Shredded Like Wolverine Workout: Build A Leaner, More Muscular Physique

Shredded, cut, diced, peeled, the list can go on about how you would want to transform or refine your physique to mimic the body of one of the most popular heroes out there. Instead of dealing with your troubled past and evading those who want to destroy you, you just want to shed some body fat and look better naked.

All kidding aside; it will take some forethought, commitment and discipline adhering to a sound workout and diet plan to get there. Nothing worth having is easy and the road to your goal begins with small steps building you into the person you want to be. So, forget starving yourself and performing cardio-only routines. Let’s build some muscle, pack in some protein and get shredded!

The following training and diet plan is split into three distinct phases. The training may be a bit more frequency than you are used to but the volume is kept in check so your metabolism will race and burn more body fat at rest.

Every two weeks the training and diet shift to keep things interesting and the body guessing. Your goal is to build muscle along with stripping away fat. Keep pushing the weight and sticking to the diet and the gains (and losses) will come.

Phase 1 (two weeks)

This phase is the break-in period. It will get things kicked off by training each body part twice per week and set the stage for the diet portion as well.

Phase 2 (two weeks)

This phase reduces calories and increases intensity. This period is when you should feel things shift t burning fat and building some appreciable muscle.

Phase 3 (two weeks)

This phase lowers the calories even further and jacks up the intensity even more. By this point you are well on your way!

Off Days

On off days you will eliminate the post workout meal only in all phases of this program. Also, you may want to add in one or two cheat meals (preferably on the same day) on the weekend. Don’t go overboard, just eat enough to be satisfied and stop there. Don’t get off track too much and pig out.

One more thing about off days – it’s not a green light to get lazy. Go out and enjoy other activities: basketball, swimming or anything you just plain enjoy doing actively. This will not only keep your interest up in being active it will also keep your metabolism humming along.

Supplements

If you want to include other supplements to the program in addition to whey protein, 5 grams of creatine can be added to both the pre and post workout meals.

Motivation

Discipline and a hard work ethic are slowly built over time. To be completely honest, six weeks on this program won’t turn you into Hugh Jackman overnight, but it will set you on a path to a better, stronger, leaner, more muscular physique. All it takes is patience and a will to succeed. Train hard, stay the course and the changes will come.

Give the program below a try for the next six weeks. Feel free to modify it according to your experience level. You can try three different options:

• Perform the program as is – six weeks then take a few days off and perform the six weeks all over again.
• Perform the six week program twice back-to-back for a total of twelve weeks.
• Perform each phase for three weeks instead of two for a total of nine weeks.

The choice is yours depending on your goals, time availability, upcoming event or just want to continue the program.

*** The diet is based on someone weighing approximately 180 pounds.

Phase 1 Training – Build muscle and strength

Phase one is all about breaking into the program. Perform the workouts over a four day period per week. Take a day off after two days of training. For example: Train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Wednesday and the weekend off.

Phase 1 Training
Day 1
Exercise	Warmups	Sets	Rest Between Sets
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press	2x10-15	3x4-8	90 sec
Dumbbell Bench Press		3x4-8	90 sec
Bent Over Two Arm Dumbbell Row	2x10-15	3x4-8	90 sec
Medium or Close Grip Pull Up		3x4-8	90 sec
Military Press	1x10	3x4-8	90 sec
Wide Grip Upright Row		3x4-8	90 sec
Hanging Leg Raise		3x10-15	45 sec
Floor Crunch		3x10-15	45 sec
Interval training – choose any form of cardio for a total of 14 minutes	2 minutes	One minute of high intensity and two minutes of low intensity (four rounds)

Phase 1 Training
Day 2
Exercise	Warmups	Sets	Rest Between Sets
Barbell Curl	1x10-15	3x4-8	90 sec
Weighted Dips	1x10-15	3x4-8	90 sec
Squat	2x10-15	3x6-10	90 sec
Leg Press		3x6-10	90 sec
Romanian Deadlift	1x10-15	3x6-10	90 sec
Seated Calf Raise	1x10-15	3x6-10	90 sec
Incline Sit Up		3x10-15	45 sec
Interval training – choose any form of cardio for a total of 14 minutes	2 minutes	One minute of high intensity and two minutes of low intensity (four rounds)

• Day 3: same as day 1
• Day 4: same as day 2

Phase 1 Diet
Eating Plan
Meal #	Foods
Meal 1	¾ cup oatmeal combined with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter, cinnamon and sweeten with Splenda, 3 whole eggs scrambled or 1 scoop of whey protein combined with 1 cup of skim milk
Meal 2	1 cup of Greek yogurt, 2 oz. of mixed nuts
Meal 3	4-6 oz. of turkey or chicken, 2 slices of whole wheat bread or Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp of low-fat mayo, lettuce and 2 slices of low fat cheese, tomato, 1 banana or fruit of choice
Meal 4	(Pre workout) 1 apple1 scoop of whey protein combined with 1 cup of skim milk
Meal 5	(Post workout) 16 oz. of Gatorade or Powerade1-2 scoops of whey protein combined with 1 cup of skim milk
Meal 6	6-8 oz. of lean beef, fish, chicken or turkey 1 cup of mixed vegetables or any vegetable of your choice 1 medium sweet potato or 1 cup of rice, cooked

Note: Be sure to drink at least one gallon of water throughout the day.

Approximate totals: Calories – 3000 calories, 190 grams of protein, 400 grams of carbs, 70 grams of fat.

