Top 10 Proven Ways To Cut Body Fat

Every year, for every bodybuilder, it’s a quest to shed fat to achieve a state referred to as “shredded,” “peeled” or “cut.” Offseason photos of professional bodybuilders show that many binge and dine their way to obesity, yet within a matter of months, even weeks, they are once again posing in peak condition.

- By Daniel Gwartney

Certainly diet, training and experience play a part in their ability to recover from dietary excess, but as many other athletes discover, discipline and willpower are not sufficient to account for the dramatic changes seen in the pros.

This month’s Fat Attack addresses 10 of the more common and most effective means of achieving ultra-low body fat content used by the pros and high-caliber amateurs. While these methods are effective, many are illegal and most carry some element of risk. A fair question would be: Why they are used at all? The answer is simple; it’s the same drive that causes shareholders to participate in insider trading, some college students and professors to plagiarize and cheat, and politicians to lie. It’s a desire to be the best, regardless of cost, risk or ethics. Thus, while the techniques may be unique to bodybuilding, or even sports in general, the phenomenon is not.

Do not view the following information as an endorsement of these techniques. Rather, use it to approach the decision to use any of the methods described with greater foresight.

STIMULANTS

Stimulants are most easily understood as drugs or supplements that increase fat loss by providing a signal to the body that it’s in an excited state and needs to be ready for action. Stimulants act either by stimulating the release of the “fight or flight neurotransmitter,” norepinephrine (NE), prolonging its signal, or directly substituting for NE. There are two classic examples of stimulants used for fat loss by bodybuilders.