Diet management will be your key to success. Not doing more sets or more reps or increasing your aerobic activity. All of those things are necessary but alone they won't get you there. If they could the gyms would be full of ripped guys instead of being full of puffy smooth guys trying to get ripped. The exception to this rule would be if you are doing extreme workouts like P90X or some other non-stop intense activity .
The problem with P90X type workouts is that it is difficult to maintain the results without working out like you are on speed everyday.
To get ripped you must know how much food you need per day and lay out those meals in advance. This means you have to carry prepared food with you when you are leaving home. Or you must carry enough protien supplements to replace high the protien meals you will require throughout the day.
This is how to closely estimate how much food you will need throughout each day. You will have to adjust theses calculations as you lose fat.
1. Find out your weight.
2. Next we must calculate the bare mimimum calories you will need per day to sustain yourself. To do this multiply the answer from line one by 10.5: Line 1 X 10.5 =
3. Consider your physical activity for the average day. If you are currently not getting any exercise multiply line 2. by 20%. If you are getting a light amount of exercise say, being on your feet at least 2 hours per day, multiply by line 2 by 30%. Multiple by 40% if you get moderate exercise every day. If you do intense exercise 3-4 times per week use 50%.
4. Add line 2 and line 3. This is your daily calorie need. Or close to it.
5. Now subtract 500 (this will allow you to lose about a pound per week). The resulting number is your ideal daily calorie intake.
If you follow this formula you will lose weight.