12 Ways How Swimming Can get you Ripped Faster Than You Think

By Patrick Banks

Posted 3 months agoHEALTH

Swimming is one of those activities that often gets overlooked for its fitness benefits. That’s often because it’s a lot of fun, so often doesn’t feel like an intense activity that will help build muscle or improve your cardiovascular fitness. This is a misconception though, as swimming is one of the best exercises for a full-body, low-impact workout. The reason being that it offers the ability to work all your major muscle groups without any harsh impact to your skeletal system.

Let’s take a look at why this is and how we can use swimming to build and tone muscle while dropping calories all year long. Here are our top tips on how swimming can get you ripped.

1. Swimming can be done all year

So the first major benefit is that you can go swimming all year round. Due to most pools being inside you don’t have to worry when it’s raining or if it’s too cold. You won’t have to worry about those blistering hot days when there is no breeze. This is great as you can get a swimming session into your weekly schedule and never have to put it off or miss out on a session.

2. Improved flexibility

This is one of the main benefits of swimming. When in the gym, you often use machines to isolate various muscles. Although this is good for promoting muscle growth, it can lead to imbalances and joint pain. Swimming, on the other hand, works a multitude of muscles in the body, and the range of movement in your arms and legs is extensive.

This means it can improve your flexibility, but also get rid of any joint problems you might have developed. All of this means that, when you do get back in the gym, you’ll be able to make the most of your workouts.

3. Reducing body fat

Swimming is an intense cardiovascular exercise which will help you burn a lot of calories. This, in turn, will help you lower your body fat percentage and bring out muscle definition that’s integral to that ripped look.

If you want to lose weight healthy diet and adding some metabolism-boosting spices like saffron

4. Improving general fitness

As previously stated, swimming is a great way to keep up your cardiovascular fitness, and this, in turn, will have a positive effect on your workouts in the gym. You’ll find you can work out harder and for longer as your body is better able to deal with the intensity.

5. Improving muscle toning

Swimming, obviously, uses our muscles. The best thing about swimming is the number of muscles it works. Depending on the stroke, you’ll be using your arms, legs, and core strength at all times to propel yourself through the water. As it’s long sustained usage, this is perfect for toning your muscles.

6. Providing low impact exercise

Good swimming means fluid movements, and, as previously mentioned, this is great for your joints. It’s also low-impact, so won’t exacerbate any existing problems you might have with your knees for example.

7. Helping you exercise through injuries

If you’re already injured or have some long-term joint or back complaints, swimming can be a great way to get exercise without worsening them. It can even help to alleviate discomfort. Whilst swimming, our bodies are supported by the water, and this, coupled with the use of core muscles, is great for solving any back complaints you might have.

8. Using swimming in conjunction with other exercises

Swimming alone probably isn’t enough to get you ripped. It will help to tone your muscles and bring down your body fat percentage, but you’ll still need to keep lifting. You can either alternate between lifting and swimming, or integrate swimming into your existing routine.

There are a number of personal trainers out there who advocate for combining swimming with a number of resistance exercises.  For example, you can swim a length of the pool, get out  and do some press-ups, then return to the pool for another length and repeat.

9. Using swimming in conjunction with the right diet

Although this isn’t specifically a way in which swimming can help you get ripped, it’s important to highlight that any exercise needs to be done with a diet plan in mind. Whether you’re looking to cut your body fat percentage, or build muscle, you need to pay attention to what you eat.

In order to lower your body fat percentage, you’ll need to eat fewer calories than you burn on a regular basis. Eating lean sources of protein is another must, as this will help you maintain muscle.

10. Mixing up your workouts

Our bodies are incredibly adaptable, and you might find that if you’ve stuck to the same routine for a number of weeks of months, you’ve stopped seeing improvements. This is because our bodies get used to certain exercises very quickly, especially if they’re very repetitive. Adding in swimming to your routine can help to shock your body into building more muscle and improving your overall fitness.

11. It doesn’t just have to be swimming

The best bit about exercising in and around a pool is that it doesn’t mean you just have to swim length after length! There are many different exercises you can perform that will break up your routine and keep everything fresh, let’s have a look into some of those now.

