The One Week Get Ripped for Summer Plan

It's summer time...You know what that means! A time to throw your responsibilities out for several weekends and hit up the beach over and over again. But, you also know what brings! Time to reveal the ab or flab...

Stop worrying already and be thankful you have Muscle Prodigy for the best routines in the health and fitness industry. Here's a one week guide to get absolutely ripped so you're ready to go by next weekend.

It's time to implement the appropriate plan of action to attain the lean physique you desire. That means you've got to put in much needed effort within the next week to torch that nasty bodyfat and pack on some muscle to that frame of yours so your bodyfat percentage drops rapidly. You've got 7 days to get your butts in shape or you're going to feel like crap while trying to relax with that gut hanging over your bathing suit. We want heads of the opposite sex to turn for the right reason, and an attractive body is one way to grab the attention you want while lying down on the sand with a few Corona's.

Nutrition: While proper nutritional habits are a lifestyle change and you should always be eating lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats at the appropriate times of the day, this is a bit of a different approach considering you only have 7 days left to get ripped. That means we need to take your body into a severe caloric deficit. However, take note, DO NOT FOLLOW THIS NUTRITIONAL GUIDE for extended periods of time- it will not work beyond one week, This is an example of starvation, in which it will torch bodyfat for a short period of time, but then eventually your body will adjust to those new levels of food intake and your basal metabolic rate, or the rate at which energy burns, will decrease (something you want to avoid at all costs).

Diet Plan:

This is a sample meal plan for a 180 lb. male who is training appropriately. You may switch up the meals as you desire, but make sure the macronutrient combination is of the same ratio according to your bodyweight and at the same times throughout the day. You will be starving your body of a lot of carbohydrates and fats throughout the week in order to put you in a hypermode of fat burning. However, your carbohydrate sources that you will consume will be significant around your workouts. This is important because you need to replenish your glycogen to give your muscles that full look and give you enough energy to get through your workouts. However, during the other times of the day, you won't be consuming many carbs at all to burn the fat. Neverthelss, one day during the week, you will go on a carbo-load to trick your body into thinking that you are out of the diet so you can ramp up your fat burning the following 2 days after. To make sure this works though, you need to eat healthy low-glycemic carbohydrates, so your insulin doesn't spike too high and you won't gain body fat as a result.

It may look like this a lot of food to be on a diet, however, it really is not. When breaking down the total calories, you are actually consuming less total calories than most people typically consume. A lot of these choices are low fat (9 calories per gram), low carbohydrate sources (4 calories per gram). Eating frequently will help speed up your metabolism and trick your body into thinking that food is always available, making your preordained adaptive mechanisms more tailored for fat burning.

Saturday(Carb-Starve; AM Cardio + Afternoon Lift)

9:00 AM wake-up- 10g Whey Protein + 2 Cups of Black Coffee (No Sugar)

10:00 AM- 5 Egg Whites + 1 Yolk + 1 Package of Instant Oatmeal (40 g carbs) + Grapefruit + 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter

12:30 PM- Handful of Almonds and an Apple

3:00 PM- Grilled Chicken + Greek Salad (No Dressing)

5:00 PM- Pre Workout- Glass of Milk + 2 Tbsp. Honey + Cellucor C4 Extreme + 2 Cups Black Coffee

6:30 PM- Post-Workout- 30g Whey Protein + 6 Tbsp. Honey + 5g Glutamine

7:30 PM- Tuna fish (straight out of the can) + Mixed Steamed Vegetables with Olive Oil + 1 glass of Red Wine

9:00 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese (35 g protein) mixed w/ Milled flax seed and 2 Glasses of Water with a Lemon in it

Sunday(Carb Starve; AM Cardio + Afternoon Lift)

8:00 AM wake-up (10 mins before cardio)- 5g BCAA's + 2 Dried Apricots + Cup of Black Coffee

8:45 AM wake-up (immediately after cardio)- 40 g Whey Protein + Cup of Coffee

10:00 AM- 5 Egg Whites + 2 Yolks + 2 Packages of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Fiber One + Grapefruit

12:00 PM- Handful of Almonds + Apple

2:00 PM- Turkey, Ham, and Roast Beef Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread with Mustard, Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion with Side of Grilled Chicken w/ Olive Oil

3:00 PM Pre-workout (30 mins before lifting)- 30 g Whey Protein + Banana + 2 Cups of Coffee + Cellucor Extreme Energy Weight Loss Stack

5:00 PM Post-Workout (20-30 mins after completion of workout)- 40 g Whey protein + 40 g fast-digesting carbs + 5 g glutamine

6:30 PM- Grilled Salmon + Small Portion of Brown Rice + Baked Sweet Potato + Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil + 1 glass of Red Wine

