So, you let things get out of control.
The pounds seemed to pile on and it was as if you weren’t noticing the changes in your
body.
Then one day you looked in the mirror and thought, wow, I really have let myself go.
Don’t worry, that happens to most of us at some point in life.
As we age love handles appear, the belly grows, there seem to be flaps of flab growing under
your arms, and in general you just don’t feel as fit, strong, or flexible as you used
to do.
The other day you bent down to pick up a fallen coin and pulled a muscle, and you decided
it was time to get fit again.
Today we are going to tell you how not only to look good and feel good, but how to get
shredded.
It’s not as hard as you think.
We are going to start by telling you a true story of a man that in his prime was a competitive
weightlifter, only for an injury to sideline him for quite a long time.
His couch-bound days transformed his body, and what was once a chiseled physique became
an ordinary body replete with bulging belly and a set of love-handles a small person could
hang-off.
Don’t worry if you’ve never been in great shape before like him, because his road back
to being ripped is one anyone can follow regardless of what body shape you have or have had, although
thanks to muscle memory, it’ll be a lot easier for him to get back to being shredded
than it would for you if you’re not used to exercising.
It’s all basic stuff and you don’t need to be an expert to do it nor spend a ton of
money.
What you will have to do is make a plan and stick to it.
We are asking you to commit to maybe 30 minutes to an hour a day, and make some other small
changes.
The transformation will be noticeable in a short period of time, and the pay-off will
change your life.
So, first of all, you need to lose some weight.
You know this because bending down to tie your shoes is an effort and well, the mirror
doesn’t lie… nor does your doctor.
You might be strong, but it might not be noticeable on the outside.
You want to look strong and you also want that flexibility back.
It’s a cliché these days, but it’s true, to lose weight you can’t just rely on exercise
alone.
Many studies have shown that Americans in general are exercising more, but many people
are still overweight.
Diet is important, and that’s an understatement.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in 2018 and this was their
conclusion: “Americans are exercising more, but the obesity rate is growing.”
The first thing you can do might sound extreme, but it’s not that extreme.
This is what the former weightlifter did.
Go into your kitchen and look at what is in the cupboards and refrigerator.
All those highly processed foods, the stuff with empty calories, you will throw away or
at the very least don’t buy any more of them.
The chips, the cookies, the stuff you keep snacking that couldn’t be said to be a whole
food, these things must go.
You want to be eating wholesome foods, raw foods, such as chicken, lean beef, vegetables
for salads, whole oats, fish, some fruit, nuts.
You get the picture.
You don’t want to be eating those sugary cereals, frozen pizzas, etc.
There are a plethora of websites out there that can tell you what healthy foods are,
but for now look at what you have that is highly processed and get rid of it.
We are not saying all processed food is bad, but just try and concentrate on eating what
we might call nutritious food and certainly cut back on the sugar.
We might also add that for many people around the world intermittent fasting has helped
them lose weight.
This might mean just having a meal in the evening and then waiting 16-24 hours for the
next meal.
That includes not having sugar in your drinks.
This is really not as hard as you think, and some people have even said it’s the lazy
person’s diet because essentially it requires less effort than eating or shopping for food.
It might also save you some money.
We are not saying you have to go vegan when you eat, or follow a diet that makes it almost
impossible for you to eat because of the time it takes you buy all the healthy foods.
It’s ok to eat a burger, have some rice, but just go easy on the carbs and get rid
of all the food that doesn’t have a good calories versus nutrients balance.
This is already enough to make you lose weight, especially with some fasting now and again.
One thing we should say about intermittent fasting, though, is if you have health issues
please check with your doctor before you do it.
Now comes the training.
If you want to get ripped you’ll need this part of course, and it will take some effort.
Saying that, you’d be surprised just how fit you can get from your own living room.
We also suggest that when you can walk, walk.
Get as many steps in as possible, and do things like take the stairs instead of the elevator
if you are not going too high up.
If you work sitting down, try and get up every so often, then walk and stretch, if possible.
We suggest you try to work out six times a week and have a rest day.
This can be any day, but sometimes your body will tell you when it’s time to take a day
off.
