Losing excess fat has been the goal of just about every man and woman at some point in their life. It seems we’re always fighting the Battle of the Bulge and looking for better and easier ways to lose fat quickly. This is never truer than it is for bodybuilders or those who simply want to look their best. Excess fat will ruin the physique of even the most active individuals. Working to shed those pounds not only makes you look better, but it can have a profound effect on your overall health as well. Let's look at some of the ways that bodybuilders and extremely active individuals work to trim fat and get into incredibly ripped shape.

The fact is, it's not just a simple as exercising consistently to lose all the fat that you want. While exercising can get rid of significant amounts of fat, the real keys to losing excess fat and getting into ripped bodybuilding shape is a combination of doing the RIGHT exercises and having a near perfect diet. I know that sounds scary, but it's simply the truth. You could work out all day on an elliptical machine and not lose any fat at all or eat what you think is a healthy diet and actually gain weight. It takes knowing the right things and doing them consistently to make a difference.

First let's start with exercise. Simply lifting weights or doing some aerobic exercise, while it will get you part of the way there, is not enough to truly get rid of fat. One of the best fat burning exercises in existence is called HIIT. This stands for High Intensity Interval Training and it is used by professional athletes of all types to get into incredible cardiovascular shape as well as get their bodies into ripped physical condition. The principle is simple, you simply exercise at intervals that consist of about two minutes of light to medium intensity aerobic exercise followed by about 30 seconds of all out intense exercise. This is the equivalent of jogging for about two minutes and then sprinting for 30 seconds. That would represent one interval and you repeat these intervals until you complete about 6 to 8. Because of the intensity, most folks cannot handle this type of training early in their regimens. It is only after months of seriously intense aerobic exercise that you can begin these workouts. Once you do though, you will see fat fall off you more quickly than anything that you've tried before and your body will stay in this fat burning state for 10 hours after the exercises have been completed.

The next area is nutrition of course. Many folks try calorie and nutrient restricted diets to trim fat and end up trimming muscle instead. You see, your body is designed to use a combination of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in such a way as to maintain proper functionality, consistent levels of energy, and consistent or increasing levels of muscle. When you take anything out of that equation it can disrupt this balance and lead you to experiencing the opposite results of which you wish to achieve. If you focus on eating a diet that is high in protein, followed by fats and carbohydrates, you can continue to have the energy you need and nutrients your muscles need to continue to grow and maintain your physique. In addition, as long as you are burning off these calories and not eating excessively then you should be able to maintain consistent fat loss.