I am 16 years old, so my metabolism is probably quick. I was wondering who thinks I can get very cut without dieting, just doing cardio? Cut as in looking good in the stomach area when sitting down :) Anybody think I can do it? If so..suggest how much cardio, what kind of cardio and how often I should do cardio. Thanks

To be more specific, I want to have about 7% body fat. Im probably at about 10 or 11 percent right now.

Most people would agree that diet accounts for like 2/3 of the results. Hope that answers your question. Also, you might as well know that the results you can expect out of anything in life will always, always be directly proportionate to the amount of intelligently directed effort you put in. Will you get results by taking the "easy way"? Yes. Will they suck? Better believe it.

Easy Way to get Cut?

There really isn't an "easy" way.....but I think it isn't all that magical either. It's about discipline. That's what makes the "diet" part hard. It requires almost a little monotomy that most people simply do not want to undertake. That's why they add cheating etc... to their diet. Is cheaeting necessary....no. Once the body has adequete mourishment it really doesn't care if it came from a cheeseburger or scotch oats.

THe more consistent you can be with your eating habits and workouts the faster the results come. Why do many fail and then have to start back up again? Mostly they don't keep at it. Scheduling a workout within a busy life is tough. Planning 6 meals/day makes it even tougher. No one said results were easy so most people learn to live with average results instead of exceptional results.

Keeping low body fat isn't easy and the more that gets dumped on your life the more organized you are required to become. That's for those of us in our late 20's, 30's, 40's and few on this board in their 50's and up, juggling careers, families and whatever else gets thrown on the pile.

It's all about priority.... me, I like low bodyfat so my diet is clean and by many standards boring (oats, tuna, chicken, brown rice etc...) and hard to do when you have a 6 and 4 yr old with incredible metabolisms and a sweet tooth, so I live vicariously through them.


Getting really cut (those last couple of percent is mostly diet and cardio. Cardio alone will just allow you to eat more....I'm definitely not saying you can't do it, because at your age, certain metabolic rules fly out the window. Howver, when you tame your diet and do cardio....you, especially at your age, will get there quicker than most.

Sorry for the long meander to the answer :)

Before I started eating clean (standard food people will tell you on this board) I was about 172LBS with about 14.5% BF. I ran 5KM four times a week, played soccer once, and lifted four times a week for about 30~45 minutes. During this time (about 1 1/2 years) I did manage to drop about 30LBS and an unknown % of BF. But I hit that 172LBS, 14.5%BF and stayed there for about 5 or 6 months.

When I started eating right i dropped down to what I am now (152LBS, 8%BF) in about 4 months. 20LBS in four months and a 50% cut in BF!

Diet is everything if you want to be ripped IMHO. Mind you, you're about 10 years younger than I so your metabolism will be better I assume.