    • Water Running – Now you may think this won’t really do much as you won’t be moving very fast but it actually provides you with a high-intensity cardio workout, the main difference to a normal jog is that you will move slower but also reduce the impact on your joints. Ideally, the water level should be just below neck height and you will want to run as you normally would, back straight, arms bent and going all out. If you do this for 5 minutes in sets of 3 you will realise how difficult it can be. If you want to increase the difficulty and intensity you can always add some hand paddles.
    • Core and Leg toning – This is a great exercise to help tone your legs and core. What you need to do is keep your back against the side of the pool whilst holding on to the sides with your arms. Then you need to raise your legs up straight in front of you and lower them back to the starting position. As long as you do this in a controlled manner then you will get benefits from Again to improve on this you can always add another stage in and after raising your legs, spread them out into a V shape and then back together. A good target is to do 3 sets of 20 reps.
    • Trading water – This seems too easy to be of any use but actually, if you vigorously tread water you can burn a decent amount of calories. You can also make it harder by holding one leg up in a crouched position leaving only one leg to work and then switch.
    • The ‘Otter Roll’ – This one is one of my favourites, you need a medium sized beach ball to help. Lie flat on your back in the pool with the ball held to your chest then as you would think, just roll over. This will work out muscles in your legs, abs, back and shoulders as you work to get yourself the back the right way up. Just make sure to take breaths before going around again!
    • Small concise strokes – If you float in the pool and bring your toes just out of the water so you look like a human V. Then with your hands held by your hips make small circular movements to move your self. You can aim to do a length or width of the pool and the repeat.

12. Finally…It’s just fun!

This is a really important one for if you’re lacking motivation in the gym. Just like how our bodies get used to certain types of exercise and we stop seeing progress, our minds can get bored as well. This is why it’s important to mix things up frequently to keep both your mind and body interests and on their toes.

Swimming is a great way to do this because it’s often a very peaceful and enjoyable exercise. Focusing on breathing and technique can take our minds off the passing of time, and provide both mental and physical benefits. This might be just what you need if your workouts are lacking that drive you used to have when you first entered the gym. Once you start to see results, you’ll be spurred on and motivated once again!

Hopefully, this list has inspired you to go find your local swimming pool, get in the water and add some swimming sessions to your fitness routine. For you lucky readers that have their own swimming pool at home, this is even easier. The benefits really are extraordinary, both physically and mentally, so swimming will make a great addition alongside your resistance training to help you build more muscle, and get that ripped look.

You will achieve the best results in your quest for a ripped body when you combine swimming, exercise, and diet to get riped.

6 Best Diets for Men Who Want to Get Ripped and Stay Ripped

6 Best Diets for Men Who Want to Get Ripped and Stay Ripped

When I first started working out and thinking about the food I eat, I have to admit I had no idea what I was doing. I had nobody who could explain to me the ins and outs of building muscle and getting lean, so I had to rely on a lot of empirical evidence. As you can guess, that means making a lot of mistakes.

Browsing the internet will lead you to believe a lot of different things about healthy eating and dieting. There are a lot of opposing opinions out there which might get you confused if you are not experienced and do not know your body well. 

If you are skinny and want to gain muscle, you might end up getting skinny fat instead of buff. On the other hand, if you are trying to lose fat and get ripped, you might fail utterly and become discouraged.

That’s why we decided to create a list of the best diets that you can follow in order to get ripped and stay ripped fuss-free. These have been tried and tested numerous times before, and are in line with the World Health Organization’s Healthy Diet Guidelines.

Start working toward your beach body now!

1. Paleo Diet 

Paleo diet is one of the most popular diets out there. Many consider it to be a fad diet, but a lot of men have seen great results. 

Basically, the Paleo diet tries to mimic the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, and it includes only the food they could find. That means eating a lot of unprocessed foods, fruits and vegetables, and plenty of animal-based foods like meat, fish, and eggs.

Why Does It Work?

The idea behind it is that our ancestors who ate this way did not face any of the modern diseases that we have to deal with, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. 

Research shows that the Paleo diet causes weight loss in healthy individuals. The best way to get ripped and stay ripped on this diet is to combine it with a high-intensity workout, which is what our ancestors did when they went out to hunt for food.

Due to its high-protein content, Paleo diet is great for building muscle as well, which is going to speed up your metabolic rate and help you get your dream body.

If you decide to take our advice and go on a Paleolithic diet, you will have to say goodbye to dairy, sugar, grains, processed foods, and your frying pan. But don’t worry, it won’t actually turn you into a caveman.

2. Gluten-Free Diet

As you may guess, a gluten-free diet is not intended for everyone. Even though anyone can go on a gluten-restrictive diet without any consequences, it’s most suitable for those who are suffering from gluten-intolerance. 

If you are one of those people, then gluten might be standing between you and the ripped body you have been dreaming of for years. The best way to know is to get tested or eliminate gluten from your diet and see if you start feeling better than before. 

Why Does It Work?

Gluten causes numerous unwanted effects in people who cannot digest it. The most common one of these is bloating, which is the complete opposite of getting a flat stomach. 

Other symptoms that prevent a lot of men from getting and staying ripped include fatigue, depression, joint and muscle pain, and muscle weight loss. If you have to deal with any of these health issues, it will certainly be a lot harder for you to maintain a lean physique.

Going on a gluten-free diet means that you will not be able to eat foods containing gluten, the most common of which include bread, pasta, pizza, beer, soups, and many other popular foods.

