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How To Get Six Pack Abs
Whether you want to get six pack abs, or just looking to lose a
bit of extra luggage you're carrying around the mid-section,
there are 3 "key" areas you need to focus on to get six pack
abs.
Strong abs not only help strengthen your lower back, but also
improve upon your posture. Most lower back injuries occur,
believe it or not, due to weak abs. Focus on these three areas
and over time, you will see improved results.
Key # 1- Proper cardiovascular work
You can have the greatest, most muscular set of six pack abs in
the world, but if they're blanketed by a layer of body fat, who
cares. In order to rid yourself of the extra body fat around
your midsection, you need to incorporate effective cardio
sessions into your fitness plan.
You cannot spot-reduce the midsection by doing extra ab
exercises like crunches or sit-ups. You first must burn off the
body fat through proper cardio to properly define the area.
Abdominal training by itself will not do much. Cardio needs to
be intense enough to do the trick.
Three to four sessions a week, 20 minutes at a time, of intense
jogging, running, the Stairmaster, the elliptical, jumping rope,
or biking should be enough to get the process in gear. Swimming,
hiking, and taking aerobics classes are beneficial as well.
Nothing beats jogging or running. It is the most intense,
efficient, and effective method of burning calories. If running
outside hurts your joints, try running inside on a treadmill or
outside on a dirt path. It definitely is easier on the body.
Again, you NEED three to four intense cardio sessions a week, at
least 20 minutes a session, to help create a calorie deficit and
help rid the body of the fat that covers and lessens your
chances of getting six pack abs.
Key # 2- Proper Nutrition
Do not sabotage your results in the gym by giving yourself a
passport to pig out. Ridding the body of fat once and for all is
accomplished by proper nutrition more so than incorporating
cardio. At the end of the day, if you have consumed more
calories than you have expended, you add body fat. So you need
to burn more calories than you consume.
Nutrition is important because you can reduce the amount of
calories you take in, therefore greatly having an effect on the
amount which you have to expend through cardio. Eat five to six
small, well-balanced meals spaced apart about every three to
four hours. Try to keep something healthy on hand.
If not, when you become real hungry, you will opt for something
that isn?t as good for you. When you become overly hungry, all
rational thinking goes out the window. But it is important to
get something in you. Not eating on time or at all is almost as
bad as eating too much.
Keep protein intake high (approximately 50% of daily calories),
carbs moderate (40%), and fats minimal (10%). Muscle fiber is
made of tightly-wound protein molecules that is damaged during a
workout, so you need more protein than the sedentary person to
help that muscle tissue repair.
Carbohydrates have an important role in the body, but do not
base your meals on them. Try to avoid simple sugars like cane
sugar, honey, fruit juices, syrups, and even a lot of fruit.
Drink at least a gallon of clean water each day as well. It will
help in nutrient absorption and digestion and will help flush
toxins from the body.
Bottom line, make sure you are supplying your body with
well-balanced, healthy food every three to four hours. To ensure
you are creating a calorie deficit, you should find out your
daily caloric requirements that you need just to maintain your
current bodyweight.
Since you are looking to reduce your current body weight by
getting rid of some fat, you want to speed up creating a calorie
deficit. One way is how we talked about above, doing cardio.
The other is by reducing the amount of calories you consume by
150-200 calories per day off your daily calorie maintanence
amount.
For example, if you require, at your age, weight, activity
levels, etc...2000 calories just
to maintain your current
weight, start reducing that number to 1800 to 1850 for a couple
weeks.
If after a couple weeks you still do not see results, lower that
number again by 150-200. Now you would be at 1600 to 1650
calories.
Again, the key to getting six pack abs is ridding your body of
the fat covering the abs.
The only way to do this is by creating a calorie deficit so that
your body burns calories for needed fuel. When you burn stored
calories, you're burning body fat. The way to properly do this
is a combo of increased, intense cardio and a gradual reduction
of calories.
Key # 3- Weight training the abdominals
Here is where most people go wrong in their attempt to develop
their abs. I often ask those I train, "Would you train your
biceps with sets of 50 reps with no weight"? Of course, they say
no. "How about your chest, 50 reps with no weight?" Another no.
I then ask, "Then why would you do that with your abs"?
Here's an important key. If you want proper ab development, you
need to add resistance (weight) to your ab exercises. Abs are
muscles just like biceps, triceps, pecs, glutes, whatever. You
need resistance to properly strengthen and build them. The same
goes for abdominals.
Here are some effective ab exercises to incorporate for proper
ab stimulation.
Weighted crunches. Grab a dumbbell, either hold it in front of
your face, or let it lie on your upper chest, under your chin,
and perform regular crunches. You are now using your abs more to
work against the leverage the dumbbell has created. Stick with a
heavy enough weight where you can handle 10-15 reps, but no
more. Remember, you need to create enough resistance where your
abs are forced to work.
Cable Rope crunches--grab the tricep rope, kneel on your knees,
and bend downwards, forcefully contracting your abs on the way
down. It's basically a crunch, only, you are on your knees. But
the contraction is the same. Don't swing with the hips, you are
not using the abs very much if you do. Just a slight, 30 degree
contraction until you feel the abs contract, hold for a couple
seconds, then back up.
Weighted leg raises-- Lie flat on your back, with your hands
tucked under your butt. Wrap your feet around a small dumbbell,
and perform leg raises. Start with your feet about 6 inches from
the ground, then raise them about 12-16 inches from the ground
and then back down slowly. These can be done on the end of a
bench as well.
Seated ab machine-- once again, do not swing all the way down,
just far enough (30 degrees) to fully contract the abs, hold for
a couple seconds, then back up. This is very similar to Cable
rope crunches.
Stability Ball Crunches-- working on the stability ball will
incorporate balance into your abdominal work. They are effective
at strengthening your core region, which is your abs and lower
back.
You lie down on a stability ball like you are going to perform a
crunch. Position yourself on the ball so your lower back is
resting on it. Keep your feet close together on the floor making
your body less stable (helps incorporate more balance on your
part) and place your hands behind your head or folded on your
chest. Crunch your upper body towards your knees, exhaling as
you contract your abs. Under muscular control, lower yourself
back to the original position keeping full tension on the abs.
Regardless of what exercise you do, the key is to add
weight/resistance. If not, you will never increase the amount of
lean muscle tissue in the area. You only need to train your abs
twice a week for maximum results. Once again, treat them like
any other muscle group (which means you wouldn't train them more
often). Combine this weight training with proper diet and
intense cardio and that elusive six-pack is yours to be had!
About the author:
Personal trainer and natural bodybuilder Shawn Lebrun shows you,
step by step, how to build more muscle and lose more fat in less
time. Click
here now to learn how.
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