Get Six Pack Abs

Shannon Clark asked:




On the top of many people’s goals is getting that elusive six-pack abs. A good set of ab muscles demonstrates that you are clearly devoted to your workouts and know what you are doing in the gym.

Six pack abs are also one of the harder things to achieve, fitness wise, because you will need to be really on top of your game both in and outside of the gym.

But, what’s the biggest secret to getting six pack abs? What should you be most focusing on if you hope to achieve this goal?

The Secret Is In The Kitchen

That’s right. The true secret to getting six pack abs isn’t even what you are doing when you are in the gym, it’s what you are doing when you are in the kitchen.

The thing with abs is that everyone has ab muscles – you were born with them. It’s why there are some very young kids running around out there who probably have never set foot in a gym but yet have a clear set of ab muscles.

Why?

It’s because they don’t have the excess fat accumulation yet that will cover their six-pack up, making it invisible to the eye.

That’s not to say your ab workouts don’t make a difference, they do, but just that no matter how hard you are working in the gym, unless your diet is helping you achieve a lower body fat level, you aren’t going to be able to see those ab muscles.

Many people overlook this fact and just keep performing endless crunches on the exercise mat, hoping that one day they will get their six pack.

This is a big problem though because it means they are only focusing on one part of the equation.

Furthermore, if you do too much ab work and are not watching what you eat and actually eat more than you need to maintain your weight, you could actually end up building muscle in the ab area, in effect,
widening your waist!

This is obviously not going to be something you’d like to see therefore it’s extremely critical you are able to get on an ab program that is going to tone your muscles more than build new muscle tissue, along with following a diet program that is specifically geared towards fat loss.

So, if you’re looking to get your six pack ab muscles showing, be sure you take a good look at your kitchen and cooking habits.

Jesse Miller asked:


Getting your abs sculpted and fat-free takes more than just discipline with your food intake. Aside from cutting down on desserts, carbohydrate-rich food, soda and alcohol, you need to be overly hardworking in doing your abs routines.

Yes, by overly hardworking, it means doubling your efforts and increasing the intensity of specific exercises that targets the muscles in your abdomen.

To deliver you the maximum results you aspire for, you can try executing these steps.

1. Standard Ab Crunch. You can vary your execution of this routine. Your choices are hanging leg raise, incline bench leg lift and lying floor leg raise.

This is the very standard crunch most men and women can easily do on the floor covered with an exercise mat. After lying flat on the floor, bend your legs with your feet’s soles steady on the floor.

Place your arms across your chest touching each other. Slowly bend your waist and lift your shoulders up so that you can sense the crunching sensation in your abdomen.

Once you have raised your upper body, you can lower it back down. Repeating this routine for 5 sets of 16 counts is more effective than just doing one set. If possible, target 200 counts per session to get quicker results.

2. Twisting Crunch. To contract more muscles in your abdomen, you can do this crunch. Lie on the floor with your knees and hips inclined. Place both hands beneath your head and squeeze your waist upward approaching your knees.

Your right or left elbow must at least touch the knees before bring your upper body down. Repeat the exercise but with twists alternately with your left and right elbow.

You can also bring your upper body toward the side as you lift it. In lieu of the floor crunch, you can also do side crunches or make use of abdominal twist equipment or weighted twist ups.

Choose which is most convenient to you. For beginners, you can do 16 repetitions but for a more intense burning effect, you can do 5 sets of 16.

3. Supine Leg Lift Crunch. This doesn’t just target the abs but legs and hips as well. Lie down flatly on a bench and stretch your legs and grab the edge above your head for assistance as you lift your legs up.

Lifting must not allow the legs to swing but trigger contraction in your abdomen. After lifting, you can bring your legs down and do repetitions of 16 if you are a neophyte. If you want a more intense one, you can do 5 sets of 16 with 30-second rest in between sets.

Crunches are effective when you do them appropriately at higher repetitions. Tolerate the contraction as you go along so that you can get the perfect abs you desire.