Quick Start Guide to Lean, Ripped & Badass Strong Physiques
Copyright 2013 © Get Results PT. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Welcome from TC & Get Results PT! And thank you for making the decision to download this invaluable e-book and taking the time to give it a read. It is definitely not some watered down information that leads you to nowhere. It is a piece of work that contains information that I have accumulated in the trenches that has helped myself and my clients at Get Results PT to be at the best shape we can be. But it is also NOT about selling you short-cuts to a great body. Certainly, it will give you very definite guidelines what work.
At Get Results PT, we believe in not only building lean & ripped body for better health we also believed that in order to be totally bad ass fit it is important to build a stronger body. If you’re going to look the part, you might as well be able to show it. With a truly functionally strong body, you can perform better at physical task. What’s the point of training your body if you can’t feel that you’re physically able to perform better? Oh if you are a female reading this and thinking that this guide is going to make you BIG and FREAKY it’s not going to happen and I can guarantee you that. In fact, it’s going to help you dispel all the myths that are holding you back from getting a really hot and strong body without the bulk. From what I have seen so far in our training at Get Results PT, the girls who are the strongest are usually the leanest. Read on and you will see more proof why you need to lift heavy as a female to look great. BTW, below is a real life proof of one of our clients at Get Results PT who is hell strong and looks like after undergoing intense strength training.
To read more about her training, CLICK HERE.
If you’re like us or convinced, believe that being fitter and stronger are important parts of your health and looking lean & ripped is not enough then this guide is for you. If you are still not at all convinced or have the slightest doubt about how training to be strong can have a profound impact on the shape of your body, please read on. You won’t regret it. It won’t take you more than 15 minutes of your time.
T C Lee, BSc Sp Ex Sc, SFG II, ACSM HFS, Pn 1
Why Bad Ass Strength Training Is Great For Fat Loss (And Won’t Make Women Look Like Men)
If you want to look ripped and toned or look athletic, you must add strength training to your lifestyle. And it has to be bad ass strength training. What I mean is lift heavy stuff and not just little puny weights. I know it is hard to believe when celebrity trainers and conventional advice say lifting light weights for reps is great for “toning”. Let me tell ya they are PLAIN WRONG!!!
Studies Found Training Heavy Helps Fat Loss & Losing Tummy Fat
In a scientific study titled “Resistance Training Predicts Six-Year Body Composition Change in Postmenopausal Women” found that the group of women who lifted weights 3 times a week at 8 reps of 70-80 percent of their ability lost the most weight. Another study “Strength training and adiposity in premenopausal women: strong, healthy, and empowered study” also found that the women who lifted heavier weights not only lost more fat but also more tummy fat.
What those studies tell me is lifting heavy is definitely great for fat loss. BTW, lifting 70-80% means if your max amount of weight you can lift for one time is 100kg you will be lifting between 70-80kg for training.
A study published in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research show that young women who underwent both maximal eccentric and concentric exercises did not have an effect on the myostatin and follistatin messenger that were found to be responsible building muscles for men in terms of biochemical reactions. (Jensky, Nicole E; Sims, Jennifer K; Dieli-Conwright, Christina M; Sattler, Fred R; Rice, Judd C; Schroeder, E Todd. Exercise Does Not Influence Myostatin and Follistatin Messenger RNA Expression in Young Women. J Strength & Conditioning Research 24(2), 522-530)
Females Do Not Have the Hormonal Level to Build Muscles Like Men
And at the hormonal level, female has between 10 to 20 folds lesser muscle-building testosterone concentration in the body compared to male. And testosterone is the key hormone in building muscles in men and obviously it is in very low level for women when most guys have problem packing on hardcore muscles.
Females Has Less & Smaller Muscles Fibers Than Men
Plus, female also have fewer and smaller cross-sectional area in the muscle fiber both in the slow twitch (type I) and fast twitch (type II) muscles than the male. BTW, the human muscles are generally made up of type I and Type II muscles. Type I muscles are used for endurance type activities (high volume high reps lifting or marathon type activities) and type II muscles are used for power, speed and strength.
And generally, women have larger cross-sectional size in the slow twitch (type I) muscles than their fast twitch (type II) fibers. And the guys have bigger fast twitch muscle fiber which probably explains why males are usually faster and stronger. Having fewer and smaller muscle fiber alone explains why it is hard for women to bulk up like men on a strength training program.
Here’s two girls we trained that got leaner from training heavy.
BTW, this is not unusual from our training. You can check out more of these results from our website at www.tcpersonaltraining.com.
Not unless you decide to abuse steroids or train like a Pro bodybuilder which then potentially may bulk you up but still a very slim chance.
Just in case you’re confused about the difference between bodybuilding training and strength training, I thought I better explain the different objectives and outcome of both training. As the name suggest, aim of bodybuilding training is for building pure muscle size and obviously well suited for bodybuilders who needs the big and freaky look for show. Bodybuilding training can improve strength but it is not the sole aim and it does not improve strength as well as strength training.
And strength training if done the right way not only improves strength level more than typical bodybuilding training program and will not add the useless bulk. In fact, it can make you ripped and totally bad ass-looking. For the ladies, strength training the right way just means a leaner, ripped and stronger body that can boost your confidence and rev up metabolism.
If you are a guy who wants to be thicker, leaner and functionally strong (meaning actually lift HEAVY not just feel the pumped), the right strength training can do it for you too.
