If you're looking for a way to get in shape but also to get as cut as possible while preventing the addition of muscle bulk, there are a variety of sports that you should consider.
In order for a sport to help you get cut, it needs to get your hear rate up, work every major muscle group in the body, and not have you acting against much resistance so as to prevent gains in size.
All of the following sports satisfy these requirements and, if you take part in them regularly, are pretty much guaranteed to get you cut. They are the no-fail solution to building a body that demands attention.
1. Rowing
Rowing is great for getting cut because it's going to provide mostly all upper-body activation, which means a slightly lower overall testosterone release. While having some testosterone in your body is a good thing, too much means the addition of bulky muscle mass to your frame, which is precisely what you don't want.
Instead, this high-calorie-burning activity will help to melt the fat off your body while keeping the muscle size you currently have, giving you the ripped and tight appearance you're after.
2. Wrestling
Our next sport that gets you cut in a hurry is wrestling. Many wrestlers are forced to watch their diet intake in order to make weight for a match, so this alone will prevent you from building too much bulk. With the constant stimulation of the fast-twitch muscle fibers throughout your everyday training, you'll be rapidly burning calories while increasing your speed and force-generation ability. These three things will all lead to a cut and chiseled physique.
3. Bouldering
Bouldering is a sport that requires careful agility and coordination, two factors that will help boost muscle strength without packing on the size. You'll just be lifting your own body weight, so that limits the amount of muscle size that's gained. Instead, you're left with an activity that makes you as strong and agile as you'll ever be. Since total body weight factors into performance with this sport, athletes are required to pay close attention to their diet, which guarantees that they'll be cut.
4. Surfing
If you happen to live near the ocean, one sport you'll definitely want to take up is surfing. Almost all serious surfers have a mean set of six-pack abs due to the rapid abdominal muscle activation they need to keep balanced.
The fact that all the muscles in the body will have to be continually stimulated also helps ensure that you're burning up loads of calories per minute, making this a very effective fat-burning activity.
Performance is more about agility and balance than sheer muscle size, so rarely will you see an overly muscular surfer. Instead, surfers have tight bodies that can withstand any oncoming force.
5. Swimming
The classic "swimmer's body" is one that many men aim to achieve, and for good reason. It's strong, powerful and highly defined. Swimming is an excellent calorie-burning activity since it's going to work so many muscle groups at once. The resistance of the water is enough to build sufficient muscle strength and definition without applying a great overload to generate increases in size._________________________________________________________________________
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6. Gymnastics
One sport that often goes overlooked in terms of producing the strongest athletes out there is gymnastics. Whether gymnasts are doing the rings, uneven bars or floor routines, there's no question that they are required to possess a very high amount of sheer muscle strength. In order to be able to move their bodies so quickly, however, great muscle size cannot be present, which is why this sport develops lean, cut physiques. As these athletes gain practice supporting their own body weight in a variety of different positions, muscle strength will grow to an all-time high, proving this to be one of the best conditioning sports around.
7. Parkour
One sport that is gaining attention is parkour. This sport demands a variety of different movement patterns, each of which are incredibly demanding on the core muscles. The movements you'll execute when performing parkour are full-body in nature, and that also increases the total calorie burn per minute, making this one sport that will get you cut very quickly. As no additional weight is added, just like many of the other listed sports, you're unlikely to see great gains in muscle size.
8. Sprinting
Sprinters are well known for being extremely cut. Since they max out their energy systems through complete anaerobic training, they see extreme metabolic increases after their training sessions and thus burn calories at a vastly accelerated rate all day long.
It's not abnormal to see sprinters maintaining a metabolic rate 30 to 50 percent higher than the average individual, so with them burning up calories so rapidly, excess body fat will never be seen. This sport also works the fast-twitch muscle fibers almost exclusively without adding any outside weight, allowing the body to see great muscle definition with a lower amount of muscle bulk.
9. Kayaking
Another fantastic water sport to get out and do when the temperature heats up is kayaking. Like rowing, this sport is going to require almost exclusive use of the upper body, so you'll quickly get cut in the shoulders, back and arms, and since there is a low degree of stimulation for the lower body, you won't see the size gains you would in sports like football. Kayaking is also very fast-paced when you're facing a high-class river, so you'll be burning off plenty of calories during your river run.
10. Ballet
Our last sport, which some mistakenly may not even consider a sport, is ballet. Highly athletic in nature, ballet most definitely does qualify as a sport and tops the list for getting you cut. Not only does it require sheer strength to hold the body in such abnormal positions, but with so many fast-paced turns, steps and jumps performed in a typical training session, you'll be activating every single muscle fiber in the body and seeing extreme calorie burns because of it.
Most ballet dancers have eight-pack abs and clear muscle striations in their legs, arms and back to show for their demanding sport. So if you're thinking of moving your workouts away from the gym and your goal is to get as cut as possible, you should definitely consider one of these sports. Not only will you enjoy getting involved, but you'll see a remarkable transformation taking place in your body, as well.
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