3. Keto Diet

The Keto diet is the most restrictive diet on this list, but it gives excellent results if executed properly. This is an extremely low-carb way of eating in which people limit their intake of carbs to less than 50 grams a day.

People are usually either explicitly for or against the Keto diet. However, the results you can achieve with it are irrefutable. Apart from being able to get you ripped and help you stay ripped, the ketogenic diet is also used to treat heart conditions and diabetes.

Why Does It Work?

To lose excess fat, you should eat a lot of protein and as little carb-rich foods as possible. This is exactly what the Keto diet will help you achieve. 

As you stop eating carbs, your body will enter a state called ketosis, in which your cells run on ketones derived from the fat stored in your body. That’s why the Keto diet is one of the most effective ways to get rid of the beer belly and start flashing abs.

However, this diet is the most difficult to follow and the most difficult to get used to, but it’s also the most rewarding in terms of what you can achieve for the time and energy you invest.

OUR CHOICE: 4. Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet (WFPB)

Possibly the most popular diet today and one that is gaining the most traction is the Whole Food, Plant-Based diet. It’s also known as the vegan diet because it aims to eliminate all animal products from the menu, which includes meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.

While this diet is also quite restrictive, numerous studies show that it can help individuals lose excess fat and treat numerous modern diseases. This is due to the fact that, apart from eliminating animal foods, it also eliminates processed foods which are your biggest hindrance to getting ripped.

This diet is our favorite because is the only one that acknowledges climate changes and animal rights. As much as it may seem hard at the beginning, you can check our vegan bodybuilding diet plan and get healthier, sexier and feel better as a human being.

Why Does It Work?

As its name suggests, if you eat a Whole Food, Plant-Based diet, you will be eliminating animal foods and processed foods. Both of these are known to be a major source of unhealthy, saturated fats, which are not very good for your health or your physique. 

The best way to make the most out of this diet and make it work towards your goal of getting a god-like body is to avoid eating too many carbs. Instead, eat whole, plant-based foods that are rich in protein, fats, and other essential nutrients. 

While a lot of people follow this diet because they choose to go vegan, you can do it just for your health as well. The results will be there either way.

5. Mediterranean Diet

It has been long believed that the Mediterranean diet is the one diet to rule them all. Is this really true? According to doctors, it might be the healthiest and most sustainable way of eating we can follow. 

There is a lot of evidence that shows it can help you lose weight and keep you healthy, young, and vital for a long time. Therefore, it can certainly help you get shredded if you do it right.

Why Does It Work?

The Mediterranean diet is rich in healthy omega 3, omega 9, and omega 6 fats, as well as animal and plant proteins. It consists of a lot of fresh vegetables, olive oil, and fish. Unlike many other diets, it does not favor red meat as the main source of protein. 

Omega 3 fats that you can get from olives, nuts, and seeds are much healthier for you and are less likely to end up getting stored as fat in your body. 

It is a well-known fact that people in the Mediterranean live long and prosperous lives and have low rates of obesity. Therefore, the best way to get a Mediterranean physique and win the hearts of beautiful Mediterranean girls is by following the Mediterranean diet.

6. Weight Watchers Diet

Last but not least, the Weight Watchers diet can definitely help you find out what your abs look like. This diet uses a method that has a lot of similarities to counting calories. 

However, the Weight Watchers diet uses a scoring method in which all types of foods are given a specific value. This value is based on factors like their content of fat, calories, fiber, protein, and so on. 

No points are off the table, but at the end of the day, you need to stay below your daily points limit to reach your goal. It’s extremely easy to execute and very effective. 

Why Does It Work?

The Weight Watchers diet works in getting you ripped because it is not restrictive. You can eat whatever you want, but if you eat a lot of junk food, you will quickly run out of room to wiggle.

The scoring system is made in such a way that if you stick to your daily limits, you will certainly lose fat and improve your looks. 

This is much easier than counting calories and macronutrients, which can quickly become overwhelming for most people out there.

Additional Foolproof Advice on Getting Ripped Fast

If you have decided to get rid of the dad bod and you have already chosen one of the six incredible diets that we have recommended above, you are halfway done. 

Here are some additional tips that will help you stick to your diet and achieve your goals more easily:

  • Drink plenty of water. Water is going to be your best friend when it comes to losing excess fat. It will not only keep you alive but also accelerate your metabolism, which is going to be key for your summer goals.

  • Be easy on yourself and have a cheat meal. A very restrictive diet is hard to follow. If you never give yourself some slack, you will quickly get demotivated to go on. A cheat meal will not ruin your goal of getting ripped but actually help you stick to achieving it.

  • Get a lot of fiber. Plant foods rich in fiber are key to burning fat. When eaten, they expand in your stomach and take up a lot of room. Therefore, you will feel satiated more quickly and feel full for longer.

