Big Ripped / Small Ripped
I have a few articles that I’ve written over the past couple years that I find myself referring people to over and over and over, because they address some of the most common questions I ever get. One is the “just do it” article when people ask about how to stay motivated. Then there is “the p90x nutrition guide” and “round 1 diet” which help people new to a fat shredder diet to figure out how to tackle it for max results.
And another of my all time favorites is the answer to the question of losing body fat while building muscle. And since it’s been 6 months since I originally posted “body fat vs. bulk”, I want to revisit that concept for those who are newer to the teamRIPPED community.
For some of you reading this, you already know your objective =
Perhaps you are very overweight, and you know you have lots of body fat and body weight to lose. Simple! MISSION #1 is losing body fat. You’ll want to dial in your diet to maximum fat loss and be sure you push play every day to get the most out of yourself.
On the other hand, perhaps you are a “hard-gainer” — rail thin and “scrawny”. Simple! MISSION #1 is building muscle. You’ll need a bulking diet and you’ll want to follow the building mass tips I have in the “my tips” section. Go for it!
Fitting clearly into either of those categories makes your mission clear, which makes it easy to set goals and go for it.
But what about the folks who aren’t sure where to start? What if you don’t fit nicely into either of those categories? I get a lot of questions from people who have high body fat, but their goal is to “be ripped at the same weight I am already”. In other words, they worry that they don’t want to shed lots of body fat because they will look too skinny in their estimation. So they ask me how to get ripped while staying the same weight.
And then there are also the folks who have lost a good bit of body fat already, and (of course) their fat friends and co-workers are now messing with their minds by saying the look “skinny”. So they start to think that it’s time to bulk up and ask me how to bulk up while still losing that last few pounds of body fat.
Here’s my response to the person who has excess body fat (more than 2% above their goal body fat %) but wants to be the same weight they are now:
That’s not a good idea! Here’s why –
First, excess body fat is BAD for you. It’s bad for me. It’s bad for all of us. It puts us in bad health, and makes us prone to all sorts of disease and illness. Job #1 for ALL OF US should be to get rid of that goo! I don’t care what you weigh! If you have too much body fat, you simply have to get rid of it for your health. Period! Weight is just a number, so it’s actually quite silly for someone to say they “can’t” or “don’t want to” go below a certain weight. If you have fat to lose, you need to get rid of that fat.
Second, if you don’t like the idea of shedding fat first, and instead take on the noble mission to “exchange body fat for muscle” while maintaining your weight, you are looking at a LONG, LONG road ahead. Even on a bulking plan (which is designed to build muscle with a calorie surplus) you can expect to gain at most a pound of muscle per week. When dieting to gain muscle while losing body fat, that muscle building happens much slower — probably about 1 lb per month.
So do the math — Let’s say you have 20 lbs of excess body fat that you need to lose. If you decide you don’t want to drop 20 lbs, but rather replace that 20 lbs of fat with 20 lbs of muscle, you should expect it to take at least a year and a half! That’s a LONG TIME! And what’s very dangerous about this approach (other than the fact that you are carrying excess toxic fat around on your body all that time) is that you can realistically expect to bust your butt for 6 months and barely look any different! Talk about discouraging! After 6 months, you may have built about 8-10 lbs of muscle and lost 8-10 lbs of fat, but since your body fat is still high, those changes won’t even be noticeable. Will you have the commitment to keep busting your tail when you don’t see any visible results at all for the first 6 months? Probably not!
So what’s my advice to a guy who weighs 170 and has high body fat, but wants to weigh 170 and be ripped? Simple! Shed the body fat first. Let the scale go wherever it has to go, but get the body fat down to the level you are happy with. For me, that was 8%. For you that might be a different target, but get to within 2% of your goal before you think of doing anything other than shedding body fat. Once the body fat is in that goal range, then — and only then — should you shift gears into muscle building. That 170 lb guy might weigh 150 at this point, but at least he’s healthy and at least he’s ripped with a 6-pack — trust me, you’ll look better thin with a 6-pack than chubby with your magic 170 lb weight target in tact!
And when the body fat is low, you have lots of options to build muscle more efficiently. You can run a calorie surplus. You can increase carbs. You can decrease cardio. You have a lot more things at your disposal to accelerate muscle formation that are simply not possible if you are simultaneously trying to lose body fat.
So Mr. 170 can shed the fat, get ripped at 150, and then go into full-blown muscle building, getting back up to 170, and look ripped the entire time! He’ll stay motivated, his body will work better, and he’ll SEE the results before his very eyes, which will keep him more motivated!
So, what body fat should you shoot for? That depends. It’s totally up to you. Some want to be 10% body fat. Some want to be 8%. Some want to be Shaun T 5% shredded. Whatever your goal body fat is, don’t transition to bulking until you are there. And don’t even transition to a maintenance diet until you are within 2% of that body fat level (see my article “dialing it in” for details on that).
So can you get to your desired goal either way? Yes. But trust me, you’ll be healthier, look better, and get to your goals faster if you shed fat first, then build muscle when you are at single-digit body fat!
Bring it!
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Coach I wanted to know if you think lifting heavy weights at the gym with the main compound lifts like bench press, deadlifts,squats and overhead press would give you a similar build that p90x has done for you or do you find lifting heavy weights is unnecessary to achieve a strong build because p90x and diet alone can do that. Just want to know your thought on that.
