Everyone wants to look good. It is just a simple fact. Now the general definition of what “good” is can vary a little. There are some guys that think the ‘beefcake’ look is the way to go. But for the most part, looking good means having muscles that are clearly defined to go with a nice 6-pack of abs.

There is a certain ‘look’ that most people find ideal that for the most part is considered fit and lean. But how do you get this look? I won’t lie; it takes some serious work, but probably not in the way you think.

Getting Lean

The honest truth is that to get ripped the program is 65-75% diet, 5% mental, and the rest is all about exercise. Most people, however, who are going for a lean look end up flip flopping the exercise and diet portions. So while they workout extremely hard, the type of results they want aren’t realized because they can’t overcome the dietary lapses.

The Mental Aspect

While I stated 5% mental, for some people this can initially be a larger portion. Changing how you eat is very difficult. A lot of our dietary habits have been built up over the years. They get modified by an enjoyment of food (especially in social situations) as well as the convenience factor. So generally speaking overhauling your diet to a new plan is a hard nut to swallow.

But there is hope. Most people, after they start to see the effects of getting lean, can then use that as motivation to stay on track. Every morning you look in the mirror and see more definition in your body (including your abs) and that makes you feel good. Those good feelings carry over to your mood about eating and it just becomes easy to stay on track because you like how you look and feel.

You will feel better too because part of a good diet plan involves the elimination of a lot of sugar and excess carbs that get turned into sugar. Those play havoc with your glucose and energy levels. Life is completely different when your body is on an even field of good energy versus having swings up and down dominated by sugar intake. But after you have been on track for a few weeks the mental portion of the game slips down to around 5%.

The Diet

Now to begin, there is no perfect diet. In fact your diet will probably change a little bit over time as you adjust to what you like, what works well for your schedule, and your changing needs based on your body’s progression. But there are basic rules that everyone should follow.

First, you need to consume fewer calories compared to what you burn. Otherwise you are never going to be burning excess fat. It is just a simple fact. A great starting point is to take your bodyweight and multiply it by 15. This is generally the amount of calories your body will burn in a day. Your aim should be to consume 250-350 calories less than this number. Some people go for a lot more, but they also haven’t factored in how many calories they burn working out. This causes a problem where the body gets concerned about the lack of nourishment and stores fat just in case.

Another important number to track is protein consumption. Ideally you want to have about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. This will ensure you have the proper nutritional building blocks for your muscles to maintain and gain size. After you figure out your protein intake, the rest of your calories are split between fats (aim for 15-20%) and carbs.

What to eat? You should look to eat things you like. But, there are a few rules. Carbs should not be white (white bread, white rice, etc). You want to get more of your energy from whole grain carbs as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. Processed foods and canned foods should be avoided. Ideally you should be eating 3 to 5 small meals a day with 1-2 snacks so that you consume food every 3 hours or so. This will keep a regular stream of energy to your body as well as help regulate a slightly increased metabolism.

You want to take in a lot of water over the day. A daily vitamin in the morning is also highly recommended. Things to avoid would be candy, soda, and anything with too much sugar. While you might not want to give up your coffee, unless you take it black you are actually starting your day with a huge sugar spike that your body doesn’t need.

Exercise

There isn’t much to say here. If you are working out hard with weights and doing a few hours of cardio a week that will be enough. Far too many people do 5-6 or more hours of cardio but then still eat horribly and don’t see the results they want. Instead you should focus on 2-3 hours of great cardio doing either fat burning or interval training as well as regular weight sessions. After you have adjusted your diet and been on it for a few weeks you will have a better idea if you should do a little bit more in the gym to speed up your gains.

Ben Sanderson is an author for Nutribomb Bodybuilding Supplements. Nutribomb is your online guide to the best supplements on the internet.

Have you been watching television lately? If so, you may have seen advertisements for an online auction site called QuiBids that claims to offer consumers a chance to nab high-end merchandise for almost nothing.

In case you haven’t seen the company’s commercials, I’ve embedded one below. Although I’m not thrilled about giving these guys free advertisement; since I’ll be trashing them in the coming paragraphs, it’ll probably be alright.

How they get you

The QuiBids scam works like this: you spend your hard-earned cash on bidpacks; you use these bids on one of their auctions; you lose the auction; you lose your bids. Awesome! Although someone does finally win the item for a pretty nice price, all the other bidders lose their bids and the money they used to purchase them. Meanwhile, QuiBids makes a killing, as compulsive gambling types continue to throw their money away on auction after auction.

