How To Get Six Pack Abs

Despite the summer season now coming to an end, here I am writing about six pack abs, how to achieve that chiseled ripped look in your mid section.

Summer may be over, and you may be falling into that all you can eat winter mindset. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t achieve a six pack.

Reasons Why Most Fail To Get A Six Pack

First I would like to point out that we all have a six pack.. somewhere behind that abdominal wall. You just need to bring it out ;)

Here is why you struggle to see it

- Your overall body fat levels are too high

- You spend too much time doing sit ups instead of eating healthy

- You are eating more than your body needs

- You’re spending all of your time on the cross trainer and less time doing weight training

- Your weekends are absolute calorie madness

- That 1 beer you have actually turns into 10

- You craved a chocolate bar and decided to have 3 sharing packets instead

You may spend hours in the gym training your core & it’s getting stronger which is a good sign. If your overall body fat percentage is too high, the abs simply won’t be on show and will be shying away from the sun.

We all store fat in different areas as each of us has a different genetic disposition. Some of us will have a harder time achieving abs than others. We all have that one friend who eats pizza all day, goes out on weekends, doesn’t exercise but seems to possess a flat stomach. This is not an excuse by the way to tell yourself you can’t do it. You can.

Where Do I Start To Get Abs?

The very first thing you need to do is believe you can get them. There is no point if you’ve already given up before you’ve started. Yes it may require work, but once you get there, it’ll all be worth it. The aim is to reduce your overall body fat percentage.

So how do I do this?

- Resistance Training

- Cardio

-H.I.I.T Training

- Healthy Diet

To lose your overall body fat, you will need to be in a calorie deficit. Meaning your body is burning more calories than it is consuming. The aim is to turn your metabolism into a powerful fat burning engine so it can burn more calories in the day. This prevents you from going into a starvation diet where you eat 500 calories for the most dreadful weeks of your life. I do not recommend this approach as it slows down your metabolism far more than it needs to be, making it extremely difficult to hold onto lean muscle and makes it super easy for you to gain body fat when you come off the diet.

Do I need To Track Calories?

The combination of Weight training, Cardio and a clean diet will certainly go a long way to help you on your quest for Abs. Just by switching your lifestyle up, you will notice positive changes in the body.

From my previous experience working with clients, I can confirm calorie counting isn’t a must. Some simply just find it too difficult, or don’t want to tap into their mobile phone what they’ve just eaten.

I could just tell you to cut back on sugars, eat more natural sources of protein, carbs & fats, exercise & lay off the boozy binge on the weekends. You will definitely be on the right path.

Tracking your calories is the most accurate way to assess results. If you have all the maths done, you know exactly what is going in your body and it makes it easier to switch up the numbers if you hit a plateau.

If you don’t know roughly how many calories you are eating, it can be tricky to make adjustments as you have no starting point. A lot will be rough estimates.

What Are The Best Six Pack Abs Exercises?

Great question. I Have found the more challenging the exercise, the better it will do for me. It doesn’t have to be complex — the basics work and that’s why they have been around for years.

The Hanging Leg Raise is one of my personal favourites as it works all the major muscles of the abdominals. They also engage the quadriceps and hips making it a great all rounder and give continuous tension throughout the entire movement.

No ab exercise will work if you haven’t got the right technique. Don’t be one of those guys and gals swinging around like spiderman during a set of hanging leg raises. To train them properly, you will need to get a feel for the muscles contracting first.

Let’s take a Plank for example — a great Core exercise often done wrong. It either ends up looking like a flexible yoga stretch or your bum is up high in the air much like a Nicki Minaj video.

Or you could be in the correct position (your body in a straight line) but not actively engage the core. Instead relaxing the abs and tensing up your arms and shoulders instead. Always aim to actively engage and keep the stomach tight to get maximum benefit.

How many times a week should I train Abs?

Every day, 10 times a day!.. just kidding,

In fact you want to be doing the opposite of this. The problem with training them every day is it can affect your other main lifts — Squats, Deadlifts, Military Presses. If you’re performing heavy Military Presses with a battered Core, it’s going to look like you’re doing rounds in a boxing ring when you can’t hold yourself up straight. The abdominals will be worked in most of your compound exercises so really there is no point in doing endless sit ups right before you go to bed at night.

The best frequency is the one which allows your body enough time to recover so you can still progress in your routine.

One last thought…

No Ab exercise can beat a good diet. Focus on lowering your body’s body fat percentage and with time your lean abs will appear before you.

Never stress yourself out on your quest for abs. If you have a doughnut, eat it and move on. Better to have 1 doughnut than 10 in a row. As long as you are managing to maintain a calorie deficit, you will strip away the body fat and reveal whats underneath.