Wondering how to get abs? We’re not surprised. Everybody who is a guy wishes they had a stomach with six-pack abs that are well-defined.
It is evident that having a powerful core displays overall power and well-being, which is why it isn’t a shock to see physically fit men with toned abs on the covers of fitness publications.
Achieving great looking abs is no easy feat.
You need to focus on all the elements of health if you desire to have a toned stomach, including weight and resistance training, increased cardiovascular conditioning, and proper nutrition.
But, it can be done! Continue reading to discover the secret to achieving a six-pack for good!
Burn Calories and Shed Fat to Get Great Abs
In order to get a rock-hard midsection, you need to dedicate yourself to physical exercise, specifically targeting your abdominal muscles. This will only work, however, if you manage to reduce the fat surrounding your stomach.
This will give you solid abs and improve your well-being in general!
Excess abdominal fat, otherwise referred to as visceral fat, can result in numerous medical issues (including increased risks related to cardiovascular health). You need to begin by shedding those additional pounds.
Easier said than done, right? Well, the answer is here: learn how to lose visceral fat and develop the body you want.
It used to be believed that the best way to get amazing abdominal muscles was to do an abundance of abdominal crunches.
Nevertheless, you can’t just focus on one particular area of fat reduction, so doing abdominal exercises alone won’t give you the toned six-pack you are hoping for.
You should undertake complete workouts with major attention to your core in order to consume calories thus aiding in removing the fat that is surrounding your abdominal muscles.
This routine will allow you to feel great and confident with your shirt off, but its primary benefit is to enhance your physical fitness and reduce your likelihood of long-term health issues.
Strength Training is Also Required
Some people believe that once they burn off their tummy fat, they will display a toned six-pack.
The phrase “abs are made in the kitchen” may be familiar to you.
It is true that fat loss is necessary to make your abs visible, however, simply losing fat alone is not sufficient.
In order for your abdominal muscles to become more visible, you need to build them up with strength training like you would for any other muscle group.
Your abdominal muscles require some form of stimulus for them to increase in size, just as with every other muscles in your body.
Doing activities such as weighted crunches and leg elevations can aid in giving impetus to your center.
It is not to be inferred that you should avoid including isometric routines such as planks. You should also include core exercises that involve resistance.
By mixing strength training and isometric exercises three to four times a week, you can start your journey to achieving fantastic abs.
Still Wondering How to Get Abs? Start With The Top Ab Exercises!
You may select up to four of these exercises for your training regimen, and repeat them three times per week for optimal performance.
Allow two days for your body to rest after having a tough exercise session.
The exercises in question will target your abdominal muscles from every direction, and will also involve all of the muscles around your spine and lower back that provide stability.
Aim for three sets of each exercise.
1. Ab Wheel Rollouts
Rolling out with an ab wheel is an excellent way to strengthen the abdominal muscles. It is essentially comparable to getting all the advantages of a stationary plank and amplifying them.
Start on your knees with your hands grasping the handles of an ab wheel in front of you.
Allow the wheel to roll forward and your body to move forward with it into an extended position.
Then engage your abs to bring the wheel back in towards your body.
Be sure to use your abs and not your upper body to do this move otherwise you won’t be getting the core benefits.
Try to complete 8-10 reps.
2. Hanging Leg Raises
Doing hanging leg raises is the best way to give more emphasis on the muscles in the lower abdominal region, even though you can’t totally work them out just on their own.
Start by hanging from a pull-up bar.
Keep your legs together and raise them up until they are parallel with the floor.
Try to keep your upper body as still as possible.
If you use any swinging momentum this will defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Try to do 8-10 of these while keeping your legs straight.
If this is too hard, you can bend your knees to start.
3. Cable Crunches with Rope
This exercise targets the upper abdominal muscles and is a great way to increase difficulty in your core exercises.
Start in a kneeling position holding the rope of a cable machine in front of you.
Keep your arms in a fixed position relative to your head and body.
Crunch forward while holding the rope.
Then slowly control the movement back up to really feel the burn in the abdominal muscles.
Complete 12-15 slow, quality reps.
4. Mountain Climber
It is well established that planks are a tremendous exercise for the core muscles. Well, mountain climbers are basically the cardio equivalent. You can think of it as a moving plank.
Start in a push-up position with your hands under your shoulders.
Drive your right knee to your chest and tap your right foot to the floor then quickly move it back to the starting position.
Then repeat this on the left.
Continue alternating legs back and forth as quickly as you can for 30 seconds.
5. Kettlebell Swing
Kettlebell swings are a phenomenal way to exercise your abs and demonstrate that there are far more possibilities when it comes to core conditioning than simply crunches. In addition, this activity will help to burn a significant amount of calories while reinforcing the midsection muscles.
Hinge forward at your hips while holding a kettlebell down in front of you.
Bring the kettlebell between your legs, thrust your hips forward, and swing the kettlebell to about shoulder height.
Control the movement back down.
Repeat 12-15 times.