Don’t bother

Besides being deceptive as hell, this company has also been accused of using automated bots to make fake bids that keep auctions alive longer and promote bidder failure. When comparing monthly visitors to actual bidders, some have noticed that they don’t match up, with more bidders than visitors. How interesting.

It’s not clear whether this penny auction site is underhanded or just taking advantage of consumer ignorance; however, I wouldn’t use it just because I’m smart. If you like to gamble; go to Las Vegas. If you want to score bargains online, use a reputable site like eBay.

Ryan Lawrence is a freelance copywriter and special contributor to TheMansWebsite.com.

Deals, deals, deals, they say! I’m talking about penny auctions. You’ve seen them, right? They advertise during football games on ESPN or on late-night television, when you’re too tired to think about what they’re really saying.

Sites like Skoreit and MadBid say they’ll let you in on the chance to enjoy sweet deals on expensive electronics and gold jewelry; but are they legit? No, says Sarah McDaniels, a sexy technology expert who writes for Kingofhowto.com.

“The Better Business Bureau has listed penny auctions in its top ten list of online scams,” she said. “These sites promise great bargains; but they are ultimately designed to take advantage of consumer ignorance.”

According to the lovely McDaniels, penny auction sites, such as QuiBids, Beezid and BidRivals, work by forcing members to purchase bid packs that included about 30 to 100 bids.

“Each time you place a bid on an item, you lose that bid whether you win the auction or not,” McDaniels said. “Ultimately, these sites don’t offer ‘deals, deals, deals,’ as they say; instead, they strive to take advantage of their membership.”

McDaniels says almost all penny auctions exist to profit from consumer ignorance.

“Each time you place a bid, most of these sites either reset the auction timer or add a few seconds; so more people can make a bid,” she said. “This gives the companies more opportunity to profit from an auction at the expense of its members. In the end, they can make thousands off an item that sells for just a few dollars.”

According to McDaniels, although penny auctioneers profit when bidders fail, they aren’t necessarily doing anything illegal. Still, she says there are all sorts of complaints centered on the suspicion of fake bids.

“Do a simple Google search, and you’ll see current and former members complaining about shills that make fake bids on behalf of the companies, themselves,” she said. “If this is true, members really have no chance, and even if it’s not; the fact that people are worried about it demonstrates that members aren’t satisfied with their experiences and are worried that the companies are screwing them over.”

Ryan Lawrence is a special contributor to TheMansWebsite.com. He is an online/print feature writer, SEO copywriter and interview expert.

Every man wants ripped ab muscles that draw the eyes of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, most guys don’t know how to get abs, and many resort to buying ridiculous workout gadgets that ultimately end up in their next garage sale. According to one bodybuilding and fitness expert, most of these muscle-building techniques aren’t only ineffective; they’re unecessary.

Jake Weathers, a fitness expert who writes muscle-building instructional articles for kingofhowto.com, says almost every man already has sexy abs; however, most keep them hidden under mounds of disgusting fat.

“Most guys take the wrong approach when trying to get abs,” he said. “If you want to know how to get a six pack, you need to know how to drop weight.”

According to Weathers, there’s really no point in doing any muscle-building exercises until you eliminate that frustrating layer of flab that hides your stomach muscles.

“There simply isn’t any way to build your muscles up enough for them to stand out if you’ve got fat on your belly,” he said. “Most guys are shocked to see that they already have pretty amazing ab muscles even without working out. It’s a complete waste of time to do a bunch of crunches and leg lifts unless you can already see your abs.”

To expose your hidden stomach muscles, Weathers recommends a hardcore aerobic exercise program that will reduce your body fat to almost nil.

“It’s hard work, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “When you see guys with great abdominal muscles; they had to work for that, let me tell you. But contrary to what you may think, they didn’t get abs by doing a million crunches; they did it by doing a ton of cardio and eating the right foods in the right manner.”

If you want to get sexy abs, Weathers says it’s critical that you eat a high-protein, high fiber diet. He also says you need to eat frequently, every two hours or so. According to him, this speeds the body’s metabolism and forces it to burn fat.

“Starvation diets won’t help you get nice abs,” he said. “When you deprive your body of calories, your brain goes into starvation mode. At that point, it hoards fat and burns muscle. This is not what you want when you’re trying to get ripped and lean.”

Ryan Lawrence is a special contributor to TheMansWebsite.com. He is a print/online feature writer, SEO copywriter and interview expert.