{"id":62844,"date":"2017-03-08T13:44:13","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T19:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=62844"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:54:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T18:54:22","slug":"getting-ripped-vs-getting-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/health-fitness\/fitness\/getting-ripped-vs-getting-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Ripped vs. Getting Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

When most dudes have the come-to-Jesus moment that they need to start exercising and eating right, their primary motivation is usually to look good, and looking good usually means being lean and \u201cripped.\u201d They want the hot beach bod with abs you can grate cheese on.<\/p>\n

But they also want to be big and strong. Really strong. \u201cStrong AF,\u201d as they say on Instagram these days.<\/p>\n

After scouring the interwebs for plans that will simultaneously get them ripped and<\/em> swole at the same time, these would-be Adonises get to training.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re at the gym six days a week, beast-moding a different body part each day. They take the obligatory locker room selfie of their after-workout pump and post it to Instagram (#transformation #beastmode). They drink their protein shake within the magical one-hour window after working out so their muscles absorb as much of it as possible. (Some really jacked guy on Instagram mentioned doing that in his sponsored post for Optimum Nutrition. The guy is jacked so he obviously knows what he\u2019s talking about.)<\/p>\n

For a few weeks, these gents see some progress. They\u2019re getting a bit leaner and they\u2019re starting to see some muscle definition. They can even bench a bit more than they could before they started.<\/p>\n

But they want to get even leaner. Sub-10% body fat or bust, baby.<\/p>\n

So they cut calories, eliminate carbs, and throw in some HIIT training at the end of each workout.<\/p>\n

And leaner they do get.<\/p>\n

Muscle definition is at its peak. Six-pack abs have been achieved.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019re not getting strong AF. In fact, they\u2019re getting weak AF.<\/p>\n

That 225-lb bench press<\/a> that was within reach a few weeks ago now is miles away. Weight that was once easy to lift, now feels like a metric ton.<\/p>\n

Bro, what happened?<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s the program. Maybe you need to add in some accessory work. Hit those triceps hard to help with those last few inches before the bench lockout.<\/p>\n

Adjustments are made and training commences again.<\/p>\n

And\u2026nothing.<\/p>\n

Your lean, tanned bod looks like that of a golden professional soccer player, but your lifts look like something your girlfriend could crank out.<\/p>\n

You Can\u2019t Have It All (At the Same Time)<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m going to lay some hard truth on you here: Despite what the internet or that dude-bro at the gym might say, you cannot get both super lean and<\/em> super strong at the same time. They are goals that are diametrically opposed to each other.<\/p>\n

Now, don\u2019t misunderstand me. I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t be shredded and strong. There are lots of men out there who have 10% body fat and can deadlift<\/a> and squat a ton.<\/p>\n

You just can\u2019t work on getting <\/em>ripped and strong at the same time<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Why You Can\u2019t Get Lean While Getting Big and Strong<\/h3>\n

Increasing muscle density and size is what makes you big and strong. So to get big and strong, you need to pack on more muscle.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the rub. Muscle is calorically expensive. It requires a lot of energy to create. To create that new muscle, you need to consume more calories than you\u2019re expending. How much more? More than you probably think.<\/p>\n

The biggest mistake most men make when they set down the path of gainz is that they eat the same amount of food they were eating before they were training. Intense weight training puts a lot of stress on the body. To fully recover, you need to provide your body the fuel to do so. That means you need a sufficient amount of calories that come from protein, carbs, and fat.<\/p>\n

If you train and provide your body with enough calories, muscle mass and strength will increase.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019re also going to put on some body fat.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry to say so, but sadly it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no escaping that fact. Some of those excess calories you\u2019re consuming for the production of muscle will be stored as fat. That\u2019s just how your body operates.<\/p>\n

Why You Can\u2019t Get Big and Strong While Getting Lean<\/h3>\n

To get ripped, lean, shredded, etc. you need to shed body fat.<\/p>\n

Shedding body fat requires you to consume fewer<\/em> calories than you\u2019re expending so that your body uses your fat stores for energy.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the rub: just as you can\u2019t put on muscle mass without putting on some body fat, you can\u2019t reduce body fat without reducing some muscle mass<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re in a caloric deficit, your body not only uses fat for energy, it also breaks down muscle tissue for the nutrients it needs to keep your physiological systems running. As muscle tissue cannibalizes, muscle mass and strength go down.<\/p>\n

This is why you can\u2019t get big and strong while you\u2019re trying to get lean. Getting big and strong requires excess calories, while getting lean requires a caloric deficit.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to pick a goal at the exclusion of the other.<\/p>\n

\n

Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too — With Steroids?<\/h3>\n

A common rejoinder to the biological fact that it\u2019s impossible to both put on muscle mass while getting lean is that steroids allow you to do both.<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re trying to get big and strong, you\u2019re still going to put on some body fat, even if you\u2019re taking steroids. Because, again, to gain muscle mass, you need to increase the amount of calories you\u2019re consuming, and that\u2019s going to result in some body fat accumulation.<\/p>\n

To be sure, steroids will increase the ratio between muscle mass and body fat accumulation compared to going all natural. That is, you\u2019re still going to put on some body fat while you\u2019re taking steroids because you\u2019re consuming excess calories. You\u2019re just going to put on much more muscle mass than you would without taking steroids.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re trying to get lean, you\u2019ve got to reduce calorie consumption. That\u2019s going to result in you losing body fat and some muscle mass in the process. Anabolic steroids will mitigate<\/em>, but not eliminate<\/em>, muscle and strength loss during this \u201ccutting phase.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, no, anabolic steroids aren\u2019t magic. While they can certainly help, they don\u2019t completely eliminate the body\u2019s inability to get bigger and stronger without getting a bit fatter, nor the body\u2019s inability to get leaner without cannibalizing some muscle tissue.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For more info about why you can’t gain muscle without getting a little bit fat (even with steroids), listen to my podcast with doctor and strength coach Jordan Feigenbaum:<\/p>\n