C4 Ripped: Training, Nutrition and Supplement Guide

 

That sought-after shred can seem like a daunting task when you add the potential loss of muscle into the equation.

While there may naturally be a slight trade-off, you can protect your precious gains by tackling fat loss through a sensible approach to training, nutrition, and supplementation.

Follow these tips to unveil your newly-ripped physique.

TRAINING

To stoke the fires of fat loss, implement these workout strategies:

Set a structured schedule

The biggest difference between training and mere ‘exercise’ is that the former involves sticking to a routine.

Exercise tends to exist as a one-off workout with no clear end-goal in sight. Training, on the other hand, considers each workout as a cumulative step to a wider goal.

The Methodist University of Piracicaba found that splitting your schedule into mini-cycles of strength, hypertrophy, and endurance resulted in a 12% increase in fat loss. Those earlier cycles also serve to maintain muscle mass.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail – it’s a cliché, but it works. 

Rage and recovery

A light, half-hour pump workout isn’t the best way to burn fat, since your maximum heart rate and metabolism aren’t elevated enough. Professional athletes tend to train full-body, three times a week. It’s pure physics.

Hitting each muscle group with a compound lift in one single session burns an immense amount of calories due to the energy needed to ‘move’ all lifts.

A day off in-between can be used for active recovery – steady state cardio like swimming burns fat and flushes out lactic acid.

HIIT your target

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a super-effective system for stripping away unwanted body fat.

Comprising short periods of max-effort work paired with brief rest periods, HIIT leaves your body burning fat and calories long after you’ve left the gym. This is referred to as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), and HIIT measures at the top of the scale.

It’s also particularly beneficial if you’re strapped for time, as a comprehensive workout can be achieved in well under 30 minutes.

Find a friend

Don’t underestimate the power of a training partner. A helping hand can prove the difference between achieving the results you want, and not.

Researchers at Ball State University actually found that you lift heavier when training with your buddy. The heavier and more intense your training, the more muscle you’ll build, and the more fat you’ll use for fuel.

NUTRITION

Food is the fuel that kicks your fat loss into gear.

Build your daily nutrition around these focal points and reap the ripped rewards. 

Fat-busting fiber

Foods high in sugar (such as breakfast cereals and white bread) that are absorbed rapidly by the body are likely to lead to a crash if you don’t utilize the energy immediately. As so many now lead inactive, desk-based lifestyles, keeping these to a minimum is paramount.

Instead, opt for low-GI (gradually-digested) food sources such as beans, lentils, and oatmeal in order to provide a more stable and sustained release of energy.

Quantity control

There are certain ‘superfoods’ in existence, but the secret to successful fat loss is in maintaining a slight calorie deficit. Coconut oil, for instance, is rich in medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which provide a heart-healthy energy source and a variety of micronutrients.

Despite this plentiful profile, coconut oil still weighs in at 9 calories per gram, over twice the calories seen in carbohydrates. Stick to a simple spoonful. 

Victorious vegetables

When your mom kept telling you to eat your greens, she wasn’t trying to make your life a misery. Two-thirds of your plate should be taken up by vegetables, for a number of reasons.

Not only are vegetables of the green variety rich in fiber, supporting the natural release of digestive enzymes, but many – such as kale, arugula, and spinach – rate highly in niacin and folic acid. These compounds provide energy and nitric oxide for your working muscles.

SUPPLEMENTATION

After tweaking your training and diet, your next step on the journey to leanness is to select the right supplements. Not all will directly fuel fat loss, so it’s important you do your research.

Fear not, however, for we’ve done the difficult stuff for you: 

Green Coffee Bean Extract

Green coffee bean extract is from unroasted coffee beans. The extract contains Chlorogenic Acid, which may reduce carbohydrate absorption. Need we say more?

L-Carnitine

An amino acid that boosts the usage of fat for fuel, l-carnitine helps to shuttle that stubborn fat from storage in the body to your mitochondria, where its conversion into metabolized energy is consolidated.

When you then introduce training into the scene, your shred is sped up considerably. C4 Ripped contains optimal amounts of L-carnitine in its C4 Ripped Blend.

Caffeine

Found in Cellucor’s C4 Ripped, caffeine works by stimulating your body’s production of adrenaline for increased focus, energy and alertness.

Caffeine’s unique selling point is its ability to reduce your perceived rate of exertion – i.e. how hard you’re training. This becomes particularly important where fat loss is concerned, as it lays the groundwork for prolonged workouts of a greater intensity.