Hey Kyle, I think compound lifts can be good at developing big muscle groups, but they are very limited in building full body strength since they focus on just the few main muscles. I am happy with my muscularity and I haven’t done any gym lifts. So I think P90X, a weighted vest, and proper nutrition and supps is all a guy needs to get the body he wants.
As I go through all of your nutrition links I find myself nodding and thinking, “That’s what I was needing to know!”
I’m currently at 220lbs and 5’11 with a gut. I ‘guestimate’ of around 32% body fat, judging from the tbb site bf calculator. I’ll be starting Insanity soon and the fat shredding level.
Is going from 30% body fat to 10% body fat as quick as possible healthy? or is there another approach that I should take? I’d love to drop down to 180 or so after a round or two of Insanity is over but is there a such thing as losing weight too fast?
Hi coach,
Just checking in to let you know that I am now down to 7.5% body fat. Unfortunately, I still look a bit “soft,” meaning my abs are still mostly undefined. I have determined this is likely due to an overall lack of muscle mass. I am down to 138 pounds at 5’9. Do you recommend that I continue on the fat shredder diet until I get down to 5-6% body fat (I’m guessing this is the point that I will finally look shredded)? Or should I begin a slow bulking diet to add muscle mass while keeping a close watch on my body fat? After spending a couple of rounds focusing on muscle building, perhaps then I’ll finally have the Coach Wayne look!
What are your thoughts/recommendations?
Thanks so much in advance!
Hey J, I wouldn’t stay on fat shredder if I were you (at 7.5%). But don’t go to a bulking diet yet either. Go with a phase 2 balanced diet at the maintenance calorie level and you should see the right combination of slow body fat loss and muscle gain over the next 2-3 months. Keep it up!
Thanks, coach! So exciting that I’m finally nearing my goals. Do you recommend that I gradually increase my calorie intake to 2300-2400 from my current 1500-1600? Or should I just start eating that number now? I’m assuming most of my increased calories will come from carbs and fat given that I’m already eating 160-180 grams of protein per day. Is that right?
You should transition over the course of 4 or 5 days, and yes, you’ll increase carbs more than anything else since your protein % will drop a bit but you’ll have more total cals (do the simple math and you’ll know the exact grams of each to target).
Coach, can I get the ripped, not-so-crazy-muscular body with bodyweight exercises mixed in with a weighted vest and a set of dumbbells (heaviest being 35 lbs.) like how the “after results” look in the success pictures? I’m 18 and a mesomorph body type. I’m 155 lbs and 5’9″ but I’d like to gain about 5 lbs of lean athletic muscle with bodyweight circuit training and some dumbbells and was wondering if I can reach this goal with that given I have a clean and smart diet.
Thanks so much for your time! Great job with your own results by the way
Kevin
Hey Kevin, are you asking if you can get results like my Hall of Fame people without a set workout program? I highly doubt it. Why not get P90X and follow a plan designed by experts who know what they are doing?
Hey coach! i was wondering…im 17 about 140 pounds but still have that stubborn body fat…i think im around 10% i wanna get down to 7-8% , but i also want to gain mass …so what die and ratio should i try? im on day 56 of p90x! please help!!
diet*** haha not die
You need to go with a fat shredder to get it down into the 8-9% range, and then go to a maintenance level while it drops to 7-8%, then work on building mass. Check out the guidelines in the “dialing it in” article for details.
thanx for the input coach! one more question if i go back to the fat shredder phase to lose that last 2-3% of fat is it going to affect muscle gains in any dramatic way? i dont wanna be to skinny on the scale ..140 is light in my opinion for a 6 foot 17 yr old…id rather be in the 160 range but have my bf% be around 7-8 like i said..so stick to the fat shredder phase to get my % lower? Sorry for all the question i just want crazy results like you dude!!
Hey Chris, no, you won’t lose any muscle on the fat shredder plan if you do it right.
And with the questions you are asking, you sound exactly like the example I explained in the article above. You have read it, right? YES, lose the body fat first, and stop obsessing about the scale! Get ripped, then build mass.
yea sorry for the dum questions:p its just my coach never ansers me so i had to seek some expert advice! …and by doing it right you mean just following the 50/30/20 ratio on a 1900-2200 cals per day diet im assuming? or maybe bump it up to 2400 cals?
By doing it right I mean eating often (5-6 meals per day), and being sure you get protein at each meal / snack to keep your muscles fueled.
If you have a coach that never answers you, how is that helpful?? Check out how to join teamRIPPED if you would rather have a coach that actually answers you LOL!
lol yea im going to switch over :p
I’m 240 lbs. and have about 30% body fat. My goal is to get to single digit body-fat percentage. I’m not doing P90X, instead I’m in the gym 3 lift days & 3 cardio days. However, I do follow the P90X nutrition plan. I want to know how many calories should I take in and how long should I stay on the fat shredder plan if you could please help me it would be greatly appreciated.
That’s hard to say Cory since you are doing your own custom workout plan. You’ll have to experiment to find what plan best suits your exercise plan. I can tell you what you’d need if you were doing P90X (see the dialing it in section). Hope that helps!
Thanks! That section really helped… I’ll keep you posted on my progress.