I've been there-- not taking off my shirt 😫

Published: Sat, 08/01/20

I've been there-- not taking off my shirt 😫

I was working out at my house, doing some cardio, when I started thinking about how a body looks UNDER clothes is just as important as what it looks like WITH clothes on. We talk a lot about how clothes should fit, BUT the framework on which those clothes sit has a dramatic impact on the way that clothes look, how someone presents himself, and how others perceive him.

Surprising, but style wasn't my first love. My first love was nutrition and fitness. When I graduated from college, I opened a nutrition store. Thereafter, I opened a personal training studio and then a group fitness center. I also used to compete in natural bodybuilding competitions. I’ve always loved working out and taking care of myself since I was a kid, and my hope has been that my interest & success also inspires others.

So it pains me when I see guys in a bathing suit wearing a button-down shirt or a Tommy Bahama shirt -- just hanging-out and not taking off his shirt. I know the reason. It's not that he hates the sun or he's going to burn (hey, that's what sunscreen’s for). The reason is because he's embarrassed. I don't want guys to be embarrassed about their bodies and what they've got going on underneath their clothes. So here's what can be done.

I've been there before-- not wanting to take off my shirt. And it's no fun. True story -- my wife is a true southern girl from Georgia who loves to cook. Well, I love to eat, and I've never known the deliciousness of bacon until I met her. So in a span of a year, I gained around 25 lbs to the point where none of my pants fit. My ass looked like two possums fighting over a turnip under a black tarp. My butt gets huge when I gain weight, and my pants and shirt don't hang correctly when I'm overweight. It was ridiculous, but I did something about it.

So truth be told that diet is 80% of what you look like. The other 20% is exercise. So I plan my meals and make sure that I eat healthy. And with exercise, I work out hitting each body part one time per week and do cardio daily. What you need to realize is your body needs time to rebuild itself because working out breaks down the muscle tissue. If you work out a specific body part more than once a week, it doesn't have enough time to rebuild. When you tear it down, it rebuilds a little bit bigger. Keep doing that, and all the sudden you've got bulging muscles. Like I said, one time per week per body part.

On days that you're working your chest, you might want to think about hitting your shoulders and triceps too. Why, you ask? When you're doing a pushing exercise (exercises you do for the chest), you're also working on your shoulders and your triceps indirectly. So when you work them with your chest, you don't have to do quite as much in order to really fatigue and break them down. You save time!

Speaking of time, you don't want to work out with weights more than 45 minutes. Take shorter rests in between so you will get a lot done in a shorter period of time. Your heart rate will go up and stay up, and you'll burn fat all resulting in a fantastic work out.

Speaking of time, you don't want to work out with weights more than 45-minutes. Take shorter rests in between so you will get a lot done in a shorter period of time. Your heart rate will go up and stay up, and you'll burn fat all resulting in a fantastic work out.

Another important note is that you don't have to do crazy heavy weight. When you use heavy weight, you risk getting injured. Also who really cares if you can bench press 400 lbs? Nobody! It's about being lean -- and seeing muscles when you take off your shirt. I don't really care about being huge. I just want to look good in AND out of my clothes.

BUT all the working out in the world won't mean a damn thing if you can't see the results (aka your muscles). So how do you get your muscles to show? How do you get or how do you reduce your body fat? The key components are cardio and diet.

As I mentioned earlier, I do cardio 7-days a week because I love to eat and still look good. In the morning, I do it fasted (the last food eaten has been completely digested and absorbed so insulin levels are at a low or baseline level) and at my target heart rate. This means my body is using fatty acids as the energy source or fat as the energy to keep me going.

If you work out above your target heart rate, you're going to burn muscle, glucose, and glycogen. You've heard the term ‘burning muscle’ -- that's what that means. Below your target heart rate, you're burning calories but not really doing as much as possible. Here's how to calculate yours:

People specifically ask all the time how to get their abs to show. They ask if they should do more crunches. Actually you need to get on the treadmill (or jumping rope, riding a bike, or other sustained cardio activity) to reduce your body fat -- although I'll repeat that DIET is the key to getting those abs to show. Keep in mind that the older you get, the more your metabolism slows down so you'll have to work even harder and eat even better.

As far as your diet is concerned, eat four to six small meals during the day.

Keep your sugar intake low so that your insulin level doesn't spike. Consume good quality protein which includes fish, eggs, chicken, lean beef, or pork. Pork is fantastic. It's really low in saturated fat and tastes a lot better than chicken, in my personal opinion. Almonds are fantastic too. To read up more about The Alpha M. Diet Plan, click https://iamalpham.com/the-alpha-m-diet-plan/

Bottom line, you want to look good with your clothes off and your clothes on. You want to be comfortable taking your shirt off at the pool, at the beach, and when you get naked. You don't want to be the guy that flips off the light real quick to sneak into the bed so he's not seen. That's ridiculous and NOT sexy.

Regardless, you should feel comfortable in your own body. So if that means that you need to spend a little bit more time on the treadmill and pumping some iron -and- a little less time at McDonald's and a little more time being selective & careful about your food, do what it takes.

I want people to notice. I want your clothes to fit you and look great on you. I want you to feel fantastic whether you have your shirt on or off!

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