One of the most common fitness questions is how to get six pack abs. It’s a common goal for a lot of people. It can seem like a really tough goal for most people, they work out for months and don’t make much progress – if any.
This is because people are going about it all wrong. It’s not just about crunches and planks, while they are important, on their own they won’t get you the results you want!
This is what it really takes to get six pack abs:
- You can’t focus on just one muscle group.
Focusing on just one part of your body and trying to develop muscles there won’t work. This means that doing only abdominal exercise won’t get you a six pack. This is because your abs have a layer of fat covering them. If you are just doing planks and crunches all you are doing is toning muscle UNDER fat.
The first step you need to take towards getting six pack abs is reducing the amount of fat covering your abs. You can’t selectively lose fat unfortunately, you have to lose fat throughout your body to see results.
2. Remove the Fat.
Burning fat comes down to doing cardio regularly. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes or more three or four times a week. Aim to stay between 70% and 80% of your maximum heart rate during your cardio sessions.
If you are consistent you will start to notice your body becoming more toned in about a month. A good tip is to measure body fat percentage at the beginning of the month and at the end, you will be able to see the amount of fat in your body lowering.
Your abs will become more visible as your body fat lowers.
3. Abs are made in the Kitchen.
In order to see real results and burn fat you need to make healthier choices when it comes to your diet. You can’t run 5 miles and then go grab a cheeseburger. It doesn’t work that way. Eliminate all extra fats from your diet. Fats from protein and ‘healthy fats’ are okay, but stay away from junk and processed foods.
No deep fried food, fast food, junk food, frozen food, or microwaveable food. Learn how to read labels and ingredients on packaged foods so you know what is going into your body. Try and eat whole foods like fruits and veggies, and lean meats like chicken and fish.
4. Build Strong Abs.
The final step is to do exercises that strengthen your abs. You will want to make sure you are doing strength workouts in addition to cardio and diet changes for the best results, but keep in mind you will only see results when you follow all of the steps above.
When it comes down to it, you are not going to see abs until you get rid of the excess fat. You need to make sure you are doing strength training, cardio, and eating a proper diet to reach your six pack goals.
These are great tips, I need to start with removing the fat. Ugg that is my worst area!