How Long Does it Take to Build a Ripped Physique? (Naturally)

One question I get all the time is this one:

“How long will it take me to get ripped?”

I remember that I asked the very same question myself back when I first got started with my fitness journey. I think that all of us want to know, at least in the beginning, how long our journey will be.

So, how long does it take to get ripped?

Well, the short answer is that it takes as long as it is required for you to reach 8-10 % body fat, while also putting on a decent amount of muscle mass.

So, the time it takes really depends on your starting point and what level of muscular development you’re looking for.

Most people want fast results and I’m no exception myself as I’ve learned the hard way what the negatives of rushing your way to a ripped physique are.

In this video I will give you a realistic timeline for get ripped depending on what level of muscular development you would like to achieve.

Music by: ThatKidGoran

Research mentioned in video:

[hakimonn]

*I spend more time with thinking this question than actually working out.* 😂

[kishkay]

This is the most accurate video I have seen...
I started at 30% body fat and for me to reach 8% body fat it took me 40 weeks.
Unfortunately due to this, I lost muscle mass also.
I then began strong strength training with a calorie surplus and it took me about 1.5 years to have a decent warrior look.
At the end of the day, your body will respond, you just need consistency, perseverance and motivation

[MorrisChannel]

I started at 285, I'm now at 238, I'm estimating it will take me a year and a half to get the body I want and then continue working out consistently throughout my life.

[FelixNL]

Most underrated fitness channel of YouTube !

[jamesgill]

Thanks for the vid, I’ve trained for years getting a low body fat physique however the only time I looked like these dudes was when I added test to my programme. So many people are jabbing and taking steroids no information can be relied upon because everyone says their natty.

[hakimonn]

Btw at 5:22 about the "Warrior Physique" ; are the measurements by kilos ? So does that mean if i'm 70 kgs do i need to Bench Press with 84 kilos ? 😲

[DIOBrando-urwe]

Great video. Very informative and definitely gave me an idea of what to do

[MrMrannoying]

I am aiming for the warrior physique. I’m at 30% body fat, But this past month I’ve shown to myself that I can dedicate my energy into trimming down. Now with your video I have a goal in mind that I can aim for. I’ve always underestimated my goals for exercises, but the ones in the videos should take me to a level beyond. I will work my hardest this year to make myself better

[gglvchucho]

I’m going for super hero and I’ll check in within 3 months! I’ll upload a video and I’ll leave a link to it on this comenta swell! I’m doing it now no excuses!! I’ll check in then you within 3 months Chucho, let’s show em what we got 💪🔥

[vyoufinder]

At age 17, I went from bench pressing 135 to 225 in 3 months. At age 50, I went from 30 reps of 100 lbs to 30 reps of 110 in 3 weeks. I'm 144 lbs at 50 and was 145 lbs at 17.

[ashuzguitar]

I am going for Tyler Durden physique from the Movie you are not supposed to talk about. I think that might come under warrior physique.

[f.cpranksrzk]

Hey man great video. Already subbed but I have a question. Can I reach the warrior physique with a 3x5 full body program 3x per week? I’m Jsut wondering if I can reach the warriors standards with my program if it will be enough. Since im skinny i will also be bulking so I will be continuously increasing the weight

[qingdynastyinc]

“How long? Well”...it depends on how many cookies I eat to stay sane 😅 great info man, thanks

[wiremuparker]

Category 3, lifting for life

I'm 6'4 92kg 1920BMR Strength Train 3x per week Calculated my TDEE @ 2650cal (Office job) after 12 weeks @ 1900cal I lost 2kg fat (yay) but .7kg muscle (boo) (dexa scan results) trying to get to 8-10% BF after another 12 weeks weight loss stalled, counting absolutely everything I eat getting 1.8g protein per kg. After another 4 weeks fat/weight loss stalled, strength keeps going up though! Local trainers want me to go to up to 2700cal and keep training, they are saying I'm not eating enough. Is cutting to 8-10% before bulking or re-comping an unorthodox method? Just wondering why the competitive builders are wanting me to do the opposite?

[Opa_Joke]

Swimming always helped me to get a good head start

[healthhandsomeness]

Category 1 for sure I just wanna be healthy and strong

[mindfulbody]

If I have 130 kg that is mean I have to 130 of x 1.2 is 156 kg on bench press ? Isn't that too much? I wouldn't be able to do it. Any advice please.

