Sure, it feels great to work out and get that sweet adrenaline rush. You feel like you’re on top of the world.
But then, the ‘high’ from your workout swiftly wears off and you look in the mirror and it turns out you’re not the muscle beast you were in your mind.
And you stand there and wonder, how long until I get the body I want? How long do I need to work out before I’m truly ripped?
In order to answer that, we first need to understand what a ripped body is.
What defines a ‘ripped’ body?
Everybody’s understanding of this may be a little different.
What we consider to be the perfect body, you might see as too much or too little. But the thing is, ‘ripped’ is unique to each of us.
In your mind, chances are you already know what your ripped version would look like. But do you?
Maybe you’ve spent hours looking at transformations on Instagram and you’re wondering how long does it take to get ripped?
And then, you’re bound to become disappointed when you don’t have the right plan to get started.
But see, your body is different from the one you saw on Instagram, so naturally your muscles will react a little differently, even if you follow the exact same workout and diet as them.
In Order To Get Ripped, You Need To Do Two Things: Losing Body Fat And Increasing Muscle Mass.
Now, the two are very closely connected and you are slowly doing both by following pretty much any cardio, aerobic, fitness routine out there.
But that’s not enough.
You need to focus on these two things to get the maximum effect and this includes looking at a bunch of other factors.
This include: diet, sleeping schedule, and potentially even supplements in your routine (maybe energy-boosting ones, testosterone boosters or even protein supplements).
Most people who are trying to get ripped alternate their workout routines doing one day of muscle toning and building and one day of fat loss exercises.
Beware that the two are quite different. You can do muscle toning exercises all you want, but you also need to shed that weight that’s covering the muscles so that anyone can see progress.
So you want to first figure out what ‘ripped’ means to you.
Maybe you want to get huge biceps and really be bulging out of your shirts. Or maybe you just want a lean body with your muscles really well defined (but not too big or bulky).
Obviously, if you’re generally fit and lead a relatively active lifestyle, to begin with, getting a ripped body will take less time and will be less challenging if you are, say, overweight and lead a mostly sedentary life.
Someone who works out fairly regularly, even 2-3 times a week, and watches their diet to a certain extent has an easier (and a faster) turnover time from where they are now to the body they’ve always dreamed of.
But if you don’t fall in this particular category, that shouldn’t put you off.
There’s hope for everyone and we’re by no means saying that getting a ripped body is impossible.
In fact, anyone can do it, all it takes is time and perseverance.
So, when starting out your process of getting that ripped body, consider yourself and make an honest and realistic assessment of your chances.
If you expect to get Tom Hardy or Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson or whoever your model in this is, and you expect that to happen within two weeks, then you’ll end up being disappointed.
And disappointment can be disastrous to your exercise routine.
Looking in the mirror and still seeing that extra body fat can make us abandon hope and give up completely, and this leads us to the next point.
Figure Out a Strategy For Getting Ripped.
It’s not just lifting weights an hour each day. It’s not just hitting the gym or doing these crazy intense workouts.
We mean, it is that, but only in part. As we mentioned, you need to focus on a bunch of aspects in order to get a lean, enviable figure.
And here, we’ll talk a bit about your approach in general to ‘getting ripped’, because the sooner you perfect this approach, the sooner you’ll be able to actually work toward your goals.
Diet and the wrong workout can prove useless and mean very little in your quest for the perfect body.
And the answer to how long does it take to get ripped depends actually on what your approach to getting ripped is.
The following steps will help you get started.
First of all, you want to shed fat.
Even if there isn’t a lot of it and you’re not in any way overweight.
Because we’re no longer talking about what’s generally acceptable for your age and gender and whatever.
We’re talking about getting ripped. And pretty much everyone’s definition of getting ripped involves saying “buh-bye to that fat”.
But How?
A lot of people intent on losing weight simply figure they’ll just stop eating.
After all, most nutritionists warn that it’s about 80% about diet and only a meager 20% about your workout routine.
So, many of us fall for a crash diet which only ends up making matters worse.
But I don’t understand, I thought a diet was supposed to be a good thing.
In theory, YES. In practice, too, as long as your main goal is to lose body fat.
But when your goal is to build muscle, going on an intensive diet can actually prove detrimental.
See, when you don’t eat enough protein and don’t get poor nutrition in general, your body isn’t capable of building those ripped muscles you’re so crazy about.
Because you’re not giving it anything to work with here, and it’s just staring at you like ‘dude, what am I supposed to do?’.
How Do You Build Muscles With No Food Reserve?
