With spring begins what is known as: definition stage. After weeks in the “bulking stage,” it’s time to shape your muscles. This is perhaps one of the most desired moments for athletes when starting in the gym, but at the same time it requires more effort, commitment and dedication.
In the world of fitness there are different stages, on the one hand there is volume, in which you try to gain as much muscle mass as possible during a certain time; on the other, there is the muscle definition stage, in which you try to lose all the fat, conserving the mass that you have previously gained.
The duration of the volume and definition stages can be very variable depending on the objective that is sought, since each person is different, and will depend on the type of training that is done, on the physiognomy of the person among other things. To find out how to carry out this entire process, the following are the guidelines to achieve the best results during the definition stage.
Everything you need to know to define your muscles
There are three key elements that you should consider and work on when starting a definition stage. The duration that will be the time that the process will take; the diet that is based on the diet that the subject must maintain. Together, both disciplines are the key to ultimate success.
What is the definition period?
The first thing to do is analyze the current state of the body after having gone through the volume stage. The definition consists of losing the highest percentage of fat possible while preserving the muscle mass that has been generated.
Depending on the amount of fat and muscle gained and the loss that you want to achieve, a series of workouts and a diet will be established according to meeting those desired objectives.
Definition stage time
The times will vary depending on the percentage of body fat that you have. For example, if you start with a considerable amount of lean fat, and the goal is to go from 14% to 10%, it will surely be necessary to dedicate two or three months of diet and specific exercises to achieve the goal.
If, on the other hand, you start with a lean fat of 24% and you aspire to reach 10%, the time will be extended to eight months, during which a combination of a non-extreme hypo caloric diet should be done, followed by training with very well planned loads, allowing the user to conserve strength and muscle.
Dietary guidelines
The food is the key to defining muscles and burn fat ; This pattern changes more in the order of meals, pre and post workouts, than in the variety itself.
- Proteins: these must be of quality, as they will be in charge of feeding the muscle. Its consumption should be the same as it has been to date.
- Carbohydrates: they will be withdrawn little by little so that the metabolism does not slow down. But those that are beginning to be consumed must be of quality: like rice.
- Fats : in order for the body to continue working, it is necessary to provide a high percentage of good fats such as fish, avocado or nuts, which despite the myth that they can gain weight, are considered healthy foods .
Workout routines
The exercises will remain practically the same, what usually increases is the number of repetitions with a lower amount of weight. This is done in order for the body to burn the energy reserves in the muscles.
It is recommended to do about 30 minutes of cardio a day, before the start of each training session or on rest days.
