Beyond Ripped: Enter The Shredded Zone This Summer - The Diet!

Summer will be here soon and it's time to start preparing to get in your best-ever condition. If you've only dreamed of having the ripped six pack, it's time to make it a reality.

You might want to enter your first contest this summer or just look good at the beach. Whatever your reason, here's a plan to help you achieve your goals.

In almost every contest there are many athletes who are ripped, but only one or two go beyond the level of conditioning of the rest of the pack. These guys have paper-thin skin, which reveals rippling muscles that have deeply-etched striations. Thick, bulging veins protrude and look as if they might pop. It is the ultimate look for the competitive bodybuilder and only a selected few achieve it. These elite bodybuilders have gone beyond ripped and crossed over to the Shredded Zone.

Years ago a pearl of wisdom regarding contest preparation was published in a muscle magazine. I don't remember which magazine it was but it featured an article on Ernie Santiago, a former USA champion, who dropped down a weight class to achieve an ultra-ripped look that everyone referred to as "shredded." That aforementioned pearl of wisdom was:

It's a fantastic guideline to allow you to cross over from being ripped to shredded! Seven pounds, of course, isn't a magic number and it isn't a scientific formula. It simply means that you're going to need to lose more weight than you think.

First Time Around

It's not easy judging how much weight you need to lose for your first competition. If your abs are barely visible, you'll most likely need to drop 20-25 pounds so 12-16 weeks will most likely be necessary to give yourself enough time. This will allow you to burn off one to two pounds of body fat per week. Some weeks you'll drop two pounds and some weeks it might only be one, but that's okay. Anything more and you'll start to lose too much muscle.

Getting Started

Even though weight loss and losing pounds will be used as a reference, make no mistake; burning body fat is the ultimate goal. So no one gets confused, it'll make it much easier to simply say losing pounds in this article.

Perseverance is the biggest factor, or secret if you prefer to call it, for getting shredded and dialing in for a show (or the beach perhaps). Plain old hard work with your nose to the grindstone combined with unwavering determination will produce the results you want. It won't be easy, but a few tricks do exist to make the journey easier and, in some cases, even tolerable.

Your diet will last 16 weeks. The first four weeks are your adjustment period. Include a cheat day one day per week. It doesn't matter which day you decide to choose, but I like Sundays as my cheat day. Eat whatever you want to make your mouth happy. If you eat clean the other six days, then this one day won't hurt you.

Proteins, Carbs & Fats:

This whole plan is based on someone who weighs 200 pounds. If you weigh a little less decrease the amounts a little. If you weigh more, increase the amounts. Contrary to what some have you believe, this ain't rocket science. It's more about willpower and sticking with it than magic formulas and ratios. That's right, the guy who eats his veggies and skips starches and sweets will most likely win out over the guy who weighs every gram of starch he eats.

Protein:

When it comes to protein you'll be eating between 200-250 grams of protein per day. It'll depend on if it's a low-carb day or medium-carb day. On low-carb days eat 250 grams of protein. On medium-carb days, eat 225 grams of protein. On a high-carb day, eat 200 grams of protein.

Your sources of protein should come from:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Fish
• Egg whites
• Lean beef

I suggest you rotate these sources as much as you can. If you eat nothing but chicken for sixteen weeks, you'll never want poultry again. Mix it up. Variety will get you through.

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates need to be monitored but I don't think you need to count every gram. Knowing how much you're consuming is important, but don't weigh everything. Base it on portions and serving sizes.

It's simple. When eating a starch, which could be oatmeal, rice, or a potato, don't eat more than a one-half cup serving. If it's a potato or yam, it should be a portion the size of a clenched fist.

Which carbs? For carbohydrate sources, choose from a variety of complex carbs such as:

• Yams
• Oatmeal
• Steel cut oats
• Whole wheat pasta
• Baked potatoes
• Rice
• Brown rice
• Rye bread

Although fruit is really good for you, this plan won't be utilizing much due to the high sugar content in most fruits. Don't eliminate it. Stick to apples, bananas and cherries. Eat fruit only on your high- or medium-carb days.

Fats:

Fats should come from the meats you eat, salad dressings and EFAs like fish oil or flax seed oil. Some veggies can be sautéd in a small amount of olive oil too on low-carb days. You can also add some extra fats from walnuts, almonds, or cashews on your low-carb days too.

Rotating high-, medium- and low-carb days is the backbone of this plan. You basically eat low carbs for a couple days, medium carbs for a couple days with a high-carb day throw in here and there. Sounds simple enough, huh? It's very effective too.

Here's what the first four weeks look like:

Sunday:

High-carb day (

Cheat day

. Eat whatever you want.)

Monday, Tuesday:

Medium carb day (100-150 grams of carbs)
• Eat six meals with protein for each meal
• Eat one serving of complex carbs in three of the meals
• Eat green veggies in four of the meals.
• Eat a salad for one of the veggie meals with Italian dressing

Wednesday, Thursday:

Low-carb day (no starches)
• Eat six meals with protein and veggies for each meal

Friday, Saturday:

Medium carb day (100-150 grams of carbs)
• Eat six meals with protein for each meal
• Eat one serving of complex carbs in three of the meals
• Eat green veggies in four of the meals.
• Eat a large salad for one of the veggie meals with Italian dressing

Repeat cycle.

Conclusion

Well, that's it. Nothing fancy. Nothing earth-shattering or secretive, but it works. Give it a try; it works. In the next article we'll discuss training. How much cardio? Should your weight training routine change? These questions and more will be answered in part two. Part three will be for the competitive bodybuilder who wants to take it one step further and wants to dial in for a show.