I’ve been in the fitness industry for 25 years and have followed many fat loss and weight training programs, but I must say that sometimes my biggest challenge is staying lean once I get there. I enjoy eating pizza and ice cream with my kids just like anyone else, but sometimes I go to extremes and can put on a lot of weight over the course of a few months because of the heavy weight training routine that I follow. I don’t burn a lot of fat to keep me lean. I have decided that for the next 12 weeks I will switch to pure conditioning and fat burning workouts so that I can look at my abs and feel healthy again. I’m currently testing out a program called How to Get Ripped Abs by John Alvino. I know how to write my diet and fat loss program but sometimes after writing them I start to second guess myself through the program and make constant changes. I wanted a program that scheduled it from start to finish so I didn’t have to think about it. I just wanted to follow the directions and let the fat burn.
How To Get Ripped Abs certainly has it all, which is why I was drawn to this particular program. The package includes everything you could possibly need and leaves nothing to chance. It includes a 12-week workout program, custom meal plans based on your lean body weight, recipes, and a comprehensive exercise index detailing each exercise with pictures.
workout program
The workout program is called Meltdown and is divided into 4 phases, each lasting 3 weeks. These are very intense full body workouts labeled Workout A and Workout B that are performed every other day 3 days per week with an alternate 3 days used for high intensity interval training cardio workouts. This is one of the most effective fat burning workouts I have ever seen designed. This is because each exercise is designed to use the maximum amount of your glutes, stabilizing muscles and your core. An example is the single leg curl on a ball. I thought it looked easy in the book, but once I tried it and realized that I was stabilizing my entire torso while pushing the ball back, I found I couldn’t complete 12 reps. The book is full of these full body intensive exercises which in turn burn fat faster than any isolation or standard weight lifting exercises.
There’s also a good amount of dumbbell work, along with exercises that work multiple muscles at once. I was exhausted after my first workout and now I know why workouts are called meltdowns. Every muscle in my body was tired and I was ready to take some rest. The program also allows you to print your workouts in chart format so you can fill in your weights and reps. I printed out my workout and kept it on a clipboard along with printouts of the exercise details, just in case I needed to refer back to how to do some specific ones I wasn’t familiar with.
Cardio workouts are focused on the days you don’t train with weights. They are high intensity and there are many to choose from. The book has cardio variations that can be done without equipment which is good because then I can limit my trips to the gym to only 3 per week.
nutrition program
Since everyone is different, this program is tailored to your individual body type and lean body weight. There is nothing left to guess as there is a personalized meal plan for each person specified by calories per day. Meal plans have food charts to make it easy to exchange some foods for others. This is not a diet as you will not be starving yourself at all. This program requires that you eat plenty of food. Anywhere from 5 to 6 meals per day spaced throughout the day. The emphasis is on clean whole foods and when you start eating this way you will find that you fill up much quicker, you are never tired and you are never hungry. It includes a separate book that gives recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts. A book for making protein shake recipes is also included. The complete nutrition program is very tailored to the individual and gives a lot of instructions on what and how much to eat. Also included are food logs that you can fill out as well as a daily menu that makes it easy to follow.
I really find How To Get Ripped Abs to be foolproof if you’re looking for a full package fitness program. Think of it like painting by numbers. If you follow every day exactly as shown, fat will steadily melt off your body while achieving a very high level of physical condition. I’m going to follow the 12 week plan to the letter. I am going to follow the letter the whole 84 days. Come and check out my daily progress!
Source by Rick Porter
