What Does It Take To Get Totally Ripped? Hint: A LOT!

“Have Six-Pack Abs in 10 Days!”

“Lose 33 Pounds in 15 Days!”

“Get The Body Of Your Dreams In 6 Weeks!”

Any of this sound familiar? Those are just some of the headlines I’ve seen in magazines or on websites over the years. Heck, probably just in the last month!

And while there is nothing wrong with wanting six-pack abs, to lose 33 pounds, or to have a dream beach body, the TRUE cost of getting those things is a lot greater than you think. There are definite benefits to striving for such a goal, but there are also many trade-offs as well.

It’s also important to understand that there are also many different levels of fitness, not just Overweight & Pudgy to Totally Ripped.

Several key factors when it comes to getting ripped include nutrition, activity level, sleep, stress, work, personal time, and your social life. If you work 12-hour shifts (work), have children who rely on you (personal time), volunteer in your community or church (social life), have a sick family member (stress), or have pets who bother you at night or a spouse who snores (sleep), these things are going to impact your ability to dedicate to getting the ultimate beach body.

To get to and maintain that totally shredded body means you’re going to be focusing on what you’re eating or drinking (nutrition) and what your workout is (fitness level) all the time. And every other aspect of your life is going to be structured around your nutrition and workouts because of the amount of time and commitment it takes to achieve this fitness level.

Your entire focus for nutrition is calorie counting, macronutrient ratios, carb cutting, precise meal planning (like, weighing out foods EXACTLY), mindful eating, and no deviating from your pre-determined nutrition plan.

Exercise is twice a day, minimum of one hour and most likely two hours (or more), with perfectly orchestrated sets of lifting along with perfectly timed cardio in order to achieve maximum results from every workout. Or as close to perfectly as you can get.

And 8-9 hours of sleep nightly is required.

Getting totally ripped – and maintaining it – essentially becomes a full-time job. In this phase of fitness there are no shortcuts. No hacks. No slacking off. No cheat days. You are honing your body into a finely tuned machine (nothing wrong with that!), but any disruptions in your routine can set you back by days or weeks until you are back on track.

There are also some health concerns that can creep up with this level of fitness intensity like mood swings, issues with libido, missed periods, and it can affect your metabolism in the long run.

BUT!!

Because there are, in fact, plenty of levels of fitness in-between overweight and shredded you don’t have to take on the second full-time job of getting fit and the all-consuming thoughts of nutrition and exercise 24/7.

Ask yourself what you are okay with, and NOT okay with, when it comes to achieving your desired fitness level.

What if you’re good with reaching a fitness level where you’re comfortable in your body and happy with the way your smaller clothes fit? Or you’re not worrying about chronic health conditions or illnesses? What if you reach a point where you have the energy you need to get through your day and enough leftover to maintain your physical activity and other health aspects?

Maybe you’re not totally ripped, but you’re happy with your body, how you look and feel, and the level of fitness you can achieve without it consuming your whole life?

The cost of a fitness magazine physique is high. But perhaps there is another fitness level you want to strive for that will give you results that fit your lifestyle better.