Elite Physique

MUSCLE INSIDER asked me to reveal my secrets for getting shredded in the shortest time possible. To come up with these, I essentially asked myself what I know now that I wish I’d known when I first picked up a barbell. I certainly made a lot of mistakes during my early gym days, so hopefully you’ll heed my advice and maximize your muscle-building efforts.

HIRE A TRAINER
The right trainer will save you time and money and prevent you from making newbie mistakes while dieting. Can you get ripped to the bone without one? Yes, but all athletes do even better when they have an extra eye on them, assessing their physiques week by week. To some degree, we’re all body blind. We often see what we want to see when we look at ourselves in the mirror. Top trainers don’t blow smoke up your ass to feed your ego as the entourage at the gym or our friends and family typically do. You’ll also never push yourself as hard as a trainer will push you. That alone is worth the money you’ll spend. Lastly, a good trainer can save your conditioning if things go wrong with water balance near the end of your prep or if you hit a sticking point with your fat loss. 

DIURETICS
There are very few instances when a natural competitor needs to supplement with a natural diuretic, the most often being during menstruation. But certain medication can also cause water retention, as can the wrong diet. Weighing all these factors in is where the right trainer comes in handy!

DON’T EYEBALL
You must weigh your food and portion control if you want maximum results. There’s no room for guesswork or gut feel! Everything needs  to be precise, and this is especially true for lighter athletes. When it’s time to drop 25 grams of carbs, how you do that if you never measure your food intake? You can’t. This is more work, but my athletes reap the rewards for being accurate with their macros and calories.

CARDIO
Yes, you need to do it. I prefer steady-state cardio starting at half an hour once per day. Cardio sessions may have to be bumped up during the diet phase but never to the three-hour-per-week mark.

TASTY DIET FOOD
Why eat plain egg whites when you can add some veggies and have an omelet? Try breading your chicken breasts with spices and ground popped popcorn. Ever dieted on pumpkin muffins or chocolate lava cake? My wife and I have amazing recipes for all our clients. Check out Dusty Handshaw’s contest prep cooking videos on YouTube and Dave Ruel’s anaboliccooking.com (or his column at Muscle Insider) for some other great options. 

ECA STACK
There’s a reason why the ECA stack has been around since the early ‘90s: It works! Many athletes take 25 milligrams of ephedrine, and add 200 milligrams of caffeine and a baby aspirin. Unfortunately for our American friends, ephedrine is not available in the U.S., so many substitute the second-generation ephedrine compound synephrine, which will give a good kick to any weightloss program. After prolonged dieting, you may want to supplement with 500 milligrams of Atlantic kelp to help boost a sluggish thyroid.

STICK TO REAL FOOD
Supplements are just that—supplements. They are used to supplement an already-existing diet. I like to use real food such as chicken, tuna, rice.

To read more about mistakes people make when trying to get lean, click here!