Remember Brad Pitt in the movie "Troy"? Now that's what you call ripped! No fat, just pure rippling muscle in all the right places. He surely didn't get there without breaking a sweat first, though. Bulking up is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of any workout routine. But that doesn't mean it cannot be done.

One of the important things to bear in mind when designing a "get ripped" workout routine is to cut back on the total number of sets and reps. This is because you won't have the fuel to recover from the strenuous activities if you don't do so. As you do this, try to maintain intensity as this is the key in preserving your strength as well as your muscle tissue mass. In other words, if you are used to doing five sets of bench-pressing composed of 6 reps at 200 pounds, cut that down into 3 or 4 sets. Maintaining the same weight is extremely necessary here since you are bulking up our bodies and thus your muscle fibers need the constant work challenge. So, regardless of the number of reps, the weight or poundage should always be up. Remember, you are not making strength gains at this time. You are simply aiming to maintain your strength.

Moreover, it is also necessary that you reduce the number of isolation work you have in your routines. Isolation work includes leg extension, bicep curls, tricep isolation exercises, leg exercises, among others. These are exercises that target a single muscle group alone. Instead, it's crucial to target all the muscle groups in your body with the following exercises: Squats, deadlift, bench presses, shoulder presses, rows, calf raises, and one ab exercise like an abdominal crunch. You don't have to be very rigid in doing these either. You can swap or switch or even make variations in performing these routines. For example, you can opt for a pull up instead of a row or an incline bench press in lieu of a shoulder press.

Now, divide the exercise routines that you have decided to use into a full body program which you can perform 2-3 times a week. Try to keep it to a maximum of 15 sets for each workout if you're doing upper/lower splits performed 4 days each week, and 20-25 if you are doing full body.

When trying to get ripped, do not neglect your cardio component. Issues will begin to surface when you combine your already intense muscle workouts with hour-long cardio sessions, both accompanied with reduced calorie intake. To overcome these problems, consider doing one to two sprint cardio sessions every week. These cardio sessions are ideal for burning body fat. Remember two should be the maximum as far as intervals are concerned, especially if you are lifting weights with your legs. For example, if you are doing full body, four times per week, reduce this to one or two since your body still needs total time for rest. Overworking your body will literally destroy you and all your efforts will just go down the drain. Design a workout routine that gives your body time to recover. That's how to get ripped!