Simple Bodybuilding Diet and Workout Tips To Get You Ripped For Summer In No Time

By Hugo Rivera, BSCE, CFT, SPN

Lose Fat With These Bodybuilding Nutrition Tips

Summer is finally here! In places like Florida the rising temperatures kindly remind us of that fact. Around this time, the focus for most of us becomes losing fat in order to display the gains made during the months of bulking up so that we can show off those abs at the beach.

As a result, many bodybuilders begin their quest for that magic training routine that will get them shredded in no time. However, without a properly designed diet that emphasizes fat loss, no bodybuilding training routine will give you the definition that you are looking for.

The tips provided below will help you create a meal plan that will complement your workout efforts and thus enable you to lose fat and get ripped in no time:

1. Ensure that you eat 6 times a day (once every 2-3 hours): In this manner, your blood sugar remains stable, cravings are minimized, energy and metabolism are maximized, and muscle gets fed constantly.

2. Eat the right amounts and types of protein: To figure out your protein needs, multiply your bodyweight by 1.2 and that will give you the total protein grams you need to consume per day.

Divide that number by 6 and that equals the amount of protein grams per meal. Limit your protein sources to lean meats like chicken, turkey, and white fish such as tilapia. Out of the 6 meals, no more than 3 should be protein shakes. The post workout meal should be a whey protein powder mixed with the cream of rice as in this manner nutrients will reach the muscles as quickly as possible. In addition to the post workout meal, no more than 2 other meals should be liquid ones.

3. Eat the right amounts and types of carbohydrates: To figure out your carbohydrate needs, multiply your bodyweight by 0.8 and that will give you the total grams of carbs you need to consume per day. Divide that number by 3 and that equals the amount of carbohydrate grams you will have for Meal 1, on your meal prior to the workout and on your meal after the workout. Since we are emphasizing fat loss, stick to low glycemic carbohydrates (such as oatmeal, brown rice, grits, and sweet potatoes), except for the post workout meal where a high glycemic carbohydrate such as cream of rice is more desirable.

4. Eat your vegetables: A diet high in fibrous carbs not only helps to suppress appetite, slow down the release of the other nutrients and increases the absorption of the protein you ingest, but also cleans your system and increases your metabolic rate (as the body has to work hard to process the vegetables). No need to count vegetable grams. As long as they are the green leafy type such as broccoli, green beans, and lettuce, you can have as much as you want at any meal (except the post workout one as at this time we do not want the vegetables to slow down the absorption of the nutrients).

5. Consume your essential fatty acids (EFAs): These fats are highly important for general health, muscle protection and for fat loss! A deficiency of these and not only energy levels will suffer but you will also encounter issues gaining muscle and losing fat. 1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil with any meal or protein shake (except the post workout one as at this time we do not want the fats to slow down the absorption of the nutrients) once or twice a day will cover your EFA requirements.

6. Drink your water: Properly hydrate yourself as water is needed for muscle building and fat loss to happen optimally, in addition to creating a feeling of fullness that helps when one is dieting. Shoot for a minimum goal of half of your bodyweight in ounces of water per day.

7. Up Your Carbohydrates over the weekend: Over the weekend, increase your carbohydrates to 1.3 times your bodyweight in order to prevent your metabolism from getting used to the diet. This time, divide that number by 5 and consume the carbohydrates over Meals 1-5. Try to ensure that Meal 5 is no later than 6:00 pm so that no starchy carbs are consumed after that time.

Summer Workout Routine
If you are looking for a routine to go along with your diet in order to be in perfect bathing suit or bikini shape, then there is no need to worry. Once you implement all of the diet tips above, you will be able to use the workout below regardless of the level you are in (workouts that yield the same amount of results are provided for all levels). Add to these workouts the determination required to follow them and I guarantee that you’ll make dramatic changes in your physique from week to week.

WORKOUTS
The body is split in 4 workouts that are to be performed 4 days a week:

Workout (A) – Chest/Back
Workout (B) – Quads/Abs
Workout (C) – Arms/Calves
Workout (D) – Hamstrings/Shoulders

You can do Workouts A on Monday and B on Tuesday while Workouts C & D are performed on Thursday and Friday respectively. If you have good recuperation capabilities, and the time to train more often, you can do 4 days on and 1 day off (which is the way in which I perform them when I use this routine).

The workouts are very fast paced in nature. Exercises were selected based on their ability to recruit the maximum amount of muscles fibers and paired in such a way that it will be possible to perform the routine even in a crowded gym.

We will be using giant sets, which are 4 exercises performed one after the other with no rest in between sets. You will only rest 60-90 seconds before starting the next round. Once you complete the first giant set for the recommended amount of sets, move on to the second one. With this method of training and at the amount of repetitions that are being prescribed, growth hormone levels will increase which in turn will facilitate fat loss. In addition, because the workouts are fast paced in nature it will also have an aerobic effect which will help you to lose fat faster and allow you to minimize the use of extra aerobic activity.

