4 expert tips for sculpting your body

Tip: Building your upper-body strength will support your lower-body goals.

Let’s say you want a rounder butt. You can't just do glute-focused exercises – you have to sculpt the entire leg. Working the quads to deepen what bodybuilders call the ‘sweep’ adds depth and brings out the glutes more. Flipping focus to the back of your legs to work the hamstrings gives a lift to the glutes. You get the idea.

This is what I mean by everything works in unison. So no skipping leg day or any other day for that matter!

2. Lift heavy, lift often

I’m often asked by clients if they should focus on cardio to burn excess fat before switching to weights to sculpt their body. I like doing it in unison.

The face I make when clients tell me they’re worried lifting weights won’t get the same results as cardio.

Why? Truth be told, lifting burns more fat! While you may burn more calories in the middle of a cardio workout, muscle is more metabolically active – strength training will keep that slow fat burn going all day long.

So, having a consistent weight training regime and adding in bursts of HIIT-style cardio is the best combination for shaping and sculpting muscle, while also burning fat.

Clearly, I love heavy lifting. But I know there are still a lot of myths around strength training – especially for women. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard it: “Oh, if I lift I’m going to get bigger. I’m going to get bulky.” No, you get curves, girl!

3. Never lose your focus

Competitive bodybuilding requires discipline, focus and consistency. That dedication to training is one thing, but the discipline needed to eat beyond clean – and constantly – is on another level. Yet achieving what I did in bodybuilding showed me I can do anything!

Stay focused on your goal (in this case, climbing an invisible rope).

Whatever your goal is, maintaining that focus and consistency will take you a long way. Never lose sight of your purpose. Results might take 4-6 weeks to begin showing and a lot of people will quit before they get there. But if you stay the course, show up even when you’re tired or busy, that’s consistency.

And don’t forget to bring that positive mindset. It’s truly how we get anything done. The belief that not only you can, but WILL, is so powerful. Always tap into that!

4. A sculpted body is made in the kitchen

Your diet helps shape your body! What you eat can truly dictate if you're leaning out, bulking up, burning fat or maintaining weight. So you need to capitalize on all your sweat and hard work by eating a diet that will help you get to your goal.

Working out in the morning? Here are 8 plant-based ways to do high-protein breakfast.

Diet can also fuel or foil your workout. To bring that intensity, make sure you’re fueling up on pre-workout carbs for performance and refueling with lean protein after training.

If you follow a plant-based diet like me, it’s a good idea to consult with an expert to ensure you’re getting everything you need to achieve your goal. I’ve seen a lot of vegans struggle with eating too many carbs – you still need to have balance. You’ll find plenty of high-protein meals (with macros provided) on Centr to get you on the right track.