The answer: Depending on how often you exercise and the intensity of your workouts, give it between four to eight weeks for your muscles to get ripped, says Kawamoto.
“At 6 to 8 weeks, you can definitely notice some changes,” said Logie, “and in 3 to 4 months you can do a pretty good overhaul to your health and fitness.” Strength-specific results take about the same amount of time.
Depending on the intensity and the consistency of your workout, it will take 4 to 8 weeks for your muscles to get toned.
On average, you can build noticeable muscle in as little as 6-8 weeks with consistent training. Noticeable fat loss can take as long as 6-12 weeks on the slow range, or 4 weeks on a faster protocol. This is assuming that you are optimizing everything you can for fast results.
The American Council on Exercise says a 1 percent body fat loss per month is safe and achievable. Given that math, it could take a woman with average body fat about 20 to 26 months to achieve the appropriate amount of fat loss for six-pack abs. The average man would need about 15 to 21 months.
You can't expect to go from sedentary to super fit in only three weeks, but you can certainly improve your fitness level. If you're not currently exercising, start by introducing a consistent weekly cardio and strength training program to enhance your fitness level.
“If you work out regularly and eat healthy, you'll start seeing definition in four to six weeks,” says Pete McCall, M.S., C.S.C.S., exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer for the American Council on Exercise.
It is a myth that one must lift more weight to bulk up. If you're regular and patient with lighter weights, you can achieve similar results. It all comes down to two factors: the number of reps, and the way you perform them in order to achieve muscle fatigue.
Cardiovascular exercise
Before you worry about toning up, you need to shed any excess fat. Running, biking, and swimming are the most efficient ways to accomplish this. While exercising for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week is the minimum amount recommended, you're probably going to want to do more to reach your goals.
Yes, absolutely! How much of a transformation depends on how restrictive you are with your food and how much effort you put in. It involves a combination of healthy eating, resistance exercise and cardiovascular exercise. You need to build muscle and burn fat which are two totally separate processes.
Your pants and/or shorts are looser in the waistline.
It is the easiest and most effortless way to notice your progress on the journey to a washboard stomach. If your pants are fitting more loosely or if you have to tighten your belt, then you are losing fat around your stomach.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.
You can do thousands of reps of toning exercises to tighten your waistline and not see fat loss. Exercises like cardio, yoga, and crunches may tone your muscles and strengthen your lower abs, but they won't “erase” fat deposits. The only way to lose fat on your lower stomach is to lose fat overall.
After a month of regular exercise, you will be noticing improvements to your strength and fitness. "You may be able to do more reps in weight training or slightly raise the load, or you're able to walk, jog or cycle a bit faster," Robergs says.
You may be surprised that getting lean and ripped takes six to twelve months. More realistically, losing a significant amount of body fat takes two to three years. Nevertheless, six to twelve months is a reasonable timeframe to achieve a ripped body.
After Two Weeks of Consistent Workouts
“There may be noticeable improvements in performance, such as muscles improving reaction time to stimulus or strength increase in the form of more repetitions completed or weight lifted,” he adds. The greatest difference at two weeks is actually in your mood.
Walking is absolutely a great form of exercise, and one that doesn't get a ton of love because it's so chill and easy compared to other forms of exercise, Saltos says. But, rather than building butt muscles, walking can actually make your bum a bit smaller.
Walking is particularly effective for toning your legs and bum, she adds. “The muscles you use when walking include your calf muscles, thighs and buttocks, so these areas will become more toned and shapely.”
Strength training
You need to be hitting the weights at least three days per week. The research says that at the very least, training a minimum of two days per week is needed to maximize muscle growth.
The American Council on Exercise says a 1 percent body fat loss per month is safe and achievable. Given that math, it could take a woman with average body fat about 20 to 26 months to achieve the appropriate amount of fat loss for six-pack abs. The average man would need about 15 to 21 months.