Is a perfect desired body achievable?
The answer is yes. It is true that gaining something requires a hell of a lot of effort, however, there is nothing that can stop them from getting the desired body of their choice.
Another question that comes to mind is, is a good body built in the kitchen or in the gym?
The reality is, both. In order to have shredded muscles and achieve a good muscle build, effort needs to be made in both areas. A balanced diet and good effort in the gym can help anyone to reach their desired goal.
There is no quick way or a shortcut to get big shredded muscles, neither does it happen over time. It takes time. No magic can come from spot reduction or through supplements. Dedication and hard work is the only key to it. But, don’t worry. It is not as complicated as you think. If you put your mind and energy into it, the journey to your ideal body can be a pleasant one.
How Long Does It Take To Get Bigger and Shredded Muscles?
You first have to realize that weight loss or eating less than required will not make you achieve your goal, it will only make you look like a smaller version of yourself. In order to get a good muscle definition or any other body definition, you will first have to start building muscle from underneath. Therefore it depends on a combination of factors, like, how much lean mass you have, how many times you workout in a week, what type of training you do, and genetics. Keep all these factors in mind before thinking of the results.
For many, getting shredded muscles requires them to build muscle or bulking up first, i.e. gaining a bit of weight and then focusing on fat loss. Therefore if you want to get big and shredded muscles, you need to reach an optimum level of fat percentage in your body, to get the best results.
This overall process requires months of effort. It is not like you wake up one day and you have the perfect toned and shredded muscles. Make drastic improvements in your workouts and food habits. Being consistent and dedicated is the ultimate key to success because it makes you realistic and intelligent enough to not get disappointed when results don’t come overnight.
Losing Body Fat and Gaining Body Muscle can happen at the Same Time
Technically building muscle requires you to lose weight and losing fat requires you to lose fat, however, there is some possibility to do both at the same time, by putting some physics. Some studies suggest that taking a high protein diet along with well-planned strength training can help you to get lean mass as well as lose fat at the same time. Although this process does not work for the long term it can help in gaining a bit of muscle for the start. Long-term effects and significant changes can only come through a traditional bulking diet.
Tips to get Big and Shredded Muscles
Now that I have spoken about the common misconception that people have. It is now time to dive into some tips and tricks that can help you in your fitness journey.
Nutrition
A good, balanced nutritious diet is a must to have, in order to attain big and shredded muscles. Eating in a calorie surplus is the first step to big muscles. By calorie surplus, I do not mean that you can eat anything you want. Eating junk and oily food to increase your calorie intake won’t help at all. Eating healthy food in calorie surplus along with high protein intake is the way to go.
You can do this in two ways. By eating three large and proper meals, i.e. adequate amounts of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. By doing so you can reach your calories surplus goal. The other way is to have several small, healthy meals at regular intervals. This approach is suitable for those who cannot eat large amounts of food at one point in time.
Keeping a track of what you have eaten with the help of any fitness app can help you in achieving your calorie surplus goal for the day. Some of the apps that I have used in the past are, HealthifyMe and MyPlate Calorie Tracker. These apps give proper focus on calorie tracking and help you in achieving your goal.
Tips: Some high-protein food includes- Eggs, Dry Fruits, Peanuts, Lentils, Tofu, Chicken, Fish. A good quality whey protein is also beneficial to complete daily protein requirements. Here is a list of it.
Workout
Having a proper workout routine is a must. Plan your workout in such a manner that will help you to grow muscle, however, do not just focus on training individual muscles. Increasing lean mass all over can help you achieve better results and make the process easier.
Focus more on compound exercises. Compound exercises are those that focus on more than one muscle group such as push-ups, burpees, squats, pull-ups. Compound exercise along with some strength training i.e. heavy lifting or weight lifting in general should comprise 70 to 80 percent of your workout.
Once you are done with your compound exercises, you can go on to training individual muscle groups. Here is a list of exercises that you can do to get bigger and shredded muscles.
Develop a habit of progressive overload. Progressive Overload means increasing the strength or duration of your workout gradually. For example- If you start your workout by jogging 5 mins daily, initially you will feel the difference, you feel tired once you are done.
However, after a week or fifteen days, jogging for the same amount of time may not help you in feeling the difference. This means that it is time to increase the duration of the workout, i.e. you now start jogging for 10 mins daily. This is what is called progressive overload. It is not necessary to increase the strength of your workout only when you feel that your current workout is not affecting you anymore.
You can increase it in a week as well. It all depends on your stamina and willingness to challenge yourself.
Rest
Rest is a crucial component for muscle growth as well as fat loss. When you are using your muscle you are actually tearing it down, which helps in strengthening it and helps in growing. For this rest is very important. Muscles grow during rest days as well, like when you’re sleeping.
A good amount of rest and proper sleep will help your body to recover fast and gain more energy to prepare for the next session. Having a high energy level and the desired mood can help in working out more properly. Aim to get at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep and one or two rest days in a week to fuel your body.
Ultimately everything depends on your willingness and dedication to make it possible. These tips that I have mentioned above will only work if you are consistent. Being consistent simply means repeating the same routine on a regular basis. You can alter things here and there to make it more interesting, but again that completely depends on you.
Consistency coupled with patience is the ultimate key. Yes, there would be days when you would feel like giving up but those are the days where your mental strength has to be the strongest. Just trust yourself and the process and eventually things will fall into place.
About the Author: Devaanshi is a humanities student with an absolute love for traveling and everything related to it. Cooking and Writing are other fields that interest her.
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