8:30 PM- Handful of Walnuts + Protein Shake (20 g protein, 0g carbs)

11:00 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese (35 g protein) mixed w/ Milled flax seed

Monday(Afternoon Lift + Cardio Immediately After)

8:00 AM wake-up- 20 g Whey Protein + Blueberries (20 g carbs) + 2 Cups of Coffee

9:30 AM- 5 Egg Whites + 1 Yolk + 1 Package of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Fiber One + Grapefruit

11:30 AM- Handful of Almonds + Apple

1:00 PM- Grilled Chicken w/ Mixed Vegetables, Olive Oil, and Marinara Sauce with Bowl of Mixed Chickpeas and Kidney Beans

3:00 PM Pre-workout (30 mins before lifting-cardio follows lifting)- 30 g Whey Protein + Banana + 2 Cups of Coffee + Cellucor Extreme Energy Weight Loss Stack

5:00 PM Post-Workout (Immediately after completion of workout)- 40 g Whey protein + 40 g fast-digesting carbs + 5 g glutamine

6:30 PM- Grilled Sirloin + Baked Potato + Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil + Salad with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar as Dressing + 1 glass of Red Wine

8:30 PM- Handful of Walnuts with Protein Shake (20 g protein, 0g carbs)

11:00 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese (35 g protein) mixed w/ Milled flax seed + Fiber One

Tuesday(Low-Carb/Fat Indulge- Off)

8:00 AM wake-up (10 mins before cardio)- Amino Acid Pills/10 g Whey Protein (0g carbs) + Cup of Black Coffee

8:45 AM wake-up (immediately after cardio)- 20 g Whey Protein (0g carbs) + Cup of Coffee

10:00 AM- 5 Egg Whites + 1 Yolk + 1 Package of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Fiber One + Banana with 1 tbsp. Natural Peanut Butter

12:00 PM- Handful of Almonds + Cup of Coffee

2:00 PM- Grilled Chicken Breasts + Olive Oil + Salad with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar as Dressing + Apple

4:00 PM- 30 g Whey Protein

6:30 PM- Grilled Tilapia + Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil + 1 glass of red wine

8:30 PM- 2 Egg Whites + 2 Yolks

11:00 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese (35 g protein) mixed w/ Milled flax seed

Wednesday(Carb-Load; AM Cardio + Afternoon Lift)

8:00 AM wake-up (10 mins before cardio)- 20 g Whey Protein + 2 Dried Apricots + Cup of Black Coffee

8:45 AM wake-up (immediately after cardio)- 40 g Whey Protein

10:00 AM- 5 Egg Whites + 1 Yolk + 2 Package of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Grapefruit + Whole Wheat Toast with Banana and Natural Peanut Butter Sandwich + Cup of Black Coffee

11:30 AM- Kashi TLC Bar + Orange

1:00 PM- Grilled Chicken + Pasta with Marinara Sauce + Apple

3:00 PM Pre-workout (30 mins before lifting)- 30 g Whey Protein + Banana + 2 Cups of Coffee + Cellucor Extreme Energy Weight Loss Stack

5:30 PM Post-Workout (30 mins after completion of workout)- 40 g Whey protein + 60 g fast-digesting carbs + 5 g glutamine

6:30 PM- Grilled Swordfish + Bowl of Brown Rice + Baked Potato + Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil + 1 glass of Red Wine

8:30 PM- Whole Wheat Toast with Natural Peanut Butter

11:00 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese (35 g protein) w/ Mixed Fruit

Thursday (Carb-Starve; AM Cardio + Afternoon Lift)

8:00 AM wake-up- 20 g Whey Protein + Blueberries (15 g carbs) + 2 Cups of Coffee

9:30 AM- 5 Egg Whites + 1 Yolk + 1 Package of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Fiber One + Grapefruit

11:30 AM- Glass of 1% low-fat milk

1:00 PM- Lean Pork + Mixed Vegetables + Baked Potato

3:00 PM Pre-workout (30 mins before lifting)- 20 g Whey Protein + 2 Dried Apricots + 2 Cups of Coffee + Cellucor Extreme Energy Weight Loss Stack

5:30 PM Post-Workout (30 mins after completion of workout)- 40 g Whey protein + 35 g fast-digesting carbs + 5 g glutamine

6:30 PM- Tuna fish (no mayo or low-fat/fat-free mayo) melt (fat free American cheese) on 1 slice of Whole Wheat Toast + Grilled Chicken Salad with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar as Dressing+ 1 glass of Red Wine

8:30 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese

11:00 PM- Casein protein (30 g protein, 0 g carbs) mixed with 1% milk

Friday (Carb-Starve; AM Cardio + Afternoon Liftr)