[TheAllMotorAllDay]

While thinking how long does it take to get rip n watching this video...grab my family size chips n start eating

[shu]

Hello, I need your help, I am 15 and I have 4.4% of body fat and I want to get ripped what should I do ? I want to go to the gym, i have a bit of fat on my belly area what should I do ? Thank you gym brahs

[agauerm]

There is a rather absurd myth in bodybuilding which was always a joke to me but even otherwise intelligent people still continue to take seriously — namely the myth that you can’t build muscle without calorie surplus.
The logic ( i am using the word “logic” in a very loose sense here ) goes something like this — you build muscle by eating like a pig ( bulking ) then you lose fat by eating like an anorexic girl ( cutting ) and you end up being jacked and ripped. This never actually worked for anybody ever because there is no possible way for this to work but people continue to believe in this for the same reason people believe everything else — because it feels good to believe it.
It feels good to believe results will come out of nowhere — no optimizations to training or nutrient timing, sleep, drugs — nothing at all — you just eat more at first then you eat less and BAM ! you look like a fitness model.
In your dreams that is …
Nutrient Partitioning … the way you get jacked and ripped in reality is by Nutrient Partitioning. This means you make your body preferentially divert calories from fat to muscle — there are many ways to do this, but neither “bulking” nor “cutting” are among those. Bulking simply means both your muscle and fat grow and Cutting simply means both your muscle and fat shrink — at the end of the full cycle you return to EXACTLY the same place you started from IF YOU ARE LUCKY !
In actual reality at the end of a cycle of bulking and cutting you will likely look WORSE than at the beginning because the extra calories during bulk will come in form of junk food and the calorie deficit during the cut will come at the expense of protein and other essential nutrients.
Of course when people embark on this foolishness it is accompanied by training and / or drug use which do result in improvements … these improvements are then attributed to the bulk or the cut, but actually have nothing to do with either.
So if there is no logic whatsoever ( there isn’t ) behind bulking and cutting where does the idea originate from ? There are actually two sources for this lunacy.
1 — the very top professional bodybuilders compete once a year ( or maybe 2 or 3 times a year ) during which competitions they must nail as close to zero percent bodyfat as possible for 2 days ( prejudging and finals ). The optimum amount of bodyfat for a man is maybe 15 pounds so this is how much pro bodybuilders hold throughout the year then about 3 months before the competition they cut. This makes sense because they remain at optimum bodyfat for healthy maintenance most of the year and at the bodyfat they need to compete at only during competition. However this isn’t referred to as bulking and cutting — it is referred to as contest prep, off season and rebound. Pro bodybuilders do NOT “bulk” EVER.
2–the 2nd source of the bulking / cutting lunacy is good old wishful thinking — during the bulk the victim convinces himself that all of the weight gained is muscle and during the cut he convinces himself that all of the weight lost is fat. This way if you gain 20 lbs then lose 20 lbs you tell yourself you gained 20 lbs of muscle and lost 20 lbs of fat … in reality you gained ZERO muscle and lost ZERO fat UNLESS you took steroids OR you trained harder than you did previously. Without bulking and cutting it would be obvious that nothing is changing whatsoever and motivation would be lost — but with Bulk / Cut it is easy to delude yourself into thinking you’re making progress and people thrive on deluding themselves — this is the real reason why the myth will not die.
Fine so what is the solution then ? How do you build muscle ? Well if you don’t want to take steroids and if you’re already training as much as you can the way to achieve optimum nutrient partitioning is … macros and nutrient timing.
This means you eat more protein and less fat and the food is spread into multiple small meals spread evenly throughout the day but concentrated around workout time — mainly after the workout.
You also need to hit optimum bodyfat level ( lean but not ripped ) and stay there forever. No bulking or cutting — just maintaining optimum bodyfat — this would be like a permanent off-season for a pro bodybuilder ( since you don’t compete ).
Drugs, Training, Macros and Nutrient timing are the only tools at your disposal to achieve nutrient partitioning. Whatever gains you make using those are real. Whatever gains you make by bulking and cutting are only in your head — you are just chasing your own tail — you’re not going anywhere.
Just take my fucking word for it — chasing your own tail is not intelligent behavior. Weight gained or weight lost DOES NOT MATTER. Only the BODY COMPOSITION CHANGES matter. Instead of looking at the scale you should look at pictures and measurements ( arms, legs, waist, bodyfat % etc ). If you don’t have abs your first order of business is to get them — it doesn’t matter how anxious you are to gain muscle RIGHT NOW— your goal should be to get abs FIRST and keep them FOREVER. Only the weight you gain while holding on to those abs at the same time matters — anything else is just you deluding yourself.