Key Takeaways
- You can get ripped from kayaking, but there are caveats to consider.
- In order to be ripped, you need to be lean and muscular
- You will also have to follow a protein-rich diet to build muscle effectively.
Kayaking isn’t the most popular of sports and probably isn’t accessible to everyone (*looks at 113-degree prediction for tomorrow*). That said, it is a healthy sport that most people would benefit from, and as long as your diet and “live” right, you can get ripped with kayaking.
Let me teach you how.
What Does It Actually Mean To Be Ripped?
Before getting to the destination, we first need to identify exactly where or what it is. When looking at the predicament before us, being “ripped” has no clear identification — it’s merely a term used by people in the fitness industry.
That said, being ripped can be summarized as:
- Having incredibly low body fat levels, usually <10% for men and <16% for women. If that sounds unhealthy, that’s because it is.
- You also need to have a decent amount of muscle mass. Being super lean with little to no body muscle tends to make you look stringy, not ripped.
- Other “factors” can also be put under the ripped nomenclature, such as extreme vascularity, “striations” of the muscle showing through the skin, and “death face” — essentially the face changing shape due to low body fat levels.
While this might seem simple, being ripped is different for each individual. There’s no “no one size fits all,” and what you classify as ripped might be miles different from what I classify as ripped.
The one thing we can all agree on is that you need to be lean and muscular. Which is easier said than done.
Often, we see weight loss plans being marketed as having the ability to get you ripped. Personally, I think kayaking has a greater chance of getting you ripped compared to these programs and less-intense activities like yoga.
Losing Weight vs. Getting Ripped
Of course, losing weight has been studied extensively, and we know that obesity is directly linked to many health concerns. This is why “weight loss” plans are easy to market, as they’re relatively easy to follow and have legit health benefits.
Getting ripped, on the other hand, is something completely different. Getting ripped, as mentioned, isn’t super healthy because super-low fat levels in the body can lead to hormonal irregularities and an increase in injury risk.
That said, to get ripped, you need to be in a calorie deficit, and you need to do resistance training. Does kayaking fit this bill? Yes, it does!
Here’s how you can get ripped from Kayaking:
- You’re doing resistance training because rowing is literally moving through the resistance of the water (just like swimming).
- You’re probably practicing progressive overload because you’re trying to improve your time.
- While maybe not as much as you think, kayaking does also burn a whole mess of calories, which can help bring you down into a calorie deficit.
Is that all you would need to do to get ripped? Potentially. However, for the vast majority of us, it won’t be enough.
How To Get Ripped with Kayaking
In order to really get ripped, here are some other things you might need to do in addition to regular kayaking:
- Follow a diet plan that puts you in a calorie deficit and have you eating at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight.
- This diet plan should be relatively easy to follow and should be something you can sustain. Sustaining a diet plan for a long period of time is the best way to lose weight consistently.
- To have a more complete package, doing some leg sessions at your local gym might help.
- Slow-intensity cardio (or low-intensity) might be a good way to improve that calorie deficit — especially if you have high levels of hunger.
- Certain supplements like creatine and whey protein might make the process easier, but they certainly aren’t needed. They’re called supplements for a reason, after all.
Taking all of this into account, you should aim to lose 0.5 – 1.0% of total body weight per week for 16 weeks (max). You might extend that if you use diet breaks, something that might make the journey easier.
Since you’re competing in a sport, you might also need higher energy days where you eat slightly more calories. Thus, that 16-week plan might actually extend to 20 weeks.
Also, the biggest red flag that appears to tell you that you need to stop — losing strength (in the gym or in the kayak).
Can You Get Ripped from Kayaking?
To answer the overarching question of this article, YES, you can get ripped from kayaking. It’s an incredibly physical sport that requires you to work against resistance and forces your muscles to adapt as time goes on.
Combine that with the following key factors, and you’ll be ripped in no time:
Controlling overall volume so that you don’t fatigue or get injured Making sure you hit your macros daily as well as staying hydrated Sleeping more than 7 – 8 hours per night can aid in fat loss Removing as much stress from your life as you possibly can also help you lose fat If you so choose, ensuring you use the correct supplements
And that’s really all there is to say about that! Now, get out there, and get those abs while making your way down the river, aha!
