A Big Guy’s Guide to Getting Lean
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Lean, cut bodies have replaced vein-popping, oversized muscles as the favored look for many men. While this build may appear more realistic, it can still be a challenge to achieve, especially for guys who are naturally bigger. “It takes incredible discipline,” says registered dietician and American College of Sports Medicine exercise physiologist Jim White. “It takes time, you’ve got to be committed to it." Here’s what to do.
Get a Dietician
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White strongly advises men to consult a dietician if they want to get lean. It’s not cheap, but you will likely get your money’s worth in the results. "If you follow any books or diets, things like that, it’s usually for a grand audience,” says White. “It might get you jumpstarted, but to keep a long-lasting result, it has to be tailored.” Everyone’s body varies, so a dietician can help you figure out exactly how to fuel yours for your fitness goals. The same goes for a personal trainer: it will cost you, but you will also benefit greatly from a personalized workout plan. Sometimes you can find someone who is both a personal trainer and a dietician to save some cost.
Related: The 10 Best Workouts to Burn Fat
Recruit a Buddy
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Whether or not you can afford a dietician and a trainer, getting help from an experienced friend can make a huge impact. “It can provide motivation, it can provide accountability, and it can provide expertise too,” says White. If you find someone to work out or eat with who has succeeded in their own slimming-down mission, you can reap extra rewards from their personal knowledge while also getting some quality support.
Don’t Skip Meals
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If it’s not done correctly, working toward the lean body of a physique competitor can carry serious risk. Nine to 12 percent body fat is considered a lean body, but body-builders and physique competitors have around five to eight percent. If you try to achieve this kind of body carelessly — such as skipping meals to lose weight — you can create serious problems for your body.
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“What happens, when you start getting to five percent, this is your essential fat,” says White. “If you lose your essential fat, it can be very dangerous.” Even if you don’t experience extreme health issues, skipping meals can lead to sluggishness, tiredness, moodiness, and nutritional deficiencies.
Eat More Fat
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In order to get lean, you need to have the proper balance of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and essential fats. You will likely want to drop your calorie intake by about 500 calories to start, but a person’s training and personal factors, like their metabolism, affect what caloric intake is appropriate for them.
Related: 6 Fat-Burning Foods Every Man Should Eat
Be careful with protein shakes as these can be very high in calories and extremely easy to suck down without thinking. It may seem counterintuitive, but White always recommends at least 20 percent fat in the diet. Healthy fats, like those in avocadoes and nuts, are vital for many processes in the body. Eaten correctly, they shouldn’t cause weight gain. On the other hand, overeating, saturated fats, and trans fats will work against you.
Aim to Shed Two Pounds a Week
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Your starting point will affect how long it takes you to see results. Patience is a virtue in this journey, as slimming down too quickly can be dangerous to your health. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends losing one to two pounds a week. White says significant results can usually be expected after about three months.
Related: The 20-Minute Fat-Burning Bodyweight Workout
Finesse Your Muscles
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Packing in the cardio will get you a long way toward lowering your body fat, but building some muscle in your upper body will also boost your metabolism. “To get that extra lean look, you’ve got to finesse all of your smaller muscles along with your bigger muscles,” says White. Isolation exercises are going to be what gives you that stellar, cut physique. For the upper body, use moves like concentration curls, cable crossovers, and dumbbell press backs.
Get Your Heart Pumping
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The high-intensity intervals you find in CrossFit — but not so much Olympic lifting — will help you to slim down. The secret is in the cardio. If these workouts get your heart pumping, they will likely help you get lean.
Skip the Box Jumps
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While they will certainly have your heart rate up, box jumps are one exercise White thinks we are better off without. Box jumps look impressive and can work your muscles well, but people often do them wrong or get sloppy as they fatigue. This means there is a high risk for injury, which can sideline your slim-down plans in a major way. There are endless exercises out there to try, go ahead and skip the box jumps.
By Taylor Kubota
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