May 27, 2020 4 min read

When it comes to physiques, a leaner look is far easier to sustain compared to a bulky one. Since you are stuck at home, what better time than now to get in the best shape of your life? By investing in home exercise equipment and building a home gym, you can obtain a lean, muscular physique that can instantly boost your confidence. Many people tend to complicate the steps it takes to sculpt a lean body, but it’s quite simple and can be achieved through 2 main components: diet and fitness. If you are looking to make a transformation, read ahead to find out how to achieve a lean physique at home.    

Diet 

Cut Your Calories 

The most important part of obtaining a lean physique is inducing a caloric deficit. You not only want to reduce the number of calories you consume in a day, but you also want to be very conscious about what kind of food you are putting into your body. Not all calories were created equal, which is why you will want to make sure you are consuming plenty of foods with high nutritional value. The best way to stick to the same number of calories every day is to prepare your meals for the week by meal prepping, so you aren’t temped to eat something with less nutritional value and more calories because you don’t have time to cook.  

Consume Plenty of Protein 

When you are planning your meals, a common mistake many people make is not consuming enough protein. Protein will not only help you build a lean, muscular physique, but it will also help you feel full when you are in a caloric deficit. You should be consuming lean protein like chicken and fish with your meals. A great hack to a get through bland meals is to put hot sauce on food so you can get more taste out of your meals without the expense of extra calories. Another great way to sneak in enough protein throughout the day is to drink protein shakes and eat protein bars, which can also satisfy your sweet tooth.       

Eat Plenty of Greens 

Perhaps the most important type of food that you should be getting into your body for a lean physique is vegetables. It’s vital that you are getting as much nutrition as possible while consuming the lowest number of calories, which is an important benefit vegetables offer. So, make sure most of your plate is filled with vegetables when planning your meals.

Don’t Be Afraid of Carbs 

There’s a common misconception that you shouldn’t be consuming any carbs when you are on a diet and trying to lean out, but by cutting carbs you are missing out on essential foods which can energize your workout. Instead of cutting carbs out completely, you just need to be smart about choosing the right type of carbs. Avoid refined carbs like pasta and bread and eat good carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, and quinoa instead.

Don’t Do Cheat Meals Right Away 

Once you are at the start of changing your diet, you will undoubtedly look forward to your cheat meals. However, you should lose at least 10 pounds before you start consuming foods like pizza, burgers, burritos, and other delicious yet unhealthy temptations. You can think about cheat meals only after you lose those first 10 pounds, but you should still try to limit yourself to only one or two cheat meals per week. It’s also a good idea to stick to cheat meals instead of cheat days, because the calories consumed in just 1 day can add up fast!

Drink Lots of Water 

A final tenet of achieving a lean physique with a lean diet is to drink lots of water. Make sure you are consuming at least one gallon of water a day and consider cutting any sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages out of your diet, as liquid calories can quickly trump dieting efforts.

Fitness 

Try Fasted Cardio 

On fitness side, a great way to achieve a lean physique is to do fasted cardio. Essentially, fasted cardio means doing a cardio workout on an empty stomach, so you should either do it first thing in the morning or a few hours after a meal. The main benefit of fasted cardio is to start burning fat instead of the food in your stomach. Plus, doing cardio on your treadmill or elliptical at home is far easier when you don’t have any food sitting in your stomach.  

Lift Heavier 

To get lean, you also want to lift weights at home. However, rather than simply weightlifting, you will also need to lift progressively heavier weights. Weightlifting shouldn’t feel effortless if you truly want to achieve a lean body physique. Ideally, you want to push yourself to lift heavier weights while still maintaining good form throughout the movements. 

Focus on Your Body Fat Percentage 

While it can be easy to focus on your weight, you should really be focusing more on your body fat percentage to attain a lean, muscular physique. Unfortunately, getting an accurate body fat percentage reading can be difficult, but you can still get a close estimate. To get a good idea, you will want to get a scale that measures your body fat percentage. It’s easy to find a scale that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth, so you can get a body fat percentage reading along with other important body metrics.  

Also, make sure that you are stepping on the scale at the same time everyday so you can get a good idea of your typical weight as it fluctuates throughout the day. A good time to weigh yourself and check your body fat percentage is first thing in the morning before consuming food.

Take Progress Pictures 

Besides seeing your body fat percentage drop, a good way to see real results is by taking progress pictures. As you lose body fat, you will start to notice that your abs and veins become more accentuated, and your face will also slim down.  

The main takeaway from this guide on how to achieve a lean physique at home is that it might take a long time to see results, so patience is key. Since there’s no telling when local gyms are going to reopen, you now have to time to build a home gym and get lean in the privacy of your home. To assist you with your plans for creating a home gym, Precor Home Fitness has all the home gym fitness equipment you are looking for. 

Achieve a Lean Physique at Home


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