The Secrets of Definition - How to Attain a Ripped and Defined Physique

The most common method of "getting ripped" is by employing high-repetition work, more isolation movements, reducing one's caloric intake and swallowing an assortment of pharmaceuticals. Some pills (anabolic steroids) maintain size while dieting, and others speed up the basal metabolism (thyroid).

This system works exceptionally well and is the tried and true method of carving a contest body. Of course, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. The effects on the body are evident a few weeks after the contest. Our champion discontinues the chemicals and resumes a normal diet. Presto! Like magic he blows up like a blimp. The bodyfat ratio climbs, sometimes even doubling what it was before he graced the posing platform.

What has happened? The Yo-Yo syndrome. Any amount of bodyfat lost very rapidly will always come back twofold. The mere presence of this bodyfat not only blankets hard-trained muscle, but also enhances your chances of succumbing to a host of maladies. When the bodyfat content climbs above the 20 percent mark, the risks of heart disease, lowered immune function, zero-growth hormone release and decreased blood testosterone levels increase. The very hormones that are responsible for muscle tissue are diminished in quantity.

It's not a pleasing picture, but let me ex-plain why humans possess bodyfat. It serves as insulation against the cold and is an energy reserve. Long ago, when the human race was less evolved (before grocery stores), meals were few and fat between. The average human life was spent in a constant quest for food. When there was abundant food, the) ate ravenously. In times of famine our ancestors lived off fat stores. This simple fact is most crucial when attempting to lose bodyfat - that any form of caloric restriction triggers the hypothalamus gland into action, thus setting the body up for even more fat storage.

To clearly see this principle in effect, all we have to do is observe the most obese athletes on the face of the earth, the sumo wrestlers. The majority of sumos eat once a day, an enormous calorie-laden feast. The rest of the day is spend in a mini-fast. Their bodyfat climbs very rapidly following this diet plan.

All of the psuedo-scientific diets present charts indicating weight loss (fat and muscle tissue) after following their miracle diet. The diet gurus never present the graphs demonstrating fat gain after the diet is ceased.

If a calorically restricted diet isn't maintained for the individual's entire life, a rebound effect will occur resulting in even greater stores of the deadly foe - fat!

Of course, not all bodyfats are created equal. Each human possesses brown fat, some more than others. Brown fat burns white fat in an attempt to warm the body. This brown fat is probably left over from the ice age. Brown fat can burn its own weight in white fat in twelve hours. This process has been termed thermogenesis.

How does one activate this fat-metabolizing system? There are several different modes which light this thermogenic furnace.

THE FIRST IS TO PERFORM AEROBIC WORK, but the temperature of the room in which the aerobics are performed should be below 70 degrees. If the aerobics involve swimming, the water temperature should be below 70 degrees. Bodyfat compositions of swimmers who regularly swam in cold waters showed a bodyfat content under the nine percent mark. Anytime the body has to create warmth to compensate for external temperatures, bodyfat is burned. By adding aerobic exercise you double the effect.

Working out in sauna suits, rubber devices and too many sweat shirts will only result in an increase in body odor, not bodyfat subtraction. The weight loss from sweating will be gained again as soon as fluids are replaced. A person would burn more bodyfat walking five miles briskly on a cold day than jogging five miles when the temperature rises above the 90-degree mark.

THE SECOND METHOD IS BY INGESTING COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES (potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.). The mere act of digestion will cause the body's temperature to rise, resulting in profuse sweating - i.e. a thermo effect. The total elimination of simple carbohydrates would also cause somewhat of a preventive mechanism. This would stop the simple carbs from raising the body's insulin, which is a fat-storing hormone.

THE THIRD WAY BROWN FAT IS ACTIVATED IS BY STIMULATING THE ADRENAL GLANDS INTO ACTION. This can be accomplished by taking the herbs ephedra and guarana. Then with the addition of the amino acid L-pheny lalanine, the NE (noradrenaline) stores will be replenished in the brain, creating a continuous fat-burning effect. L-phenylalanine also seems to trigger a switch in the body which controls appetite.

The fourth most thermogenic compound known to man, and the most talked about, is MCT oil (medium chain triclycerides), a form of fat that is unlike other fats. It has the ability to ignite the fat-burning furnace. The effect of fat digestion will create thermostimulation. This is very similar to the protein fat diets advocated by so any nutrition experts today.

METABOLIC RATE IS TO STIMULATE THE ANTERIOR PITUITARY GLAND TO RELEASE GROWTH HORMONE, the most anabolic, fat-burning natural secretion known to man. The GH response can be elicited either by amino acid infusion or severe anaerobic exercise performed in short bursts (weight training). The best form of amino infusion is accomplished by ingesting single aminos - ornithine, tyrosine and arginine being the most effective. These aminos should be taken on an empty stomach at bedtime or before a strenuous brief workout. The growth hormone will cause intercellular breakdown of fat. This will allow for the fats to easily convert into energy.

THE LAST NATURAL METHOD OF ALTERING ONE'S BIOCHEMISTRY IS BY SENSITIZING THE BODY'S TISSUES TO INSULIN. Weight gain in the form of fat tends to impair sensitivity to insulin, making it extremely hard to lose weight. The bioactive source of chromium picolinate controls the glucostat in the brain, thus keeping the blood-sugar levels constant. This is very important when on a calorically restricted diet.

As any astute bodybuilder can see, the secrets of definition are well within the grasp of the most rotund of trainees. With a little knowledge of biochemistry anyone can coax his or her body into a ripped physique naturally.