Clicky

HomeFitnessNutritionHow To Get Shredded & Build Muscle Mass While Working Full Time

How To Get Shredded & Build Muscle Mass While Working Full Time

ronnie_coleman_police_officer_uniform
Ronnie Coleman - 8x Mr Olympia and Police Officer. No excuses.

 

How to Get Shredded

Unless you’re a professional athlete or competitive bodybuilder chances are you are not able to dedicate your entire life to building your physique. Many see this as a hindrance – how can you possibly overhaul your entire body from clay to steel with other responsibilities on your plate?

It’s entirely possible my friend. I’ve done it and thousands upon thousands of over people have done it too, if you know how to get shredded it can be done. Time management and preparation are key – during the first year of my transformation I was working 3 jobs (totalling around 56 hours per week).

The 2 key principles you need to follow (in my opinion) to successfully transform your physique while working 40+ hours per week include:

Prepare 80% of your meals in advance

Failing to prepare your meals when you’re running a tight schedule is a recipe for disaster (no pun intended!) – skipping meals leads to either binging later or substituting poor foods in place of your regular meals, not to mention getting (decent) food on the go is expensive.

On Sunday prepare 80% of your meals for the week so they’re good to go as soon as you need them.

See also
5 Tips For Returning To The Gym

Here’s an example of yesterday’s meal preparation the week for me:

Measured 5x 1 cup of oats, handful of almonds & assorted seeds + cinnamon seasoning into zip lock containers.

Prepared 5x chicken breasts with baby spinach & basmati rice.

Prepared 5x serves of extra lean beef mince with sweet potato & broccoli.

Preparing my breakfast, lunch and dinner for Monday through Friday took me all of 1 hour, the remainder of the meals I eat throughout the day are quick and convenient requiring essentially no preparation (e.g. almonds, protein bar, greek yogurt).

I will hit my exact macronutrients this week because I prepared in advance. All it takes is an hour. Don’t try and get your meals in on the fly besides it never turns out how you envisioned (or intended!), I know because I’ve been there.

Get your workout done in the morning

Get to the gym or run through your bodyweight workout first thing in the morning. If you start work at 8am be in the gym at 6am, if you start work at 6am there’s no reason (provided you go to a 24 hour gym) that you’re unable to train at 4am. At the end of the work day training doesn’t sound particularly appealing does it? Get it out of the way first thing in the morning as you’ll have a better workout and will be setting yourself up for success later in the day as you feel mentally unstoppable.

See also
The 8 Rules Of The Shredded (And Actionable Advice For You)

Finito

And that's how to get shredded on a busy schedule!

At the end of the day it comes down to how bad you want it, the 2 tips I’ve listed above are not rocket science, however preparing your meals in advance and waking up early to drag yourself to the gym even when you don’t feel like it requires a large amount of conscious effort. If you’re serious about forging that Spartan warrior physique you’ll do it. If not you’ll dismiss my advice with an excuse you validate to yourself.

Everybody wants but not everybody gets.

If you want to transform your physique then do it. It’s not easy and it won’t happen overnight.

I’m willing to spend an hour each weekend in the kitchen and an hour in the gym early each weekday morning because I know what results it nets me.

“If it’s important you’ll find a way, if it’s not you’ll find an excuse” – Click here to tweet this

Scott J.
Scott J.https://ignorelimits.com
I’m SJ. I’m a fitness enthusiast and published author. I transformed my body from a skinny fat 135lbs with 18% body fat to a solid 192lbs at 8% body fat. I became qualified in a field I was passionate about. I founded several online businesses that allow me to pursue ideas and projects in my life that I am passionate about without having to constantly worry about money. I published several eBooks explaining the training and dieting techniques I used to achieve the body I have today. I learnt a plethora of new information on dieting and fitness by reading and applying what I read, to find out what does work and what doesn’t work, because as I’m sure you’ve noticed the health and fitness industry is full of non-sense claims and BS. I found out what was true and what worked for me and applied that knowledge. And you bet I had fun during the whole process.

Stay in Touch

To follow the best weight loss journeys, success stories and inspirational interviews with the industry's top coaches and specialists. Start changing your life today!

Related Articles