Getting cut, ripped, and shredded are all ways to describe ridding your body of excess fat. In the absence of excess body fat, you will display more muscularity, definition, or detail.
Some people ask me, “How many reps should I do if I want more definition or detail? Shouldn’t I do more reps?” I would never suggest that you do more reps to get more cuts or definition. The number of repetitions you do during a set—or weight training at all, for that matter—is not what gets you lean. Getting rid of excess body fat comes from adhering to an effective, calorie-deprived diet, implementing an efficient cardiovascular training program, or doing a combination of both of those strategies.
I’ll concede that, if you are training hard with weights to initiate the muscle-building process, you are indirectly taking steps towards burning calories. Studies have shown that the more muscle you have on your body the faster your metabolism will generally be. That way of burning calories, however, is a long-term process achieved over the course of weeks and months, if not years.
The “Pump”
Getting a good pump is not a reliable indicator of whether you had a good workout. I define a good workout as one in which I directly overloaded the intended muscle group with heavy weight and worked every set as close to absolute failure as humanly possible. Sometimes, I will get a good pump when I do so—but sometimes I will not.
I realize that all of the bodybuilding magazines tell us to “Always go for the pump when you train!” but let’s identify what a pump actually is. A pump is simply a good, heavy flow of blood into a particular region of the body you are working at the time. Blood can flood a particular area of the body for many other reasons besides being overloaded with heavy weight until absolute failure. Frequency of training, vascular system and even the weather temperature can affect a person’s ability to achieve a pump. In fact, you may have an easier time getting a pump doing 100 pushups than you would doing five repetitions of bench presses with 350 pounds. There is no doubt in my mind, however, which of these exercises would create a better muscle-generating workout.
