How to Get Six Pack Abs
May 28th 2011

If you want to get rid of that fat that is covering your ab muscles that's keeping them hidden from view, first, know your body type and what results you want if health and fitness is your ultimate goal.

If you want to be trim and lean or bigger and more ripped, design a suitable eating and exercise regiment even before you begin your routine.

For people who have a few extra pounds around the belly and start this from scratch, building ab muscles may make you look larger around the waist for a period of time since you are putting on muscle beneath your fat at first.

You might want to start for a significant period of time by doing more cardio exercises to lose fat all over the body before you engage in you muscle building and core strengthening program.

You can’t spot reduce fat by doing specific exercises, you can only burn calories from all over your body at once. Focusing solely on the abs can produce an imbalance in the body and may cause back problems where there were none before or worsen any existing problems, so have a balanced routine.


Do cardio workouts. There is no such thing as spot weight loss. Cardio is a great way to lose weight to show off all the muscle you have built under that layer of fat. Cardio workouts raise your heart rate for a given set of time. Some examples would be running, jogging, bike riding, dancing and rowing.


Eat smaller dinners. Large dinners tend to hurt a fat loss process because most people aren't very active after dinner and go to sleep for approximately 8 hours. You can offset this by eating a larger lunch or snacking healthily before dinner. Fresh fruits or vegetables are great choices for limiting your appetite not to mention other health benefits. Eating nuts as a snack will also do the trick. Drink a tall glass of water before sitting at the table.


Eat breakfast. Many people skip breakfast because they don't have time for it. The harm in skipping breakfast for weight loss, is it makes you eat a huge lunch after 12 hours without eating. Make time for a 4 minute preparation of porridge
and raisans plus a banana (in other words, the boxer breakfast). If you are pressed for time, grab some breakfast bars, a smoothie an apple or a yoghurt before leaving for work or school. Ideally, your breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day, lunch the second, and dinner the smallest.


Lift weights. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns, even at rest. Resistance training limits the amount of muscle mass lost while reducing your calorie intake. If you only do cardio exercises (running, playing basketball, soccer) without weight training then you might lose your muscle mass even around your eyes.


Keep metabolism steady. Eating a small meal every three hours will keep that metabolism burning calories and will help you lose weight. Every meal should include lean protein, so that your body won't need to break down your muscles for fuel, which would shrink your abs and slow down your metabolism.


Drink more water every day. Halve your weight (in pounds) to find out the least amount of ounces of water you need. A person who weigh 150lb would need to drink at least 2.2 liters a day. It may seem like allot to drink, but you get water from the food you eat, and you can drink teas and pure fruit juices to make up for the rest.

Don’t drink too much water while exercises and sweating heavily. Replace the salts you lose with sports drinks or potassium rich fruits (bannanas or apples). Drink water long after the work out not during.


Switch refined grains for whole grains. Eat all whole grains, five portions of fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy (3 servings), lean meat, fish or poultry (2 servings). Scientific studies show people lost more belly fat than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains. Whole grains change the glucose and insulin response in your body, it speeds up the melting of regular fat, and visceral fat which people of ‘normal’ weight still have.



  Tips



Be sure to exercise your back muscles just as much as your abdominal muscles to maintain your good posture.


There is no magic pill that will help you get ripped but all multivitamins are intended to be a part of an exercise and diet routine.


Give yourself adequate amount of rest (8 hrs for adults, and 8-10 hrs for kids and teenagers). When exercising you break down the muscle and if you give them the proper time to heal (and eat the proper foods) they will grow back stronger than before.


If you’re genetically inclined to having a layer of fat around your torso, trying to get rid of this can have risky repercussions.


Keep a record from the beginning of your exercise and diet regime to look back at your progress and slip up, in the future.


Attempting lifestyle changes in a drastic, sudden manner can backfire. Do what you can but don't sell yourself short.


Keep a photo diary either everyday or once a week to keep track of your progress.


Whatever you do, do not rely on a scale to tell you the progress you are making on your fitness or health. A scale only measures weight loss and weight gain, you could have lost fat but gained muscle, you may be feeling incredible but the scale tells you, you have gained weight. A scale cannot determine your fitness, it only does one thing so do not allow it to determine the way you feel about your fitness.


Don’t deprive yourself of food, drink lots of water and remember a diet is only temporary, not long term so it’s best to adopt an eating lifestyle rather than using diets.


Try swimming. It’s one of the most effective ways of exercising your whole body, especially your abs.




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