How to Get Lean Quickly

Getting lean is a challenging but rewarding task. The best way to approach a new exercise regime is by employing a holistic approach, changing your diet, sleeping pattern, social habits, and---most important---your attitude. If you want to get lean as quickly as possible, you will have to devote at least two hours a day to resistance training and intensive aerobic exercise. Getting fit isn't the difficult thing: The toughest aspect is changing your routine and keeping yourself motivated to keep up the good work. Stick to your plan of action to achieve your objective.

Things You'll Need

• Exercise clothing
• Healthy foods
• Bottled water

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Instructions

Make Changes to Your Lifestyle

• 1

  Change your diet. In order to transform your body tone from flabby to muscular, you must cut down on fatty foods and begin consuming protein-rich foods. Protein will help your body repair itself as you following an intensive exercise regimen.

• 2

  Stop smoking. Any exercise routine that you begin will be all the tougher to tackle if you are a smoker. Smoking narrows the airways and makes you short of breath, which makes it harder for you when you are trying to jog around the block. If the exercise regimen is too tough you won't stick to it until you see results, so make it as easy on yourself as possible by quitting smoking.

• 3

  Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates your body and makes it harder for you to exercise, and you are unlikely to feel like exercising if you are suffering from a hangover. Exercising also dehydrates you, so if you do exercise the day after an evening after drinking alcohol, be sure to drink lots of water to compensate for your dehydrated state.

• 4

  Change your sleeping pattern. While you exercise, your muscles tear and reform. Your body needs a decent night's sleep in order to repair itself. If you do not allow yourself at least eight hours of sleep each night, you will be vulnerable to pulled muscles or tendon and ligament damage because your body will be in a weakened state.

Draw Up a Resistance-Training Regimen

• 5

  Start with squats. Squats quickly build lean calf, glut, hamstring and quad muscles. You may build your routine so that it keeps challenging you by doing more squats at a faster rate. To do a squat, stand with your feet pointed straight ahead and 12 inches apart. Slowly bend at the knees, keeping your back straight with your body behind your toes. Bend your knees until the backs of your thighs are parallel with the floor. Then bring yourself slowly back up again to stand straight. For your first day aim for 20 to 30 squats, depending on your physical tolerance, and repeat on a daily basis thereafter, building up to 40 to 50 squats.

• 6

  Do push-ups. Push-ups define your arm, stomach, back and shoulder muscles. Lie with your face toward the floor. Raise yourself with your arms, toes and the balls of your feet, with your body in a straight line and your palms on the floor shoulder-width apart. Without bending your back or hips, lower yourself to the floor and bring yourself back up again. Start by doing as many push-ups as you can. Try to increase the number of push-ups until you are able to do 100 a day in sets of 20 or 25.

• 7

  Move on to lunges. A lunge works your leg muscles. To do a lunge, stand up straight, then bring your right leg out in front of you, bending the knee until your leg forms a 90-degree angle. Your right foot should be placed firmly on the floor. When you bend your right knee 90 degrees, bring your left leg forward also, so that it ends up with your shin supporting your weight on the floor. Your left leg will also finish at a 90-degree angle. Then bring yourself back up again without touching the floor. Repeat 10 to 20 times daily.

• 8

  Work your stomach muscles with sit-ups. One way to get a lean stomach quickly is to do sit-ups or stomach crunches. To do a sit-up, lie on the floor, with your hands behind your head. Without lifting your feet off the floor, sit up until your back is at a 45-degree angle with the floor. Repeat until you feel challenged to continue. Try to do more repetitions each day.

Start an Aerobic Exercise Regimen

• 9

  Run. Aerobic exercise improves the body's cardio-respiratory system. Try to run for at least 30 minutes daily, building up to an hour. Running improves leg muscles and will complement your resistance training.

• 10

  Pick up a jump rope. Jumping rope works your calves and abdominal muscles as well as your heart and lungs. Try to complete a set of 50 to 100 jumps once a week, fitting the jump rope activity with your running and resistance training activities. The faster you jump, the more beneficial the exercise.

• 11

  Visit the swimming pool. Swimming is another good "all-rounder" exercise, working out your cardiovascular system as well as your arms, legs, stomach, back and gluts. Try to fit in a swim of 20 lengths of the pool once a week, or run one day and swim the next to take some pressure off your muscles.