Easy, you don’t.
While building up your body, you want to ensure it gets all the nutrients it needs in order to develop properly.
How Do You Maintain Good, Athletic Body Weight?
You burn more calories than you take in.
But, the accent here shouldn’t be on the calories you take in, but rather on the burning part, because that way, you’re working out your body and growing your muscles without actually starving yourself.
Next, you want to focus on building muscle.
Because that’s basically what being ripped is, isn’t it? Building crazy muscle
Okay, so how do you do that?
You focus on the major muscle groups. Depending on who you ask, there are 4, 6, and even 11 major muscle groups in the human body.
Regardless of how you count them, you want to make sure you work the following at least twice a week:
- Quadriceps;
- Hamstrings;
- Calves;
- Chest;
- Back;
- Shoulders;
- Triceps;
- Biceps;
- Forearms;
- Trapezius.
You want to do some strength training exercises for each of these muscle categories about twice a week, so that they’re under constant pressure and are growing, little by little.
Finally, Get Enough Rest.
Another big mistake rookie bodybuilders make is working themselves to exhaustion each day and focusing on the same muscles over and over.
If you want a huge chest, for example, it only stands to reason you should work your pecs every day, right?
WRONG!
Your muscles, like pretty much anything on this planet, need and appreciate a good rest.
So you want to give your major muscle groups a 48-hour breather in between sessions.
You don’t want to be slacking, though, because research show two workouts a week promote hypertrophy, which refers to how fast your muscles grow.
As your muscles begin to develop and become stronger, they will crave more.
You’ll find that the one set that used to knock you out, in the beginning, is now just a breeze.
That doesn’t mean you should increase the number of workouts, however, simply the number of sets.
Keep working out on Tuesday and Friday or whenever, but instead of 2 sets, do 3 or 4. but keep in mind that breather we talked about, yeah?
Okay, but what does this have to do with how soon I get ripped?
Well, that’s a bit like asking what does the make of your wheels have to do with how fast you get there.
The way you work out and eat has a huge impact on how you build muscle and by following the above guidelines, you will get ripped a lot faster than you would mindlessly be working out.
But the answer here is every person is different.
No one can give you a definitive answer, or at least, not someone who hasn’t seen you face to face.
Yes, perhaps a personal trainer or nutritionist can estimate the time it will take for you to get ripped.
But, most people begin seeing a serious difference within 1-3 months.
And that doesn’t mean you won’t see changes sooner. Typically, depending on the diet you follow and the way you train, you’ll begin seeing subtle differences within the first couple of weeks.
This is true for every body type. For some, these differences will be in the slightly more pronounced way some muscles stand out.
For others, it’ll be in the way their jeans begin to get just a little bit loose. So you’ll definitely see differences within that first month.
And we think anyone can stick to it for a month, can’t they?
The trouble is, most people are willing to give it those 30 days, but then they expect to look in the mirror at the end of the month and see the perfect body.
But, you have to remind yourself it doesn’t work that way.
Don’t look for the perfect ripped body, look for subtle changes, and keep in mind that if you see these changes in 2 weeks or a month, you’ll see even better changes in 2 months. And in 3.
On average, most people get to their desired body image within 6 months of serious training.
Of course, it can take more or less than that, depending on you.
But there is one great aspect of this: that in 6 months, you will see some huge changes in your body, regardless of what you looked like when you started working out.
In fact, it’s the people who are most displeased with their bodies in the beginning who see the greatest changes.
And that’s awesome because you see these changes within the first few months and you’re prompted to keep working toward your goal.
So even if you’re not totally ripped by the 6-month mark, you’re well on the way and you have the motivation to get there.
So stop looking for a definitive time frame. There isn’t one.
Final Thoughts – How Long Does It Take To Get Ripped?
Most people need such a thing as a point of reference to motivate themselves, and that’s fine.
But, the most important thing to understand (and what you want to focus on here) is that with enough perseverance and patience, you will get that ripped body.
Maybe it’ll take 3 months. Maybe it’ll take 10. There’s no way of telling and that shouldn’t matter.
What should matter is the mindset and that you’re doing something positive for yourself by working out and eating healthy and so on.
In the end, it’s not this narrow time frame that matters. Not 3, 6, or 10 months.
Because that’s relatively a short time and after that, what happens?
If you work on that basis, you’re bound to slip up sooner or later and lose all the progress you have made.
You need to remember you’re cultivating a healthy way of life here, not a ripped body for the next couple of years.
Take your body to the next level with these hardcore supplements for bulking, cutting and strength.