A 2002 study “Effects of resistance exercise bouts of different intensities but equal work on EPOC” found that women who lifted weights for 8 reps at 85% of their abilities compare to people who lifts weights for 15 reps at 45% of their abilities get much more of a metabolic boost.
Again, think about some of the top athletes who do strength training program and especially in sports where they do not want to carry too much extra bulk around such as sprinters and martial art artists who have to stay in a certain weight class. They certainly want to get stronger so they can perform better in their sports but definitely not want to carry extra useless bulk that slows them down. That is what strength training can do for you. Make you look harder, leaner and stronger with no added bulk.
Strength training is very unlike bodybuilding training, it is not about getting the “pump”. BTW, strength is defined by the ability to overcome or counteract external resistance by muscular effort according to Science and Practice of Strength Training.
Getting “pump” does not necessary to improve the ability to lift heavier weights. It is the practice of strength skills that improves strength. So why get more strength or stronger? You will be able to put your muscles under more tension and lift longer to create a high metabolic environment for your body to use more fat fuel at all times.
How To Go About Your Bad Ass Strength Training
Choose a Few Exercises That Give You The Biggest Bang for Your Buck
When it comes to exercising, people often make the mistake of doing every exercise they know or seen in the fitness magazine or youtube. More is better right? NO. More is just more.
The problem with that is you don’t get anywhere with such random pursue. The best thing to do is choose a few core exercises that give you the biggest bang for your buck and focus on very good at doing them. Let’s get this right. The human body is not a machine and it has limited capacities to handle exercise stress and will recovery to perform at its best. Why waste your energy and time on exercises that may not give you the best return on your investment.
That’s why you need to pick a few best exercises that give you the biggest bang for your buck.
So What Are The Types of Exercises That Give You The Biggest Bang For Your Buck?
Multi-jointed or compound movement based exercise will give you the biggest bang for your buck because they worked multiple major muscles parts at the same time. So what are the multi-jointed exercises? Push ups, pull ups, bench press, squats, deadlifts, and the list go on forever.
Forget about the big sophisticated weights machine you see in big gym chain or 24hr gym. They are waste of your time when it comes to getting in shape. They do not allow your stabilisers in the muscles around the joint to work because the machines basically did that for you. Why is that bad? It’s bad because you will use less energy (less calories burnt) and you got stronger muscles but they are not functional as they can’t stabilise on their own. That’s not functional because you need the stabilisers to work when you’re walking, squatting up from your chair and running for your bus.
Strength Train Based on Movements Instead of Muscles Parts
When it comes to strength training, most people make the mistake of basing their training program on training muscles part and isolating it. Unless you want to be a bodybuilder, yes you do train that way because you want to increase the girth size of certain muscles part to make it looks huge. Often, that approach can lead to muscle imbalances which leads to pains & aches or overused muscles injuries.
I find training movement to be much suited to most individuals not only is it functional, you hit more muscles groups at the same time and less likely to get pains & aches or injuries.
Based on what I have learned and my opinion, what I have researched and worked for people I have trained, I find most people do really well using 5 main lifts based on the 5 movements. And they are as followed:
Upper Body Push Movement
Upper Body Pull Movement
Lower Body Push
Lower Body Pull Movement
Core Exercise/Movement
So What Are The Exercises I Can Pick from the 5 Movements?
Great question! See the list below:
Upper Body Push Movement Exercise Options
· Push Up
· Military Press
· Bench Press
Upper Body Pull Movement
· Pull Up
· Chin Up
· Rows of any type
Lower Body Push Movement
· Squats
· Lunges
· Step Up
Lower Body Pull Movement
· Deadlift
· Good Mornings
Core Exercise/Movement
· Plank
· Hanging Leg Raises
You might be thinking that’s not a lot of things to choose from. Seriously, it’s the simple plan that works well all the time. In fact, if you look at the deadlifts you could branch out to several variations such as conventional deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, one-legged deadlifts and so on. Should you do all of them at the same time? Definitely not. I suggest pick one and focus on one variation for about 4 weeks then change up.
Here’s an Example Of How Your Program Look Like…
For the Upper Body Push Movement, I decide to go with the military press. And I am going to use the kettlebells which is my favourite tool. You may use barbell or dumbbells if you like. I just prefer the kettlebells because of the off-center grip that forces my core & grip muscles to engage more. Certainly, using the tool will hit quite a few muscles at the same time.
For the Upper Body Pull Movement, I will go with the bodyweight pull up. Why I choose pull up? It is Way cool and functional.
For Lower Body Pull Movement, I will go for the squats. In this case, I will choose to do the goblet squats because it will improve the techniques of other form of squats. You can choose back squats or whichever variations you can think of.
For Lower Body Pull Movement, I will go for conventional deadlifts. (Can’t really go wrong with this)
For Core Exercises, I will go with the plank.
And then my Strength Training program will look like the following:
Kettlebell Military Press
Bodyweight Pull Up
Goblet Squats
Barbell Conventional Deadlifts
Plank
Do make it a point to do your strength training 3 times a week at minimal and for reps and sets, I suggest go for 5 sets of 5 reps except for the plank because you hold for time for that exercise.
For selection of weights to use, I recommend starting with a weight that you can lift for strict form for between 6 to 8 rep max.
What To FOCUS on In Your Strength Training Program?
STRICT LIFTING TECHNIQUES