  • Have a large breakfast. Someone once said, “Eat your breakfast alone, share your lunch with a friend, and give your dinner to someone else.” We could not agree more with it. 

Top 10 Superfoods For Increasing Your Muscle Mass Naturally

Whenever there occurs any talk or discussion about gym or health consciousness, it always boils down to the fact of building muscles. Ask anyone “how to build muscles?” The immediate reply would be – “Protein”

Protein forms the building block of the body and is the elemental requirement for muscle growth. So it is obvious that people would link building muscles with protein. Although that is not entirely true. There are several other ways that you could build your abs. 

Having six packs and strong biceps is the ultimate goal of every fitness freak.  A gym trainer tells you the essential exercises which may help you grow muscles, however, when it comes to the superfoods for muscle building, every trainer has a different perspective.

It is imperative that you learn what foods will help you build muscles, so you must know about what you should eat when you are working out for your muscles, especially when you start building muscles as a skinny guy.

Types of muscles

There are three types of muscles that are fundamentally present in the body.

Visceral muscles

The unconscious part of the brain controls this type of muscle. It is somehow connected to the digestive system and helps in building muscles.

Cardiac muscles

 These establish the cardiovascular system. These muscles are the heart’s pacemaker and control the contractions of the muscle cells.

Skeletal muscles

As the name says it, this muscle is linked to the bone structure of the body. These muscles keep the brain active and even signals to move, sit, run, etc.

Superfoods for Muscles

superfoods are the kind of foods that build up your muscles over a brief amount of time. These include:

  • Fish oil

For the maintenance of Metabolic processes, you need fatty acids which are present in the fish oil or also known as omega-3 fatty acids. It also works as a muscle-repairing agent which fixes the muscles near the joints.

  • Whole eggs

Eggs are one of the most critical components of this race of moving to the top of the muscle building foods. They carry protein, iron, and vitamins which would help you to grow your muscles very frequently.

All the essential nutrients and minerals needed for muscle building are readily available in it. Egg white has several benefits that play a crucial role in building those muscles like Rocky!

  • Yogurt

Yogurt in your daily diet will help you a lot in the process of building up muscles. It contains healthy fats and bacteria that are essential for the proper and smooth functioning of the body.

  • Oats

Fiber is a quintessential requirement of the body to keep the stomach muscles healthy. It is known to be tastier and will add a lot of value to your diet.

  • Whole grain

It is one of the best sources to gain energy as it creates the energy which could be used to fat loss, muscle growth and gaining strength.

  • Whey protein

Whey protein contains protein at a high rate in a price friendly to the pocket. It could be used or taken in just after having your workouts as the bodybuilders also have the same after doing a workout in the gym.

  • Fruits and vegetables

For the smooth functioning of the body, you need to have fruits and vegetables as they are rich sources of antioxidants which are necessary for the body. They contain vitamin C, vitamin D, and beta carotene. It fulfills all the needs required for the  immune system to function properly

  • Healthy fats

Fats may not seem like a logical, but it is essential to your body if you intend to bulk up your muscles or giving them a proper mass and shape as well. They also play a vital role in hormone production and helping the body to boost the immune system in the right way.

Now you have an idea about all the essential foods which should be eaten to build up your muscles and make bodywork systematically and smoothly. These foods are healthy and are even referred by the doctors and the gym trainers to all the people who are aiming to build their muscles.

One should be very particular about the diet especially when you are shaping your muscles to get the best results. To get a muscular body, everyone needs to be healthy and active which comes from the foods as mentioned earlier.

All you need to do is to stay fit and to stay healthy and you need to take care of yourself and your fitness. An unhealthy body is just like giving an invitation to various diseases. To avoid such conditions, you need to focus on your health.

  • Chia Seeds

With quite a few calories, Chia seeds are known to supply an enormous amount of nutrients. These tiny black seeds from the mint family were an important food for the Mayans and the Aztecs. They prized them back in the day for their ability in providing sustainable energy.

An ancient Mayan word for “strength”, Chia seeds only recently became a modern-day superfood as they have exploded in their popularity for being consumed by health and fitness conscious people world over.

Also, chia seeds are high in quality protein. Plus, they have a good balance of essential amino acids which enables your body to make use of their protein content. Thus, chia seeds are an excellent source of protein, particularly for people who eat no or less of animal food.

Chia seeds aid in weight loss and help you in rebuilding muscles with their high fiber cum protein content.

About the author Patrick Banks

Patrick is a Berlin-based dating advisor, motivational speaker, a huge fitness and vegan diet enthusiast and the main editor at Wingman Magazine, specialised in men's health. His ultimate goal is to share with men around the world his passion for self-development and to help them to become the greatest version of themselves. He believes a healthy body and successful social interactions are two main keys to happiness.

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