Phase 2 Training – Strip the fat and get more muscular

Now it’s time to turn up the intensity a bit. Keep the rest intervals in check as your pace will increase. Adding volume and lowering rest duration shouldn’t have you in the gym much longer than the last phase.

Phase 2 Training
Day 1
Exercise	Warmups	Sets	Rest Between Sets
Incline Bench Dumbbell Flye	2x10-15	4x8-12	60 sec
Incline Bench Press or Machine Press		3x8-12	60 sec
Shoulder or Wide Grip Pull Up	1x10	4x8-12	60 sec
Machine or T-Bar Row		3x8-12	60 sec
Side Lateral Raise	1x10-15	4x8-12	60 sec
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press		3x8-12	60 sec
Incline Crunch		3x15-20	45 sec
Hanging Knee Raise		3x15-20	45 sec
Interval training – choose any form of cardio for a total of 14 minutes	2 minutes	One minute of high intensity and one minute of low intensity (six rounds)

Phase 2 Training
Day 2
Exercise	Warmups	Sets	Rest Between Sets
Dumbbell Curl	1x10-15	4x4-8	60 sec
Skullcrusher or Cable Pressdowns	1x10-15	4x4-8	60 sec
Single Leg Press or Walking Lunge	2x10-15	3x6-10	60 sec
Squat		3x6-10	60 sec
Leg Curl	1x10-15	3x6-10	60 sec
Standing Calf Raise	1x10-15	3x6-10	60 sec
Hanging Leg Raise		3x15-20	30 sec
Interval training – choose any form of cardio for a total of 14 minutes	2 minutes	One minute of high intensity and one minute of low intensity (six rounds)

• Day 3: same as day 1
• Day 4: same as day 2

Phase 2 Diet
Eating Plan
Meal #	Foods
Meal 1	½ cup oatmeal combined with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter, cinnamon and sweeten with Splenda, 3 whole eggs scrambled or 1 scoop of whey protein combined with water
Meal 2	1 cup of Greek yogurt, 2 oz. of mixed nuts
Meal 3	4-6 oz. of turkey or chicken, 2 slices of whole wheat bread or Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp of low-fat mayo, lettuce and 2 slices of low fat cheese, tomato, 1 banana or fruit of choice
Meal 4	(Pre workout) 1 apple1 scoop of whey protein combined with water
Meal 5	(Post workout) 1-2 scoops of whey protein combined with water
Meal 6	6-8 oz. of lean beef, fish, chicken or turkey, 1 cup of mixed vegetables or any vegetable of your choice, ½ medium sweet potato or ½ cup of rice, cooked

Note: Be sure to drink at least one gallon of water throughout the day.

Approximate totals: Calories – 2650 calories, 180 grams of protein, 300 grams of carbs, 65 grams of fat.

Phase 3 Training – Shred it up!

Now it’s crunch time! You will be going at full speed for the next two weeks with supersets, reduced rest periods and higher reps - getting shredded is the name of the game.

Note: Movements are paired according to convenience in a busy gym. A superset is when two exercises are performed back to back without rest. The rest period will be taken after each superset is performed.

Phase 3 Training
Day 1
Exercise	Warmups	Sets	Rest Between Sets
Superset: Flat bench dumbbell press with two-arm dumbbell row	2x10-15	3x10-15	30 sec between supersets
Superset: Incline bench dumbbell fly with close-grip pull-up		3x10-15	30 sec between supersets
Superset: Feet-elevated push-up with inverted row		3x10-15	30 sec between supersets
Superset: Dumbbell front raise with Dumbbell side lateral	1x10-15	3x10-15	30 sec between supersets
Superset: Hanging leg raise with incline sit-up		4x15-20	No rest between supersets
Interval training – choose any form of cardio for a total of 14 minutes	2 minutes	One minute of high intensity and 30 seconds of low intensity (eight rounds)

Phase 3 Training
Day 2
Exercise	Warmups	Sets	Rest Between Sets
Superset: Incline dumbbell curl with overhead dumbbell triceps extension	1x10-15	4x10-15	30 sec between supersets
Superset: Front squat with Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift	2x10-15	3x10-15	30 sec between supersets
Superset: Walking lunge with dumbbell squat		3x10-15	30 sec between supersets
One-leg calf raise	1x10-15	3x10-15	No rest
Floor crunch		4x15-20	30 secs
Interval training – choose any form of cardio for a total of 14 minutes	2 minutes

• Day 3: same as day 1
• Day 4: same as day 2

Phase 3 Diet
Eating Plan
Meal #	Foods
Meal 1	¼ cup oatmeal combined with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter, cinnamon and sweeten with Splenda, 3 whole eggs scrambled or 1 scoop of whey protein combined with water
Meal 2	1 cup of Greek yogurt, 2 oz. of mixed nuts
Meal 3	4-6 oz. of turkey or chicken, 2 slices of whole wheat bread or Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp of low-fat mayo, lettuce and 2 slices of low fat cheese, tomato, Small salad with oil-based dressing
Meal 4	(Pre workout) 1 apple, 1 scoop of whey protein combined with water
Meal 5	(Post workout) 2 scoops of whey protein combined with water
Meal 6	6-8 oz. of lean beef, fish, chicken or turkey, 2 cups of mixed vegetables or any vegetable of your choice

Note: Be sure to drink at least one gallon of water throughout the day.

Approximate totals: Calories – 2200 calories, 180 grams of protein, 220 grams of carbs, 60 grams of fat.