Cardiovascular exercise is optional but highly recommended if you would like to achieve even faster results. The optimal time to perform cardiovascular exercise is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or right after the workout as both of these times, glycogen levels (carbohydrates stores in the muscle and liver) are low and thus enables the body to access fat stores more efficiently. You can use your off days for cardiovascular activity and the more advanced can even do it on training days as well. The best forms of cardio are walking (walk at around 3.5-4 MPH) and the elliptical machine.

BEGINNER
If you have never lifted before or are coming back to the gym after a long layoff, then you are considered a beginner. Please do not attempt to skip into the more advanced routines in order to try and achieve quicker results. Because you have never lifted before (or have not lifted for a while) your body will respond as quickly as humanly possible to this program. This workout has the right amount of volume to produce the fastest results without causing excessive soreness or injury. Moving to a more advanced and higher volume routine at the beginner stage will only cause excessive soreness that will impair recovery and possibly injury.

Weight Training Instructions: Start the workout with only 1 set of 13-15 repetitions. Concentrate in performing each exercise with perfect form using a weight that allows you to perform no more than 15 repetitions and no less than 13. The last repetition should be challenging but not impossible to achieve. After 3 weeks, move on to two sets of 13-15 reps. At this level, stick to the 4 day a week version of the routine.

Cardiovascular Exercise Instructions: 20 minutes of walking at a comfortable pace on Wednesday and Saturday.

INTERMEDIATE (6 Months To 1 Year of Consistent Training)
Weight Training Instructions: Start the workout with 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions. Concentrate in performing each exercise with perfect form using a weight that allows you to perform no more than 15 repetitions and no less than 13. The last repetition should be challenging but not impossible to achieve. After 3 weeks, increase the resistance for all exercises and perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps. At this level, if you want to weight train more often, then you can do a two days on, one day off version of this routine.

Cardiovascular Exercise Instructions: 30 minutes of walking or elliptical machine at a comfortable pace on Wednesday and Saturday. If you’d like to perform additional cardiovascular activity, then do 30 minutes prior to Meal 1 on training days or 20 minutes if you decide to do it right after the workout.

ADVANCED (Over 1 Year of Consistent Training)
Weight Training Instructions: Start the workout with 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions for Giant-set #1 and 3 sets of 13-15 for Giant-Set #2. After 3 weeks, increase the resistance for all exercises and perform 4 sets of 8-10 reps for Giant-Set #1 and 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions for Giant-Set #2. At this level, you can train as much as 4 days on, one days off. It is highly recommended if you choose this version that you make use of supplements like creatine and glutamine in order to boost your recuperation capabilities. Around 10 grams of Branched Chain Amino Acids right after the weight training workout are also recommended.

Cardiovascular Exercise Instructions: 40 minutes of walking or elliptical machine at a comfortable pace on Wednesday and Saturday. If you’d like to perform more cardiovascular activity, then do 40 minutes prior to Meal 1 on training days or 30 minutes if you decide to do it right after the workout.

WORKOUT A - MONDAY
Giant Set #1
Incline Dumbbell Press
One Arm Dumbbell Rows
Flat Dumbbell Press
Incline Flyes

Giant Set #2
Wide Grip Pull-down to Front
Reverse Grip Close Grip Pull-downs
Push-ups
Bent-Over Rows

WORKOUT B - TUESDAY
Giant Set #1
Medium Stance Squats
Wide Stance Squats
Leg Raises
Crunches

Giant Set #2
Lunges (press with toes)
Leg Extensions
Modified V-Ups
Knee-Ins

WORKOUT C - THURSDAY
Giant Set #1
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
Close Grip Bench Press with Dumbbells
Hammer Curls

Giant Set #2
Concentration Curls
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
Standing Calf Raises (Toes In)
Standing Calf Raises (Toes Out)

WORKOUT D - FRIDAY
Giant Set #1
Stiff Legged Dead-lifts
Lying Leg Curls
Lateral Raises
Bent-Over Laterals

Giant Set #2
Dumbbell Lunges (Press with heels)
Seated Leg Curl
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Upright Rows

Conclusion
Once you go through the full six weeks, just do 1 week of Active Recovery which will consist of one full body workout on Monday and Thursday consisting of 1 basic exercise of your choice for each muscle group performed for 3 sets of 15 repetitions (1-2 reps shy of failure) and resting 60 seconds in between. Cardiovascular exercise can be performed on the off days for 30 minutes. After this week, you may start again on Week 1 and you can feel free to change the order of the exercises in order to confuse the body.

Since you will grow stronger over these six weeks, once you start the program again, your weights should be heavier than the ones you used before.

If all you want is to lose fat and firm up for Summer, these diet tips and training routine will do the trick. Try these out and that awesome looking summer body will be yours in no time.

Hugo Rivera CFT, SPN, BSCE. is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory, but also applies it on a daily basis as evidenced by the fact that he’s always in shape and by his awards and high placings at numerous national level bodybuilding competitions. He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called "The Body Sculpting Bibles" who collectively have sold over a million copies. Hugo is also author of the very popular “Body Re-Engineering” e-book, which teaches you how to gain lean muscle mass and get lean without drugs, or fancy expensive supplements, using the secrets he devised after many years of weight problems as a child.