11:00 AM wake-up- Egg White Omelet with Cheese + 1 Package of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Grapefruit + Cup of Black Coffee

1:00 PM- Turkey with Alpine Lace and Mustard on Whole Wheat Bread

3:00 PM Pre-workout (30 mins before lifting-cardio follows lifting)- 30 g Whey Protein + Cup of Coffee + Cellucor Extreme Energy Weight Loss Stack

5:00 PM Post-Workout (immediately after completion of workout)- 40 g Whey protein + 40 g fast-digesting carbs + 5 g glutamine

6:30 PM- Grilled Steak + A little Brown Rice + Salad + 1 glass of Red Wine

8:30 PM- Glass of 1% lowfat Milk with a piece of 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

11:00 PM- Bowl of Lowfat Cottage Cheese (35 g protein) mixed w/ Milled flax seed

Resistance Training: Just like you can't burn much fat without cardio and diet, you can't burn much fat without strength training. It is so important and vital to attaining a lean physique. The more muscle you have, the more maintenance your body requires, meaning that it requires more calories to run efficiently. When your muscle fibers tear, your body uses calories to repair those muscles to make them grow back and then puts on added muscle as part of continually improving itself to adapt to the trauma you presented it with.

Moreover, I can't begin to even describe how important super-setting and drop setting is for muscle growth and fat burning in one simultaneous movement. Make sure you follow the appropriate days of when to weight train. You should always be doing a lot of sets and ensure that you are going intense with each session. Try to keep the sessions to an hour at most to keep testosterone levels high and cortisol levels low. Make sure to do high intensity stuff like super-setting, drop setting, and holds/squeezes/slow reps/negative reps/forced reps.

Sunday (Off)

Monday (AM Cardio + Afternoon Lift)

Cardio-HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)- Treadmill

Warm-up- 1 mile run to get the blood flowing

Stretch- Hamstrings Stretches

(Each sprint should be "all-out" or as close to 100% as possible without injuring yourself)

Sprints:

10 x 40s sprints (3 secs rest in between each sprint)...then 1 minute rest

8 x 60s sprints (5 secs rest in between each sprint)...then 1:30 minutes rest

6 x 100s sprints (20 secs rest in between each sprint)...then 2:00 minutes rest

1 x 200 sprint

Immediately followed by a half mile cool-down jog

Chest/Abs-30-45 seconds rest in between sets (no more) unless noted-Warm Up Sets are at a moderate weight and about halfway to failure...Working sets are at or very close to failure-Go to a point that is heavy but where you can control it and can do a full range of motion without using momentum

Warm-up- 5 min. jog to get the blood flowing

Incline Barbell Press- warm up sets- 15 reps, 15, 12, 10; Working sets- 10, 8, 6, 8, 10 drop set to 20

Flat Bench Press- warm up sets- 15 reps x 2 sets; Working Sets- 20, 12, 10, 6, 6, 15, 30

Incline Dumbbell Press (Hammer Style with palms facing inward towards each other and weight very close to inner body-elbows tucked in)

Working Sets- 12, 12, 10, 10

Push Up with Weight on Back if you can- warm up sets- no added weight-25 pushups; Working Sets- 1 plate on back- 5 less than failure, 2 plates on back to failure drop to 1 plate to failure drop to no weight to failure, no added weight-25 pushups (if you cannot do pushups with a weight on back-do pushups with no added weight until failure for each set)

Incline Dumbbell Fly Superset w/ (Cable Crossovers)-20 reps, 12, 12, 4 set drop (no rest in between weight changes-have a partner do it for you) 8-6-8-10, light weight w/ 15

Pec Deck- 15 x 4 sets-slow with a squeeze hold at the top of the movement

Hanging Leg Raise Superset w/ Weighted Combo/Double Crunch (crunch + reverse crunch while holding a weighted medicine ball)- 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15)

135 lb. Floor Wipers Superset w/ Rocky Leglifts (leg lift to a reverse crunch with a hip thrust with legs pointing towards the ceiling at the end)-15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15)

Tuesday (Afternoon Lift)

Back-30-45 seconds rest in between sets (no more) unless noted-Warm Up sets are at a moderate weight and about halfway to failure...Working sets are at or very close to failure-Go to a point that is heavy but where you can control it and can do a full range of motion without using momentum

Warm-up- 5 min. jog to get the blood flowing

Dead-lift- warm up sets- 15 reps, 15, 12, 10; Working sets- 8, 6, 4, 8, 10 drop set to 20

Pull-Ups warm up set- no added weight- 10 reps x 2; Working Sets- weighted x 10 reps for 3 sets, 4th set =no added weight to failure

