a caloric deficit in order to shred your body down to single-digit body fat percentages.
(This is about where you can start seeing visual ab definition.)
And your first instinct might be to do a bunch of cardio to achieve this…
But I like to use the simile that using cardio for how to become shredded is like taking out a loan to pay off your loans.
You’re using a short-term action to tackle a long-term problem.
Building New Muscle is Like Investing in the Stock Market
On the other hand, when you make it your goal to build lean muscle, it’s like you’re investing in the stock market.
Your building an infrastructure and system that will make how to become shredded a much easier and faster process in the long-term.
Of course doing cardio is very important to overall health, but it shouldn’t be used as the sole source of creating a caloric deficit.
Now I’m going to get a little more superficial…
Muscle is the Difference Between Being “Skinny” and Being “Shredded”
If you were to just make it your goal to lose body weight and fat, you would definitely lean down.
There’s no debating that.
However, by simply leaning down most people will identify you as just… skinny.
I know, because that’s what I was 4 years.
But when you decide to actually build muscle mass while you’re leaning down, that’s when you see visual definition that creates that stereotypically “ripped” looked.
[Tweet “The difference between being “skinny” and being “shredded” is muscle.”]
So let’s talk about what you can do to start building muscle…
Resistance Train to Stimulate Muscle Growth
If you want to know how to become shredded, you have to do some sort of resistance training in order to stimulate your muscles to grow.
Simply put, if you were to just sit on your ass all day and play video games, your muscles have no reason to adapt to anything.
But if you systematically challenge your muscles with new and more progressive resistance each week, your muscles have no choice but to either grow and adapt or die.
(And as long as you keep eating… your muscles aren’t going to die *whew*)
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Focus on Getting Stronger Above Everything Else
Don’t make the mistake of focusing too much on muscle size right now.
I promise you that size will eventually come, but your main goal should be on building strength when you’re trying to get shredded.
The reason you want to focus on building strength primarily is because this creates the most stimulation that will trigger muscle preservation as your body starts to eat itself.
(… Because that’s what’s actually happening.)
Your body is going to eat itself for fuel and you have to convince it to eat only the stored body fat and leave your muscle and other lean tissue alone.
Lift Heavy Weights
The way you’re going to build strength is by lifting heavy weights.
So none of that fluff and pump stuff when you’re trying to learn how to become shredded.
You want to bust out two or maybe three heavy sets per exercise and progressively increase the weight from week to week.
For example, Starting Strength advocates 3 sets of 5 on most exercises including squats and bench press.
Kinobody promotes 3 heavy sets on both the Aggressive Fat Loss and Greek God programs.
Kevin Kreider’s Body Shred program also promotes 3 heavy sets done in reverse pyramid style to output maximal strength as you get leaner.
What I’m saying is… the method is commonly used because it’s effective.
(Note: If you’re looking for a full diet and training program to get shredded, I did a very invasive review of Kevin Kreider’s Body Shred program.)
Train 2-4 Times Per Week
Another big mistake with guys just starting out attempting to build muscle is to overtrain, or do a bunch of unnecessary exercises and spend too many days in the gym each week.
Well, when it comes to losing body fat and creating defined muscles, quality is way more important than quality in terms of training.
That’s why working out 2-4 times a week is really all you need to get this kind of body.
2X Per Week is the Bare Minimum
Working out only 2 times a week gives you the benefit of not spending too much time in the gym.
This way you have more time for studying, lab work, hanging out with friends, etc.
However, by only working out 2 times a week, you’re taking the very slow approach on how to become shredded.
And you actually need to train very intensely and really tax your central nervous system in order to trigger your muscles for preservation as you get leaner.
So really, I don’t recommend working out only two times per week when you’re shredding, but I always get someone asking me if it’ll work.
Yes, but the results won’t be as good.
Training 3X Per Week is Ideal
Strength training 3 times per week is that sweet spot.
With this frequency you get all the muscle building benefits, and you still aren’t overextending yourself with a bunch of unnecessary gym time.
