10 Game-changing Moves To Get You Ripped

Weave These Demanding Exercises— As Demonstrated By Ifbb Pro League Men’s Physique Pro Anton Antipov— Into Your Routine With This Four-week Plan That Will Build Slabs Of Muscle And Get You Shredded. 

- Andrew Gutman

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS CAN BE A TURBULENT ONE. Just ask Anton Antipov, whose current status as an IFBB Pro League men’s physique star and a social media sensation was hard-earned to say the least.

Born in Belarus, Antipov emigrated with his family to the U.S. at the age of 13. He didn’t know anyone, let alone how to speak English. So he went door-to-door asking neighborhood kids to play street hockey as a way to make friends. Years later, he moved to New York City, where he picked up a bartending gig while striving to kick-start a modeling career.

One day, his agent called him up and suggested that he look into men’s physique competitions. His agent thought Antipov would be a good fit since he was in great shape. And Antipov saw it as an opportunity to combat his fear of being in the spotlight. (Yes, the guy you see on the cover is not a fan of attention.) As fate would have it, a co-worker suggested that he tag along to check out a men’s physique show that he was competing in the following day. The two worked through the night and then headed to the show at 6 a.m. the next morning.

Caught up in the moment, Antipov registered to compete on the spot—he paid for a tan and asked his cousin to pick him up a pair of boardshorts. He placed fourth.

Then he set out to earn his pro card. Antipov kept his day job and spent the weekends traveling to various shows in the tristate area to compete. No money for a hotel room meant that Antipov slept on park benches, still covered in spray tan and oil, between morning prejudging and nighttime finals.

“I used to ask fellow competitors if I could crash in their cars, too,” Antipov recalls. “They all said no.”

After four months of this arduous routine, Antipov earned pro status. Since then, he has won eight IFBB shows and appeared in the Mr. Olympia lineup five times.