Dre Delos Santos

The goal of simultaneously building muscle and shedding body fat is tricky.

But, yes it can be done.

With a smart and sound plan, it’s possible.

1. Consistency reigns supreme

Perhaps the most obvious out of the bunch, steady improvements in your body composition requires discipline and consistency — it doesn’t happen overnight.

Admittedly, there were times I felt completely drained and burnt out, but the thought of having to start all over again was just bone-numbingly painful. Rather than taking long breaks or pressing the pause button, consider turning the dial down. This ensures you maintain a respectable amount of work while still moving in the right direction.

Never stop. You can slow down a bit, but don’t stop.

Taking intermittent sabbaticals leads you nowhere. Moreover, nobody likes the idea of taking one step forward and two steps back.

Rest assured the ones who are making steady gains are the ones who train consistently.

2. Use high ROI exercises

There is absolutely nothing wrong with novelty.

Think about it, there’s a reason why compound movements such as the squat, deadlift, pull-ups, and push-ups are the cornerstone of most sensible programs — they’re tried and true.

It stimulates your entire body.

It’s not the end-all be-all approach, but you’re ahead of the curve once you start mastering the basics.

Every exercise serves a purposes, but for the mean time, leave the BOSU ball and “functional” training out of this.

Simplicity, not complexity. ‘Nuff said.

3. Nutrition and lifestyle must take precedence.

This is hardly groundbreaking, but for whatever reason many just don’t get it. I understand the rationale behind working out so you can eat what ever you want, but the work you put in will be rendered useless with destructive eating habits. In other words, stop eating — and drinking — so much crap.

A good training program is equally important, but you can’t expect magical things to happen because even the best method in the world will not offset poor nutrition.

Make better choices.

Instead of the typical trip to Starbucks for breakfast, blend up a protein shake. Have a few meals prepped and ready to avoid making poor food choices.

I’m not advocating that you should be perfect, but you won’t get the results you’re looking for if you don’t take this part seriously.

4. Train with a purpose

You’re obviously not going to produce substantial gains just going through the motions. To some degree, your workout has to bring you to a point where you almost start to question your sanity. Put simply, it kind of has to suck (in a good way).

I’m not saying you have to constantly beat yourself up, but training with a purpose goes a long way.

So, work your ass off.

As a point of reference, the main reason why I make it a priority to get in a workout is because I want to look and feel good. Also, I don’t want to have to take medication as I get older.

5. Recovery matters

For years, I was convinced that more training equates to faster results.

Boy was I wrong.

Unless you’ve been injected with the super solider serum, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll achieve optimal results with that approach.

All you do in the gym is break your body down.

Your training is only as good as your ability to recover from it.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be launching my first product, Assault, soon. If you’re interested in getting the most out of training to build lean muscle and shed body fat, get a FREE preview HERE before it comes out.

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