Bent-Over Barbell Row- 15 reps for 2 sets, 12, 10, 10, 20

One-Arm Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows Johnnie Jackson style- variation w/ other elbow resting upon forward knee (no rest in between arms and only rest for 15 seconds between sets as one arm is inherently resting while the other one is going)- 25 reps on each arm, 15, 15, 12, 12, 20, 30

T-Bar Row-20 reps, 12, 12, 4 set drop set (no rest in between weight changes-have a partner do it for you) 8-6-8-10, light weight with 15

Wide-Grip Lat Pull-down Superset w/ Reverse Close-Grip Lat Pulldown (do a set of each with no rest in between and then rest 45 secs in between each superset)-10 (10) x 4 sets

Seated Cable Row—slow movement- 3-5 secs each on both positive and negative portions of repetition with tight squeeze to increase blood flow to the muscle-Cool-Down Sets- 20 reps x 3 sets

Wednesday (AM Cardio)

Cardio-HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)- Stairs

4 minute jog- 1 minute rest

Stair Sprints- 3 sets of 6 reps (up and down the staircase is one rep)-two steps at a time with one leg-1 minute rest between sets

1 set of 10 reps

2 sets of 5 reps

1 set of 5 reps-one step at a time

100 Yard Sprint, Jog 100 yards, 100 yd Sprint, Jog 100 yards, 100 yd Sprint

Slow Jog for 2 minutes

Thursday (Afternoon Lift)

Shoulders/Traps/Abs-30-45 seconds rest in between sets (no more) unless noted-Warm Up Sets are at a moderate weight and about halfway to failure...Working sets are at or very close to failure-Go to a point that is heavy but where you can control it and can do a full range of motion without using momentum

5 minute jog

Dumbbell Front Raises Superset w/ Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises- 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15)

Seated Arnold Press Superset w/ (Machine Military Press)- 15 (15), 12 (15), 8 (15), 8 (15), 10 (15)

Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raises- 15, 15, 15, 15

Barbell Upright Raises- 4 x 20 reps

Barbell Shrugs Superset w/ (Dumbbell Shrugs)- 15 (15), 15 (15), 10 (15), 10 (15), 10 (15)

Bent Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Lateral Raise- 4 sets x 15 reps

Cable Rope Crunches Superset w/ (Cable Baseball Swings)- 4 x 20 (20)

Decline Weighted Sit-ups with a Twist Superset w/ - 15, 15, 15, 15

Friday (AM Cardio + Afternoon Lift)

Cardio-HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)- Stairs

Adjust your speed accordingly. The highest speed should be to the point where you are pushing at close to 100% as possible. It is important to shoot high and remember, your mental toughness is what is important here.

6 m.p.h.- 5 minutes

7 m.p.h.- 1 minute

8 m.p.h.- 1 minute

9 m.p.h.- 1 minute

8 m.p.h.- 1 minute

7 m.p.h.- 1 minute

11 m.p.h.- 1 minute

6 m.p.h.- 1 minute

7 m.p.h.- 20 seconds

8 m.p.h.- 20 seconds

9 m.p.h.- 20 seconds

10 m.p.h.- 30 seconds

11 m.p.h.- 30 seconds

10 m.p.h.- 30 seconds

8 m.p.h.- 2 minutes

7 m.p.h.- 3 minutes

Saturday (Afternoon Lift + Cardio Immediately After)

Legs-30-45 seconds rest in between sets (no more) unless noted-Warm Up Sets are at a moderate weight and about halfway to failure...Working sets are at or very close to failure-Go to a point that is heavy but where you can control it and can do a full range of motion without using momentum

Bike-10 mins.

Leg Extensions Superset w/ (Leg Curls)- 15 (15), 15 (15), 15 (15), 12 (12), 10 (10), 10 (10)

Barbell Squat- 15, 25, a heavy 20 (something you normally get 10 with-stay at the top and breathe for 10 seconds after you complete your first 10 and have a partner help you squeeze out the next 10, a heavy 15, 30, 10, 15)

Dumbbell Lunges- 4 sets x 8 reps on each leg

Leg Press- 15, 15, 15 drop set to 15 drop to 15, 15, 15 Seated Calf Raises- 5 sets x 25 reps

Treadmill:

6 m.p.h. w/ 1.0 incline- 3 minutes

7 m.p.h. w/ 1.0 incline- 1 minute

7 m.p.h. w/ 2.5 incline- 1 minute

7 m.p.h. w/ 4.0 incline- 1 minute

7 m.p.h. w/ 5.5 incline- 1 minute

7 m.p.h. w/ 3.0 incline- 1 minute

7 m.p.h. w/ 1.0 incline- 1 minute

6 m.p.h. w/ 1.0 incline- 1 minute

8 m.p.h. w/ 1.0 incline- 20 seconds