A ripped, shredded, muscular, and vascular physique is every bodybuilder’s dream. But most don’t know how should they approach their workout to get ripped.
If you have gained a decent amount of muscle mass and want to get a chiseled and more defined physique, then this article is for you. Here is a 12-week workout plan to get ripped along with the dietary recommendations.
You can directly follow our plan or design your workout strategy by taking it as a reference. So let’s dive deep into it.
Who Should Follow This Get Ripped Workout Plan
Getting ripped simply means having a low body fat percentage with decent muscle mass. You can achieve this by gaining some lean body mass and then losing fat while maintaining your muscle mass.
So if you are an intermediate-level lifter who already has some muscles then you should definitely go for this plan.
This program will help you melt the fat over your muscles and give you an aesthetic look. After all, what’s the meaning of building muscles if you can’t show them off?
However, if you are a beginner or you don’t have enough muscles over your frame, then I recommend you focus on building muscles first. After that, you can hop on to this 12-weeks get ripped workout plan.
Read more: 3 Science-Based Tips To Gain Muscle Fast
12-Weeks Get Ripped Workout Plan
Here’s a set-by-set and rep-by-rep workout program for the next 12 weeks to get ripped. But before that, here are some factors that this get ripped workout plan will take into account.
A Brief Overview
- This 12-week program is divided into two phases of 6 weeks each. Each phase has a different workout protocol both for cardio and weight training.
- The workout intensity would be on the higher side and keep on increasing as the program goes by.
- In the second phase of the program, you will train each muscle 2x a week with six weight training sessions weekly.
- To retain the maximum muscle mass, you’ll have to lift moderate to heavy weight.
- The cardio sessions would include both steady-state cardio and HIIT.
Phase-1 (Weeks 1-6)
To get ripped and shredded, you have to burn the fat over your muscles hence some cardio has to be included in your workout routine. But, overloading cardio is not the answer.
By doing long cardio sessions, you’ll burn that extra fat over your muscles but you may lose your muscle mass too. Hence, in this workout program, there is a proper combination of weight training and cardio which suits your physique goal.
In this phase:
- We will train each muscle once a week and focus on strength and hypertrophy by lifting moderately heavy weights.
- There will be a total of 5 workout days and 2 rest days.
- Total workout duration would be 75-90 minutes including a 20-30 minute cardio session after each workout.
- After every 2 weeks, you will increase your workout intensity by reducing the rest between sets and by increasing the cardio duration by 5 minutes.
A 20-minute cardio session after each workout for the first 2 weeks. 25 min cardio in weeks 3 and 4. 30 min cardio in weeks 5 and 6. Also, keep increasing workout intensity by adding an extra set or by reducing rest periods every 2 weeks.
Monday – Chest Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Inclined bench press | 4-5 | 6-8 |
| Flat dumbbell press | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Decline bench press | 3 | 8-12 |
| Cable fly (high to low) | 3 | 10-15 |
| Incline dumbbell fly | 3 | 6-12 |
Tuesday – Back Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Pullups | 3 | 10 |
| Barbell bent-over rows | 4-5 | 6-12 |
| Deadlift | 4 | 5-8 |
| T-bar rows | 3 | 8-12 |
| One-arm dumbbell rows | 3 | 12 |
| Hyperextensions | 3 | 15 |
Wednesday – Shoulder Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead barbell press | 4-5 | 6-8 |
| Upright rows | 3-4 | 6-12 |
| Side raise | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Front raise | 3 | 8-12 |
| Rear delt fly | 3 | 12-15 |
| Barbell shrugs | 4 | 8-12 |
Thursday – Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell curls | 4-5 | 16-12 |
| Hammer curls | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Concentration curls | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Skull crushers | 4-5 | 6-12 |
| Reverse grip pushdown | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Tricep kickbacks | 3-4 | 10-15 |
Friday – Legs
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Squats | 4-5 | 6-8 |
| Leg press | 4-5 | 8-12 |
| Stiff leg deadlift | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Leg curls | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated calf raises | 3 | 15 |
So these are the workouts for different muscle groups during phase 1. Along with this, don’t forget to train your abs two times a week.
Make sure to increase the intensity of the workout by adding an extra set or increasing weight. Also, keep increasing your cardio duration.
Phase-2 (Weeks 7-12)
The training protocol in this phase is different from the previous phase. In this phase, the training volume and intensity are significantly higher. Here are the details:
- In this phase, we’ll train two times a day. Cardio and abs in the morning and weight training in the evening session.
- There will be a total of six training days in a week with a 20-30 min cardio session in the evening and a 75-90 min weight training session in the evening.
- We’ll train two body parts in each weight training session hence training each muscle 2x a week.
- In this phase, we’ll add supersets to our workout. Supersets save time and give a different kind of burn to the muscles.
Monday & Thursday – Chest + Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1(a) Pushups 1(b) Pullups | 3 3 | 20 10 |
| 2(a) Flat bench press 2(b) Bentover rows | 4 4 | 6-12 6-12 |
| 3(a) Incline Dumbbell press 3(b) T-bar rows | 4 4 | 8-12 8-12 |
| 4(a) Dumbbell flys 4(b) Back extensions | 4 4 | 10-15 15-20 |
Tuesday & Friday – Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1(a) Barbell curls 1(b) Barbell skull crushers | 4 4 | 6-8 6-8 |
| 2(a) Hammer curls 2(b) Close-grip pushdowns | 3 3 | 8-12 8-12 |
| 3(a) Concentration curls 3(b) Kickbacks | 3 3 | 10-12 10-12 |
| 4(a) Wrist curls 4(b) Reverse wrist curls | 3 3 | 12-20 12-20 |
Wednesday & Saturday – Legs + Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Squats | 4 | 6-8 |
| 2(a) Leg press 2(b) Stiff leg deadlifts | 4 4 | 6-12 6-12 |
| 3(a) Barbell overhead press 3(b) Upright rows | 4 4 | 6-12 6-12 |
| 4(a) Lateral raise 4(b) Front raise | 3 3 | 10-15 10-15 |
| 5(a) Rear delt fly 5(b) Calf raises | 3 3 | 12-20 12-20 |
Along with this, if you have some energy left then you can do a 10-minute HIIT cardio after weight training.
Training Recommendations
Most of the people in the gym do basic mistakes while lifting which may lead to injuries in the long run. Here are some tips that you should follow to reduce the risk of injuries and get the maximum results from your workouts.
- Always do a proper warm-up before the workout. A perfect warmup routine is crucial in avoiding the risk of injuries.
- Take a 2-3 minute rest after a compound exercise (squats, deadlifts, etc.) and a 1-2 minute rest after isolation exercises )lateral raise, leg extensions, etc.).
- Never compromise with correct form. Put your ego aside and add that much weight only which you can lift with the correct form. Else you may end up in a physiotherapy clinic.
- While exercising in the gym, don’t think about anything else. Lifting weights with a proper mind-to-muscle connection will maximize your gains.
Get Ripped Workout Plan – The Takeaway
So this was the detailed 12-week workout plan to get a ripped and shredded physique. To get results, it is not necessary to follow the same plan. You can do some changes like adding or replacing the barbell press with a dumbbell press etc. But the main blueprint of the workout plan should remain the same.
To get the desired results, make sure your diet and nutrition are up to the mark. No matter how hard and scientifically you train, if you suck in your diet you won’t get results. As nothing can replace a poor diet.
Even with a 100% diet and workout, you have to have some patience to get that wonderful ripped body.
Read more: How Long Does It Take To Get Ripped?
