Muscle definition, or 'getting ripped',
refers to having your muscles appear more visibly
and dramatically. A guy with a twelve-inch arm can
have much more noticeable muscles than a guy with
an eighteen-inch arm because he has better definition. Muscle definition is a function of two factors: 1)
muscle size and, 2) percentage of bodyfat. If you
want better definition you have to work on both elements.
First, you reduce bodyfat simply by burning off all
the excess fat you can. The way to do that is with
lots of very low intensity fat-burning exercise like
treadmill, LifeCycle®, slow jogging, etc. The
key here is to make sure the intensity really is low.
Running hills with a 40-pound backpack is not pure
aerobics. The higher intensity will cut into your
recovery ability and your weightlifting workouts will
have to be further apart. Fat loss is a matter of
calories in versus calories out and your objective
is just to burn a ton of calories over time, not to
burn them all in one day or one week.
The second factor is increasing muscle size. And
let me dispel a common myth right here. There is no
such thing as "training for definition."
A muscle can only do three thing related to size:
it can get smaller, it can get bigger or it can stay
the same size. There is no way to specifically train
it to be "more defined" apart from making
it bigger! And the way to make it bigger is to force
it to engage in very high intensity overload.
High
intensity is defined as "a great amount of work
in a short unit of time." So it is better to
do six reps with 300 pounds than it is to do 20 reps
with 150 pounds. Yet the common gym mythology is "high
reps for definition". Bull! High reps means
you have to use low weights and that won't pack
on new mass.
Sitting on a bench curling a dumbbell all afternoon
won't burn as much fat as the treadmill or other
activity that involves moving your entire body. And
when you pick up a weight make sure it's a very
heavy one. The muscle you build doing that will help
to keep the fat off because it will burn calories
24/7.
If you pay attention to these two principles, soon
you'll have the ripped look you desire.
