If all it took were 3 one-hour training sessions a week to get the physique of your dreams, everyone would do it. How hard is it to put in 3 hours of physical activity a week? Not very. Unfortunately, that is just a very small part of the equation. Unless you have been blessed with paper thin skin and have the ability to dip french bread in maple syrup and store it in your muscles, you are probably not going to like what I am about to say.

When I meet a client for an initial consultation, the first thing I ask is what their goals are. Most often, they tell me they want to get ripped. They want to see their abs. It is not the answer I want to hear because I know the likelihood of reaching that goal is very slim.

I am not a big fan of bodybuilding, but I have an immense respect for the discipline that bodybuilding requires when it comes to diet and exercise. It’s a huge sacrifice for anyone, both physically and emotionally. For many it borders on pathological. And a social life? That goes right out the window unless they are okay with bringing Tupperware filled with chicken and broccoli to the bar Friday night. I didn’t think so.

Fitness and fashion models that you see in publications make their living with their bodies. So it pays for them to make these sacrifices, but not even they walk around year long with single digit body fat. They are already lean and they will still spend somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks getting even leaner for a photo shoot. Once the shoot is over they go back to being fit, which means putting back the 10 to 15 pounds they had to drop for the shoot. It is similar to what fighters do to make weight before a bout. After the weigh-in, they re-hydrate and re-fuel for 24 to 48 hours before stepping into the ring.

Getting ripped is brutally hard work. It takes great dedication. For most, it is probably not worth the sacrifice. I am not saying this to deter anyone, I am trying to be realistic. When Internet gurus claim they can give you a six pack in six weeks if you follow their program, they are lying to you. There are no short cuts when it comes to dramatically altering body composition. If you are starting from square one, you will need to put in a bare minimum of 12 weeks of consistent training and diet adherence to make considerable changes to your physique.

If you still want to get ripped, check in next week and I will fill you in on the gory details.