How To Get A More Athletic Looking Body – Interview with Fitness Expert Ben Greenfield

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Ben does 15-20 triathlons a year. This means he is not unaccustomed to stripping down to Speedos to hit the water.

Lucky for him he’s tri-ripped (a ripped triathlete).

After perusing his website I (Trevor) see that once you are tri-ripped, you can pose for half of all photographs with your shirt off.

The last time I had my shirt off in public I spent all day sucking in my non tri-ripped stomach.

The problem is . . . even though I am in pretty good shape because of marathon training my muscles are concealed under a cozy blanket of fat.

The Skinny Fat Look

This happens when runners have a lot of fat deposits along the waistline (love handles, muffin tops, gut) yet skinny legs, arms, and chest. This skinny fat look stems from a combination of low amounts of muscle, a lot of aerobic training, and a high carb diet.

And after reading that last paragraph you never need to see me shirtless.

The Fit Fat Look

Ben describes this as a runner who is built more like a rugby player. The body has stored its fat in various places throughout the body and copious amounts of exercise can’t blast it away. That’s because the real problem is often a hormonal imbalance which needs to be diagnosed by a hormone specialist. Also, the fit fat runner is dealing with the same dietary and exercise imbalances of the skinny fat runner.

Where to Go From Here
I would love to be an endurance runner with a more athletic looking body. I want less body fat and more toned muscles. I want to rip my shirt off at the next family gathering and say, “Somebody call a veterinarian cus’ these puppies are sick!”

And if you are like me and are tired of being skinny fat or fit fat then listen to my take-a-ways from this episode. Three simple action steps.

Three Action Steps

After talking to Ben I realized I need to take immediate action in three ways.

1. Do two 60 minute body building sessions per week. That is Ben’s recommendation. I can handle that! Twice a week is not bad. I won’t have to live at the gym.
2. Eat high quality fats. Ben says 80% of the equation is nutrition. He is a hearty advocate of eating healthy fat to burn fat. Check out his superhuman food pyramid.
3. Train your brain while you build your body. Ben is a walking encyclopedia on nutrition. Talking with him really wet my appetite to learn more.

If you haven’t listened to this episode that should be action step number one. Tomorrow (March 1st) I’m hitting the gym for my first 60 min body building session. Then I’m hitting the buffet! Just kidding.

I’M READY TO ROCK THIS HARD BODY STYLE! I don’t know what that means but it sounds pretty cool.

Stay Tuned . . .
We are going to follow up this episode with a sequence of guest articles by Ben Greenfield about achieving a more athletic looking body.

Here is a link to the Tri-Ripped program. In full disclosure this is a paid affiliate link. It is geared more toward triathletes but he says many runners have purchased the product as well.

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