We’ve all seen the images of the latest superstar athlete adorning the front covers of magazines with washboard abs and not an ounce of fat. These images are too often accompanied with the headline of “Get abs in 6 weeks!” or some equally outrageous and false claims. Here are three tips to get you started on the journey to creating your own stomach to be proud of.
1. Forget the crunches
No, really. But the crunches use the abs though right? Consider this. To get visible abs you need to have pretty low body fat. You could have the biggest and strongest abs in the world but if they are covered by layer after layer of fat, they are not going to be impressing anybody. So to get you on the journey to washboard abs, you need to begin with the big, compound exercises. We’re talking squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench. Exercises that use lots of muscles and burn lots of calories in the process. Build a leaner physique and you’ll increase your metabolism, which will help to get rid of those layers and fat and reveal god-like abs underneath. The bracing required during the big compound exercises develop a serious amount of abdominal strength. Crunches are too small-time. We’re interested in the quickest and most effective results.
2. Abs are made in the kitchen
You could be following the most comprehensive, best designed training programme in the world. Say you are ultra-dedicated and following it 4 times a week. Pretty good hey? Well no. Not if you are filling your body with a load of junk for the rest of the week. The average person eats three meals per day. Seven days in a week means the average person will have 21 meals a week. All of a sudden 4 gym sessions doesn’t sound like so much, when you have 21 chances a week to undo all your hard work. Abs are made by eating healthy, day in, day out. We’re talking lean proteins, natural produce, whole foods. Get your body fat down, and you will start to reveal the Adonis-like abs underneath.
3. Be consistent (and a little patient!)
Creating anything worthwhile takes time. Here is the unfortunate truth…. Unless you are already very lean and in pretty decent shape, creating a six pack in six weeks is impossible. There are some incredibly misleading headlines publicised in various media outlets, leading many people to think creating a washboard stomach in a short space of time is possible, and at the end of the six week time frame, they often feel disheartened, discouraged and give up on the whole idea. Being consistent in your training and eating is the most important thing. Consistently attending all your workout times, consistently eating clean, consistently doing the right exercises in your workout. This is what will lead you to the results you want. Not some six week faddy diet and crunches routine.
