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| How to Reveal Your 'Six-Pack' of Abs! | |
OK people, it's time to get real. You may have heard this many times
before, but until you believe it in your heart and soul, I believe that it
is worth repeating:
No amount of weird exercises or machines will magically reveal your abs.
The ONLY way to reveal your abs is to lose that layer of fat covering them.
Now, the only way to lose the abdominal fat is by consistent dieting and
cardiovascular exercise. Period. All those odd hanging, leg twisting, body
contorting exercises are no better than simple crunches.
"Abs are made in the kitchen, NOT in the gym!"
The big problem is that intellectually, many people totally agree. However,
emotionally it does not click. I know this because day after day I see
people doing marathon abdominal work. They do four or five different
exercises. They think the more they do, the more defined their abs will
become. They try to target the upper, lower, inner and outer, left, right,
etc. Give me a break. They do tons of weighted side bends trying to get rid
of the love handles.
Here's a news flash -- It won't work. You cannot spot reduce! What I mean
by this is that you can't pick and choose the areas that you would like to
lose the fat and do exercises that work those areas expecting the fat to
just magically disappear in those areas.
Your body does not work that way. The only way to decrease the amount of
fat in certain key areas is by lowering your total body fat levels. As you
lose fat, it will come off all over your body, not just in specific areas.
It's kind of interesting to watch sometimes. They have the right
motivation, but they are doing the wrong things. If they expended 1/2 the
energy on their diet as they do doing rep after rep of hanging leg raises,
they would already have their six pack. Developing a visible set of abs is
simple.
Ab development can be boiled down to a few simple steps
First, go on a fat loss diet.
If you have a high body fat percentage, the abs won't show no matter how
much you work. Once your body fat falls below 8% for men, or 14% for women,
your abs will begin to show through.
Your diet should consists higher protein intake, moderate fat and moderate
complex carbohydrate. You should cut out all excess simple sugars, lower
your dairy intake and eliminate excess saturated fats. The majority of your
dietary fat should come from essential fatty acids (EFA's -- omega-6 and
omega-3).
To lose fat you need to eat fewer calories. You should create a mild
caloric deficit when dieting. In other words, you should be using more
calories than you are taking in from your diet. This way, your body has to
get the extra calories it needs from fat stores (hopefully). I say
hopefully because if you drop your calories too drastically, your body may
prefer to use muscle tissue for energy instead of fat. This is why many
people who go on fad diets look so soft. They lose almost as much muscle
mass as fat those drastic diets.
Second, start exercising aerobically.
Perform some form of cardiovascular exercise on a regular basis -- at least
3 times per week. It doesn't matter what you do (walking, running, cycling,
aerobics, stairmaster, etc.), as long as it keeps your heart rate elevated
for at least 30-45 minutes. This will speed your fat loss by elevating your
metabolism, thus burning more calories.
Finally, work your abs just 2-3 times per week.
Work your abs like any other body part. Training them more than once or
twice per week is unnecessary. More is not necessarily better. I typically
do only two different abdominal exercises. The first is the simple crunch
(yes, crunches) and reverse crunches.
That's it.
Contraction is everything when working abs. Remember that your abs work
like an accordion, not like a hinge. So when doing crunches, you should
concentrate on crunching together rather than moving your body upwards.
This will maximize muscle tension.
You must concentrate on contracting your muscles as tight as you can. This
will cause them to fatigue faster. It does not matter how many reps you can
do; the only thing that matters is how hard you can contract your abdominal
muscles.
If it takes you 100 crunches before your abs begin to burn, then you are
wasting your time. Your abs should be fatigued at no more than 20-25 reps.
If they are aren't, you need to add weights to your exercise and work on
contracting the muscles tightly for each rep. Don't concentrate so much on
"how many" you can do, but instead focus on "how hard" you can contract the
abdominal muscles
Contrary to popular belief (another myth), doing full sit-ups, lying leg
raises or hanging leg raises DOES NOT give your abdominals the best
workout. In fact, these exercises work your hip flexor muscles (psoas
major) much more than your abs!
Remember, the most effective exercises for working the abs must involve a
"scrunching" type contraction, like an accordion.
Exercises Recommended
(to view photos of the recommended exercises, please to to:
http://www.fatlosstips.com/abs.html)
Crunches
Lie flat on the floor with your knees bent and legs about 1-2 feet apart,
or you can place your lower legs up on a bench. Rest your hands either
gently behind your head or crossed on top of your chest.
Raise up a few inches off of the floor and stop when you reach maximum ab
contraction. Exhale as you curl up and inhale as you slowly lower. The goal
of this exercise is to curl your upper torso forward, bringing your ribcage
toward your pelvis. Keep the rest of the body stationary and you do not sit
all the way up.
If you are getting a sore neck from doing these, you need to work on
relaxing your neck muscles. Keep your hands and neck relaxed. They should
not be involved in this movement.
This is not a jerking motion. It should be smooth and controlled. You
should be working for maximum contraction and burn.
2-3 times per week, perform 4 sets of 20-25 slow reps with a hard
contraction at the top of the motion. Rest 90 seconds between each set.
Reverse Crunches
These are like leg raises, except that you are on an incline bench and
should keep your knees bent. Lie on your back on a slightly inclined bench
and grab the top of the bench. The object of this exercise is to bring your
pelvis up and towards your rib cage by contracting your abs. Exhale as you
crunch up and then slowly lower your legs as you inhale.
You will not be able to do too many of these, so make them count. Make sure
to contract your abs as much as possible at the top of the movement.
Do not swing into position. The motion should be smooth and controlled.
Also, don't let yourself slip too far down the bench, or you will be out of
proper position.
2-3 times per week, perform 4 sets of 15-20 (or as many as you can do) with
a hard contraction at the top of the motion. Rest 90 seconds between each set.
That's it. Nothing "magical", just "smart" training and dieting.
Anthony Ellis
http://www.ripped-abs.com
Free fat loss and dieting tips!
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