With spring break right around the corner, the gym has certainly seen its fair share of unfamiliar faces, all with the same idea: “it’s Cancun season!” While I think these guys (or gals) forgot that it takes more than three weeks to drop the 20 pounds of beer weight they’ve added since the last time they took their shirts off in public, you’ve got to at least admire their naiveté. They’re hitting the gym hard and continuing to spin their wheels. And for everyone that totally forgot to even put in this much effort, I can’t promise you the body you want in time for spring break, but I can invite you to start looking forward to the summer, because trust me, it'll be here sooner than you think. With a little more time and wisdom under your belt, you can use the next three months leading into Memorial Day Weekend to see some promising changes in your physique.
I can’t lay out the end-all, be-all guide to getting ripped for you, because let’s face it, everyone’s different. You might be looking to lose 15 pounds and get shredded, while your friend is jealously wishing you could donate those extra pounds straight to him. The first thing you need to do is assess your current situation and set a realistic goal for yourself. Do some research into what is reasonably achievable for someone like you in a set period of time. There’s endless literature on this subject from every angle, and whether you’re skinny fat, overweight, or pencil thin you can find advice covering workout routines and eating plans (I’m not a fan of the word diet – that can literally mean anything).
As a general guide, I would recommend a Full Body Workout routine, hitting the gym three times per week, probably Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and cardio if you think you need it. You can find examples of this anywhere online, but make sure it emphasizes compound movements like Squats, Bench Press, Overhead Press, and Pull-Ups to get a well-rounded base of muscle and structurally sound frame to build on. Simply doing bicep curls and the occasion push-up isn't going to cut it.
As a note of caution: you will always be putting your body in harm’s way if you’re executing these heavy exercises with improper form, so if you’re a gym novice make sure you watch video examples for a comprehensive understanding and get someone who knows their stuff to give you pointers first-hand – and a spot.
While this is a good start, all this effort will be for nought if you don't adjust the rest of your lifestyle accordingly. Eating is the most commonly overlooked aspect of getting into shape. Think about how many people you know that hit the gym five days a week and then complain they’re not seeing results. It’s because their diet is not in check, and they haven’t made a single lifestyle change aside from their hours in the gym. Plain and simple, if you’re not losing weight, you’re eating too many calories. If you’re not gaining weight, you’re not eating enough calories. If you’re serious about this, you can find calculators online that will give you a rough estimate of the amount of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), and you either need to eat above or below this depending on your goals you’ve already established. As a rule of thumb, start by going either 500 calories over or under, and track your weight over the following weeks. You can then adjust accordingly.
If you’re doing a serious calorie tracking, remember that almost EVERYTHING you consume has calories. Commonly, people eat pasta and count the calories on the box of that, and completely neglect the fact that they put an additional 400 calories worth of sauce, cheese, and toppings on it. They may have just doubled the caloric content of their meal without even realizing it. This applies to beer, too. If your TDEE is 2100 calories, and you go out and drink six beers that night, you may have just consumed half your day’s calories in beer.
There’s far more I could write about right now, but unfortunately I’m writing an online article and not a fitness dissertation. In the future I’ll post more content to give specific programs, exercises, and meals for people to keep in mind as they progress toward their goals, but for right now, remember that the two most important factors are consistent eating habits and structured gym sessions. Eating a salad on Tuesday doesn’t change the fact you ate half a pizza the day before, and going on a run once a week wont’ get you ripped alone. If looking like the model on the cover of Men’s Fitness was easy, everyone would look like that. It’s not, which is why fitness is the ultimate test of willpower and commitment. Keep this in mind, and remember to have fun striving for your goals; relish in all the progress you see alone the way, and use it as motivation for more greatness.