Out of these six days you can have either one or two cardio days.
We understand that for some people who have packed on the pounds, running for one hour
or cycling up a mountain is a big ask.
Don’t hurt yourself, so just do as much as you can.
You can find some experts that will tell you to push yourself to 80 percent.
If running is too much, in the gym you have two great machines to start on.
These are the elliptical trainer and the rowing machine.
Neither machine should stress your joints too much.
You can change the settings, but again, why not tire yourself to about 80 percent of what
you can do.
Each time you use the machine add five minutes to your workout.
If you can row for one hour and half-way up the resistance levels you are doing well.
In fact, you really don’t need any more than this for a good cardio workout.
If you find ten minutes is hard at rowing, the elliptical machine, or jogging, then just
build up until you can reach an hour.
Let’s also remember that a lot of people will tell you half an hour is good to maintain
weight and be healthy, but you are trying to lose weight and get ripped.
Now let’s say you don’t have the time or the money to go to the gym.
Well, there are lots of things you can do from your home.
You might say ‘a plank a day keeps the belly away’, but it could be an exaggeration.
But planking at least once or twice a day for as long as you can is very good for you
and your shape.
For ab exercises, you really don’t need the gym at all.
There are endless home exercise routines you can find online, some of which are free and
can be found on YouTube.
We warn you though, if you are a beginner then don’t feel bad if you feel pooped before
the video even gets going.
Some are much more high-intensity than others.
If you search for Spartan workout videos you will find some of these to be hard to follow.
We don’t mean understand of course, we mean follow the guy or girl in the video as they
take you through the exercises.
The good thing is these videos can be seen for free, and they will get you in shape quickly,
especially now that you have changed your diet.
You might also invest in two things.
These are kettlebells and dumbbells.
The dumbbell we have all known for a long time and we know what to do with these, whether
to do bicep curls, work the triceps, back, chest, or various parts of the shoulders.
But kettlebells, these things are amazing and fortunately there are 100s, possibly thousands
of articles and videos online showing you how these things can make you very strong.
All the exercises can be done at home.
Follow these exercises and you will burn fat, build muscle and increase fitness.
What about your chest?
Well, again, just search for how to build your chest up from the comfort of your own
home and you will find scores of articles and videos.
The same goes for back exercises.
There are many exercises you can do that require no weights, and then with those kettlebells
and dumbbells there are many more exercises you can do.
As with the chest, there are just too many exercises you can do for you back at home
for us to mention them all.
Google will take you there and you’ll find pictures and videos that help you get it right.
We suggest if you follow the high intensity workout videos then you follow their five
or six day plan.
If you don’t watch those videos and create your own sessions, then just do different
body parts each day.
Remember that you don’t have to prove anything to yourself and go all out.
Go at 80 percent and make sure you have perfect form before you add more repetitions or increase
the weight.
In all, try and do one hour of these exercise a day, but if that is not possible, start
with what you feel comfortable with and just build up to one hour.
With these strength exercises covering all parts of your body as well as the one or two
days cardio, plus the change in your diet, we assure you that in six months you will
look like a different person.
And try to see it this way.
Most of us spend one hour a day just wasting time.
That time wasted could transform you, give you loads of confidence, and the best thing,
stave off sickness and make you live longer.
As for the man we talked about at the start of the show, he lost 50 pounds in six months
and he looked completely transformed.
His advice is, envision what you will look like in a few months and don’t let that
vision out of your mind.
It’s not always easy making the first move, but you will find that once you start you
won’t want to stop.
You’ll even feel bad for missing a day.
Don’t worry, everyone gets sidetracked at times.
But when you get going you’ll not only feel better physically, but will have more mental
clarity.
Exercise is as good for the mind as it is for the body.
You’ll notice a big difference in your overall wellness, and ask yourself this.
Is one hour a day of making yourself a bit tired worth the effort if you look better
and feel better and are much healthier in general?
Have any of you been through such a transformation like this before?
Can you add anything more to this show to help our viewers that want to get in shape?
Tell us in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video I Did 30 Push-Ups For 30 Days And This Is
What Happened.
Thanks for watching, and as always, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.
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