Get shredded – the plan to lose body fat once and for all!

A well-defined physique is the goal of every ambitious bodybuilder, as well-developed muscles are synonymous with strength, vitality, and physical attractiveness. To achieve this, you'll need to reduce your body fat percentage. Body fat percentage is the percentage of stored fat in the body relative to total body weight.

An excessively high body fat percentage is very harmful to your health: it can lead to cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, strokes, and other serious illnesses, and can also drastically reduce life expectancy. Body fat percentage depends on a person's gender, age, and individual factors. Women generally have a higher body fat percentage than men. Athletes and others who want to reduce their body fat can determine their body fat percentage using a special body fat caliper or body fat scale.

A body fat percentage of 15% is normal for a 30-year-old. Bodybuilders should only have 10% body fat (female strength athletes: 15%). Be careful not to lower the percentage too much: a body fat percentage of 6% increases your risk of serious health problems.

Below, we list several factors that are important when reducing your body fat percentage. Each factor is equally important!

Bodybuilding, losing fat and maintaining a healthy diet

Many bodybuilders struggle to lose body fat while simultaneously building muscle mass. Dieting athletes typically follow a low-carb diet to prevent muscle loss. They eat plenty of protein, but only a few grams of carbohydrates. This isn't as time-consuming as you might think. Try meal prepping, for example!

They also consume fewer calories from food than they normally would. They continue training as usual, as bodybuilding burns significantly more calories compared to other sports.

Strength athletes who want to reduce their body fat percentage always ensure they don't consume too few carbohydrates, otherwise they won't have enough energy for their workouts. The inevitable decline in training performance then automatically leads to reduced fat burning.

To permanently lose fat, it's not only advisable to avoid white flour and sugary foods, but also to reduce your daily intake of fruit compared to vegetables. This saves calories and promotes satiety. Drinking enough water is also important.

Many bodybuilders also take creatine and beta-alanine before each workout to boost fat burning and improve their performance. A good substitute with a similar effect is caffeine.

Exercises to stimulate fat burning

Dietary changes can only lead to six-pack abs if you also ensure proper training and adequate recovery. To increase fat burning, do some basic exercises during your workout. By training different muscle groups separately, energy expenditure increases. Swimming in cold water can also accelerate the breakdown of body fat.

Each body part should be trained twice a week to accelerate fat loss. Ideally, 2-minute breaks should follow exercises with large movements, and 1-minute breaks after other exercises are sufficient. The number of repetitions should also be reduced. 9 reps are optimal for smaller muscle groups (shoulders, arms, glutes, and calves) and 12 for larger ones (back, chest, thighs).

Get enough sleep for a well-defined body

To reach a body fat percentage of 10 percent, you also need to sleep at least 8 hours per night. During sleep, the body releases growth hormones, which are efficient fat burners and simultaneously build muscle mass. It's advisable to always wake up at the same time (even on weekends!) to adhere to a strict eating, training, and sleep schedule. Furthermore, bodybuilders should reduce stress as quickly as possible, as this can compromise their endurance.

Difficult to maintain? Not at all! There are plenty of meal plans online to give you that extra support, and always keep your goal in mind: easy peasy!