Shrink Wrap Effect: Get Muscle Definition Like Never Before

It was a Sunday afternoon.

Or maybe it was a Saturday.

Those are the days the I walk to my local supermarket and pick up some reading material.

I browse through some fitness magazines. Skim the celebrity magazines as well.

As soon as I looked through the first magazine it stood out again.

These guys were ripped and had physiques that most of us only dream about.

Super chiseled.  Ripped.  Little fat.  All muscles.

It’s almost like they were sculpted out of rock or marble.

It looked impossible for a regular guy like me.

To get a body like that I was sure it required something crazy like dieting hard, lifting for hours and running on the treadmill forever.

I was wrong.

I was going to find out how these guys do it.

What Is The Shrink Wrap Effect

What I basically described above is what is known as the shrink wrap effect.

It is the effect of skin wrapping tightly on the muscle showing high definition and all the muscle fibers in their glory.

Any time you see a guy, usually in fitness magazines, or a ripped actor on the movie screen, that is super lean and with muscle definition you are seeing this in action.

Some think it’s genetics that is creating this effect.

Others will quickly dismiss it as the effects of taking steroids.

But most guys simply think it requires a lot of time and dedication.

Well, it does take dedication but it is a method that is easy to follow.

The process of achieving this super lean body is broken down into 3 phases.

Phase 1          

So let’s get one thing straight.  Having a lot of bodyfat on you won’t get you to look lean no matter how hard you try.

So the best thing to do is to drop bodyfat to a level that is low enough for definition to show.

For some it is just a matter of losing a couple of percentage points.

For others it will take a bit more.

Either way aim for a body fat percentage preferably below 10 percent.

The way you’re going to lose that bodyfat is by creating a calorie deficit.

A simple way of creating this deficit is by burning more than calories than what you consume.

You can either less calories than what you usually eat or you can exercise more and at a higher intensity to burn more calories off.

At this point you want to do cardio, preferably interval training in order to torch the fat.

Don’t forget to lift weights and start developing some muscle.

Phase 2

The next step in the process will take a bit longer but this is where so many make mistakes.

After having lost weight the skin on your body will be slightly loose.

Remember that skin is flexible and it stretches and comes back down in size.

Once you have reduced your bodyfat the skin will not be tight around your muscle.

Here is where you have to be patient and allow the skin to start shrinking.

So phase 2 is basically a maintenance phase where you try to build muscle without gaining fat.

It is in this phase where you can go ahead and work with lower reps.

Don’t worry about getting a pump.  In fact, forget about getting a good pump.  Just go heavier than usual, 

stay in the 3 to 5 rep range and do 5 sets per exercise and keep your muscles working.

Phase 3

Now that you have given your skin time to catch up, your muscles are solid and you haven’t put on fat it’s time for you to make the skin look tight.

For the next 3 weeks you will do high rep workouts.

This is the time to do workouts of 8 to 12 reps per set.

By doing high rep workouts you will begin to see sarcoplasmic growth.

Sarcoplasmic growth will lead the muscles to fill up with fluid which is what makes your muscles look nice and full.

As you create this pump and your muscles look full you will begin to see your skin tighten up.

At this time the shrink wrap effect will be in its glory.

So that’s basically the way you create high definition that will have you looking like those guys in magazines.

Next time you open a fitness magazine you’ll know the tricks and hopefully you’ll be looking like a fitness model too.

Skinny Guy Workout: A Muscle Plan For The True Ectomorph

You would think that for a skinny guy getting a good workout is the solution to gaining muscle.  As reasonable as that may sound this is not the case.  If you’re one of millions of guys who are looking to put on some serious mass, then you know that no matter how many reps you do and how many pounds you lift the muscle is hard to come by. 

Gaining muscle for an ectomorph may be difficult but it is not impossible. 

I have known so many guys who have struggled and done every workout named in books and magazines. 

There’s the Arnold method.  There’s the dynamic tension method.  There’s the method that has you lifting extra slow.  But rather than treating your training like rocket science, why don’t you go back to basics.

Basic Principles

Whether you like to do the toughest workouts on the planet or the ones that bodybuilders use, it doesn’t matter.  In order to make the right gains you need to stick to the basics.

If you want to see your body add on muscle you have to follow these principles:

• Lift heavy
• Add weight to your lifts often
• Use compound lifts
• Focus on large muscle groups

Sounds simple?

Well it is.

Compound Movements Rock

If I could go back in time I would focus more on “the Big Lifts,” as some call them.  You know, bench press, military press, squats and deadlifts.  Add some pull up and chin ups and the muscle growth comes in a matter of time.

Rather than wondering how many sets and reps to do on biceps curls and leg extensions I would have pushed those to the side and just focus on the compound movements.

Why choose these lifts?  Simple, they provide the best bang for your buck. 

Compound movements work on the most muscle fibers and muscle groups and stimulate growth if done right.

For example if you want to make it very simple just do these three exercises

• Squat
• Bench Press
• Deadlift

Do these 3 exercises 3 times per week and your gains will be guaranteed.  Just make sure that you divide do 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps per exercise.

Go Heavy or Go Home

If you want to see consistent gains go heavy on your lifts.  Once you go heavy just make sure you are lifting heavier weight as often as possible. 

So if you are bench pressing 135 for 8 reps and you know that you can go heavier, then do so.  Next time push 140 and keep increasing the weight as often as possible.

I made that mistake too many times.  Rather than pushing myself I kept staying in a comfortable range and so 

I didn’t lift heavier weight when I should have.

However, I would advise that you increase the weight in small increments but consistently.  Don’t jump the weight you are pushing by 20 or 30 pounds immediately.  Add 5 pounds to your lifts when it is possible.

Cardio Or No Cardio

That’s the tough question that posed most often.

Cardio is actually something that is recommended if you are trying to keep your fat percentage in check.  However, if you are skinny and your struggle is to gain muscle and fat is not an issue then skip cardio or walk.

For those who are looking into more athletic training and wouldn’t mind gaining muscle at the same time as doing cardio then something like sprints and intervals is a better choice.

There are various options in a cardio workout for skinny guys, it is just a matter of knowing what works best for you.