I like to work out 3 times a week, because I also cycle my carbohydrates and this gives me a chance to refeed three times a week.
This acts as a nice motivational trigger to keep me working out as I plan.
Maybe I’ll put out a post on that in the future…
Training 4X Per Week
In reality when you are a beginner, or intermediate, you really don’t need to work out any more than four times a week.
Honestly, I would only recommend someone work out 4 times per week if they’re really just bored and find that strength training is just a fun way to spend their time.
… because like I said 3 times a week is really the sweet spot.
But if you want to train 4x per week, you can.
You just need to make sure you’re not adding unnecessary volume that will sap your strength.
(Too much volume can actually hurt your progress as you learn how to become shredded.)
Focus Your Training Around Compound Lifts
Have you ever seen those guys who when they go into the gym they walk straight over to the dumbbell rack and start doing curls?
Maybe you’re one of those guys…
If that’s the case I won’t shame you too much, but what I need you to understand is that busting out 20 sets of curls is not the way to preserve muscle as your body starts to eat itself.
The way you’re going to work out efficiently and contribute to those awesome strength increases is by making compound lifts the focal point of your training.
And here are a few reasons why…
They Work Multiple Muscle Groups at the Same Time
See, the problem with curls is that it really only targets one specific muscle group. (Your biceps.)
This is really great for that one muscle, but it’s counterproductive to the rest of your body.
Instead, at the beginning of each workout make the first exercise a heavy, full body, compound exercise that hammers multiple muscle groups at the same time.
These kinds of exercises are not only more efficient, but they lend themselves to a more proportional, aesthetic physique, and they’ve shown to produce quick increases in testosterone that contribute to overall muscular development in the long-term.
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What Exercises Can You Do?
I recommend having these compound exercises in your workouts:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Row
- Bench press
- Overhead press
- Chin-ups
- Dips
These exercises alone will create a pretty well-rounded body by targeting quads, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, abs, chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
How to Become Shredded Means Using Isolation Lifts to Build Lagging Muscles
Now just because compound lifts should be the focus of your training sessions, that doesn’t mean you can’t also do a couple exercises to isolate specific muscle groups too.
Really, if compound lifts were all that were needed to get a really proportional body, I wouldn’t even suggest isolation exercises.
The fact of the matter is… building a really proportional physique is at the mercy of your genetics.
Some guys are going to build really massive arms right out of the gate with hardly any direct arm work at all.
… and then some guys are going to be like me and will work tirelessly for years to build up their arms.
Who are you more like?
Use Isolation Exercises Increase Weak Points in Compound Lifts
The first reason you should at least include one or two isolation lifts is to actually improve on your compound lifts.
This is a very common approach for competing powerlifters who actually need to perform these movements during competitions:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bench press
When powerlifters notice that a specific spot in a lift is preventing them from moving through the exercise, they’ll typically add an accessory movement specifically to strengthen that weak point.
For example, if when you do deadlifts, you find it difficult to actually lock your hips straight when the bar passes your knees, you can actually do rack pulls to specifically train just the portion of the exercise when the bar is already above your knees.
But of course there’s another reason to use isolation lifts that’s better suited for how to become shredded…
Use Isolation Exercises to Build Aesthetic Proportion
Most of us aren’t going to compete in any powerlifting competitions, so instead we train to build a visually appealing body instead.
If you were to go through a few training sessions doing only compound lifts, you would find that your genetics will make most of the decisions as to how that muscle will be distributed on your frame.
One area that almost always needs direct isolation work is the biceps.
That’s why it’s actually okay when you’ve done your deadlifts and weighted chin-ups that you can focus in on your biceps with some dumbbell or barbell curls.
(The greatest exercise ever invented.)
Do You Have a Plan on How to Become Shredded?
I hope I’ve convinced you that building muscle is a vital part of becoming shredded, and I didn’t tell you things you already knew.
So what are your next steps?
Leave a comment below and tell me your plan for building and maintaining muscle as you try to get shredded.