Six Pack Abs Expert

Strengthen your abdominal muscles and lose body fat. The concept is simple, but putting it into action is not simple at all. It will take dedication, willpower, patience and time to get a six pack but in the end, the effort is well worth it. You can have the most toned and defined abs but they won’t show through if there’s a layer of fat over them.

To get six pack abs you need to do two things: Build muscle and lose fat. Details on ways to accomplish each of these goals follows:

Build Muscle

1. Do Crunches. Lie on the floor (with or without a mat) and cross your arms in front of your chest. Bend your knees up as far as they go. Do not place both hands behind your head. Placing both hands behind your head can cause lower back problems in the long run as it places unnecessary stress on that part of your body from pulling on your head and neck. Another alternative is to cross your arms in front of your chest and lightly place your finger tips behind your ears, without pulling on your neck. Now raise your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees, using strictly your abdominal muscles.

2. Do Sit Ups. Lie on the floor, feet on the floor, knees up and fingers placed behind your ears or hands crossed on your chest. Sit all the way up, lifting your lower back off the floor along with your shoulder blades.Lower yourself down. Repeat. Once this becomes relatively easy for you (i.e. you can do a quite a bit with ease) start adding more challenges.

3. Do Leg Lifts. Lie on the floor, legs straight out, hands at your sides. Lift your legs straight up (not bending your knees at all) until they’re at a 90 degree angle (or close). Lower your legs and repeat without letting your legs touch the floor. For more challenge there is equipment at most gyms that will allow you to raise yourself up using your arms as support and dangle your legs.

4. Do Jackknife Sit Ups. Lie down flat on the floor. Place your hands on the ground to your sides for balance; you can pick them up as you get used to the movement. Simultaneously raise your knees and torso so that your knees and face meet on an imaginary line extending from your pelvis to the ceiling.

5. Do V-ups. Lie on the floor, legs straight out, hands on the floor but this time extended out over your head. Simultaneously raise legs and torso. Don’t bend your knees! What kind of V would it be if you bend your knees? Reach with your hands toward the raised feet. Touch your feet if possible (will require some flexibility). Relax, return to starting position and repeat. Add weight between feet to match your taste.

Lose Fat

1. Lift Weights. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns, even at rest. Many people are afraid of getting huge due to weight lifting but the fact is you won’t! Many huge body-builders out there have been body-building for years to get huge. Since you want your abs to show, you should be eating fewer calories than you burn, and your body can’t build a large amount of muscle without excess calories, so you shouldn’t have to worry about this potential problem at all.

2. Keep Metabolism Steady. Eating one small meal every three hours that you are awake will not speed up your metabolism, rather, it will keep it going. Your metabolism goes and slows with your food intake and eating something small 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 as well as slow down your metabolism.

3. Eat Smaller Dinners. Cut down on the size of your dinner. If you’re hungry, snack on fruits or other healthy, low calorie snacks. Large dinners tend to hurt a fat loss process because most people aren’t very active after dinner. This is the basis for advice along the lines of “don’t eat anything within N hours before going to bed”.

4. Eat More Fiber. Most people don’t get enough fiber. The recommended amount is actually not that much if you eat a healthy diet. “Fiber foods” include whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and seeds. Other options are fiber supplements.

5. Eat Breakfast. Many people skip breakfast because they don’t have time for it. Keep this in mind: You don’t have time to skip breakfast, it’s simply too valuable to skip. The fact that skipping breakfast messes up your concentration and other mental functions is beyond the scope of this article.

6. Drink More Water Every Day. Many places suggest 8 cups (2L) of water a day. It also depends on your weight (1L/20kg would be good, more if it’s hot or you’re ill). It sounds like an absurd amount of water, but actually, you can drink tea without sugar to make up some of the quota. In fact tea, especially green tea, will rev up your “metabolism” (actually cause a temporary increase in calories burned).