 

WORKOUT

Once you’ve got your hands on C4 Ripped, gear up for a fat-stripping workout program proven to melt body fat, maintain muscle and aid recovery:

Day 1 – Lower Body

Warm up:

(Perform these five exercises for one minute each with no rest in between)

• Walking Knee Hugs
• Curtsy Lunge
• Butt Kicks
• Jumping Jacks
• Run in place

Super Set 1:

• Stationary Lunges with dumbbells – Alt, 13 reps 4 sets
• Jumping Jacks - 30 seconds 4 sets 

Super Set 2:

• Goblet Squats with dumbbells - 13 reps 4 sets
• Standing Mountain Climbers - 30 seconds 4 sets

Super Set 3:

• Unilateral RDL - L/R with dumbbells - 13 reps 4 sets
• Ice Skaters - 30 seconds 4 sets

Super Set 4:

• Glute Bridges with dumbbells - 13 reps 4 sets
• Mountain Climbers - 30 seconds 4 sets

Tabata:

Seated Calf Press - AMPRAP 20 Seconds, 8 sets, 10 seconds rest

Finisher:

Wide Stance Jump Squat - 28 reps every 2 minutes - repeat 3 x

Day 2 – Upper Body

Warm up:

(Perform these five exercises for one minute each with no rest in between)

• Arm Swings
• Push UPs on Knees
• Inch Worm Walks
• Seal Jacks
• Twisting Touches 

Tri-Set 1:

• Incline Bench Press with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• DB Row (Prone Incline) - 13 reps 3 sets
• Jump Rope – 30 seconds, 3 reps

Tri-Set 2:

• Standing Shoulder Press with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• Upright Row with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• UP/Downs - 30 seconds 3 sets

Tri-Set 3:

• Flat Bench Flys with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• Lying Flat - Pull Overs with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• Inch Worm Walks - Push Up - 30 seconds, 3 sets 

Tri-Set 4:

• Front Bilateral Raise with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• C Raises with dumbbells - 13 reps 3 sets
• High Knees In Place - 30 seconds, 3 sets 

Finisher:

Jumping Knee Tucks - 28 reps every 2 minutes - repeat 3 x

Day 3 (Abs, biceps & triceps)

Warm up:

(Perform these five exercises for one minute each with no rest in between)

• Standing Mountain Climbers
• Lat Foam Roller
• Arm Circles
• Dynamic Chest
• Jump Rope

Tabata:

(All – Tabata timing, max reps, 8 sets, 10 seconds rest)

• Bicep Curls - Unilateral Alt with dumbbells
• Skull Crushers - EZ Bar
• Reverse Crunch - Decline
• Bicep Curls - Bilateral - Weighted Straight bar
• Tricep Pushdown - Cable Rope
• Hanging Knee Tucks - Pull Up Bar
• Preacher Machine Curls - Machine
• Triceps Dips (Machine Ast if needed) - Dip Bar
• Standing Cable Crunch Straight Bar - Cable Straight Bar

Finisher:

Mountain Climbers - 28 reps every 2 minutes - repeat 3 x

Day 4 (Lower Body 2)

Warm up:

(Perform these five exercises for one minute each with no rest in between)

• Low Squat Holds
• Lateral Leg Swings
• Seal Jacks
• Kneeling Hip Circles Right
• Forward Leg Swings

Super Set 1:

• Front Squat with barbells - 13 reps 4 sets
• Seal Jacks + Bands - 30 seconds 4 sets 

Super Set 2:

• Back Squats with barbells - 13 reps 4 sets
• High Knees In Place - 30 seconds 4 sets

Super Set 3:

• Stiff Legged Deads with barbells
• Lateral Shuffles

Super Set 4:

• Hip Thrusters with barbells - 13 reps 4 sets
• Plank Knees to elbows - 30 seconds 4 sets

Tabata:
Standing Calf Press - Standing Calf Machine - AMPRAP 20 Sec, 8 sets

Finisher:
Slalom Twists - 28 reps every 2 minutes - repeat 3 x

Day 5 (Upper Body 2)

Warm up:

(Perform these five exercises for one minute each with no rest in between)

• Thorasic Foam Roller
• Barbell Bicep Roller Right
• Barbell Bicep Roller Left
• Arm Swings
• Push UPs on Knees

Barbell - Complex 1:

(Complete all reps in set then move to next when the round is complete rest for 1 minute then Repeat 4x)

• Bench Press – 13 reps 4 sets
• Bent Over Row – 13 reps 4 sets
• Hang Clean Press – 13 reps 4 sets 

Cable - Complex 2:

(Complete all reps in set then move to next when the round is complete rest for 1 minute then Repeat 3x)

• Front Raise - Straight Bar – 13 reps 3 sets
• Dual Chest Fly - Dual Single Grips – 13 reps 3 sets
• Upright Row - Straight Bar – 13 reps 3 sets
• Low Cable Row - Straight Bar – 13 reps 3 sets

Dumbell – Complex 3

(Complete all reps in set then move to next when the round is complete rest for 1 minute then Repeat 2x)

• Renegade Row – 13 reps 2 sets
• Bench Press on Floor Press – 13 reps 2 sets
• Alt Unilateral DB Snatch – 13 reps 2 sets
• Bilateral Side Raise – 13 reps 2 sets
• Thrusters – 13 reps 2 sets

Finisher:

Frog jumps - 28 reps every 2 minutes - repeat 3 x