Fitness Secrets Revealed: The Best Way To Get Lean

By Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN

There is no magic pill or formula that will get you lean and ripped. The market is flooded with products supposedly able to help you burn fat and lose weight. Unfortunately these products come with the high price of ruining your metabolism. The best way to get lean is by following a solid workout routine with many variations.

Gain lean mass through intense workouts
If you’ve ever watched someone who is super ripped workout in the gym, you’ve probably noticed his or her unorthodox method of training. Quality, lean mass doesn’t come from standard split workout routines where you lift one body part a day. You need to incorporate a variety of exercises into your program, including:

Supersets
HIIT (high intensity interval training)
Plyometric training
Circuit training

Supersets
Active rest is the best way to keep your heart rate elevated and boost your metabolic rate. Supersets are a technique in which you perform one set for a specific body group, then immediately go into another set for a complementing muscle group. This allows your first worked muscle group to rest while you are training another body part.

Supersets are usually paired as such:
Back/chest
Quads/hamstring or glutes
Rear deltoid/ anterior deltoid
Bicep/tricep
Abs/calves

HIIT
High intensity interval training sends your metabolism into hyper drive. This method of training is so intense, that your body spends the rest of the day expending energy to promote recovery. HIIT places your body in an involuntary state of excessive post oxygen consumption, or EPOC. This means the harder you workout, the more calories you burn throughout the day because your oxygen consumption levels stay high for hours after you train.

HIIT can be performed in various forms. The most popular form is sprinting. Essentially, you run at full speed for 10 to 30 seconds, and then rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Performing 10 sets of 10 sprints once a week is efficient enough to gain quality lean muscle while burning excess fat.

Plyometric training
Plyometrics require quick movements using your own body weight. Many gym goers who lift weights often lack explosive power because they just push around racks of weights. Plyometrics load your muscles with an eccentric action followed by a concentric action. Perform this method of exercise once a week and watch how quickly you make gains.

Some common plyometric movements are:
Squat jump
Box jump
Jumping Lunges
Plyometric pushups
Medicine ball slams

Circuit training
Circuit training requires nonstop movement throughout the course of your training. You should allow yourself no more than 10 seconds of active rest between movements. This type of training is beneficial because it pushed your cardiovascular endurance while building upon your strength.

As your muscle fibers breakdown due to constant stimulation, your body releases excess testosterone to aid in recovery. In turn, this causes muscle regeneration and growth. Your training circuit should involve 4 to 6 different exercises lasting 4 to 20 minutes, depending upon your endurance level.

Divide your workout into 3 or 4 sessions a week. One day should focus solely on strength gains with supersets. Your other days should incorporate strength training with fat burning exercises.

START BURNING FAT LIKE AN ATHLETE TODAY!