Diet Tips And Sample Diet Chart For Six-Pack Abs
1. Sample Diet Chart For Six Pack Abs
MEALS
WHAT TO EAT
Early Morning (7:00 – 7:45 am)
1 cup lemon water with honey and cinnamon
Breakfast (8:15 – 9:00 am)
Quinoa/oatmeal/eggs + 1 multigrain bread + 1 cup milk and 4-6 almonds
Lunch (12:30 – 1:00 pm)
Lettuce boats or chicken/veggie salad
Evening Snack (4:00 pm)
Green tea/fresh fruit juice + unsalted popcorn
Dinner (7:00 – 7:30 pm)
Chicken/mushroom clear soup with lots of fiber-rich veggies/
boiled black beans and blanched veggies
Here are some more diet tips.
2. Load Up On Lean Protein
Protein is food for muscles. Incorporate lean protein into your diet to aid in restoring and constructing your muscles which take a hit when exercising. Make sure to include items such as chicken, mushrooms, pulses, seafood, legumes, and soya in your meal plan to offer your muscles the vital nutrients they need.
3. Do Not Avoid Healthy Fats
Healthy fats do not make you gain weight. Eating healthy fats can help to lower inflammation and ward off weight increase caused by inflammation. Eat almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, avocados, oily fish, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, cheese, dark cocoa, and eggs.
4. You Need Dietary Fiber
We regularly assume that it is necessary to sidestep carbohydrates if we want to shed pounds. But that’s not true. You need the right type of carbs. Fiber that is consumed as a part of the diet cannot be broken down by our bodies, but it is still helpful in terms of weight management. This is because it makes us feel full for longer and reduces absorption of fat. Include a selection of the following foods in your diet: broccoli, flaxseeds, prunes, peaches, apples, lima beans, black beans, figs, berries, oats bran, barley, green peas, guava, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, pomegranate, kiwi, brown rice, beetroot, quinoa, and acorn squash.
5. Drink Up
When you’re feeling hungry but really all you need is a drink, you could end up taking in extra calories if you don’t stay hydrated. Also, insufficient hydration could halt your cells from operating correctly, resulting in decreased metabolism, dehydration, bowel irregularity, and a bloated feeling. Drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day. You can also consume infused water, fresh squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, homemade smoothies, coconut water, and buttermilk.
6. No Starving
If you believe that you can reduce your weight by simply not eating, you are wrong. Not consuming food over a prolonged time could inform the body to turn to the mode of starvation, and it won’t use any of the calories taken in as usable energy. The surplus calories will be kept as fat, which will end up in increased body weight. Consume food every few hours in order to keep your metabolism active and your cells working correctly.
7. Consume Fat Burners
Certain foods can assist in burning calories while also providing nourishment for your body. Incorporate foods that aid in burning fat into your nutritional plan to help diminish fat. Include grapefruit, green tea, brown rice, quinoa, cayenne pepper, black pepper, celery, cinnamon, yogurt, low-fat milk, nuts, turmeric, dark chocolate, apple cider vinegar, spinach, cauliflower, garlic, and peanut butter in your diet. Below is a compilation of items to consume in order to obtain six-pack abs.
Brooke Cavalla, a Certified Prenatal/Postnatal Exercise Specialist, has noted that coffee has no correlation to getting a 6-pack. Exercise can certainly help to increase your energy levels and provide the impetus required to fuel your workout sessions, which in turn will help you to shed some fat and gain toned abdomen muscles. When combined with exercise and proper nutrition, drinking coffee may help to increase the effectiveness of your workouts.
She continues, pointing out that studies have indicated that caffeine, which is the most important component of coffee, could be a useful way to bolster the key metabolic rate while limiting hunger signs. The amount of energy your body uses while at rest is called your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is the rate at which your body consumes calories.
You are now aware of which foods will be most beneficial in helping you achieve a toned midsection. The most critical element is to keep the weight off and maintain your six-pack abdominals. Here’s how you can maintain your hard-earned six-pack abs.
Lifestyle Changes To Maintain Six Pack Abs
Lifestyle changes help you beyond maintaining your six-pack abs. They give you an inner makeover. Once you become accustomed to a more improved way of living, you will relish the beneficial transformations and have no desire to revert to your former habits. Here’s what you should do:
1. Stop Hitting Snooze
We all procrastinate; neglecting to wake up until it is too late to even squeeze in a shower! In order to maintain your awesome abdominal muscles, you must make yourself get up and out of bed. Get up early, at least 2 hours prior to leaving, and take the time to do a yoga practice or an abs workout, cook breakfast and lunch, and be ready to go out the door with your hair looking perfected.
2. Reduce Stress
Stress is harmful in many ways. When feeling distressed, your body will produce cortisol, consequentially leading to heightened glucose levels in the blood and an increased craving for food. This can result in storing fat in your abdomen and, in some circumstances, can lead to difficulty in regulating blood sugar, resulting in diabetes. Yoga, meditating, doing cardio, weightlifting, playing sports, swimming, painting, reading, vacationing, listening to tunes, as well as having a blast with make-up application can all be beneficial in lowering tension.
3. Don’t Skip Breakfast
If you skip breakfast, you will be famished all day. It is essential to have a hearty breakfast in order for your body to operate as it should. You should consider adding fiber, protein, and healthy fats to your breakfast to make sure it consists of all of the essential nutrients you need to kick off your day.
4. Avoid Junk
Wondering what to eat to get a six-pack? Avoid junk food. Foods that contain a large amount of carbohydrates, a high amount of calories, and no nutritional benefit are considered to be junk foods. They do nothing but harm your health. Stay away from munching on unhealthy food like chips, fries, fried chicken, Indian fried treats, etc. Additionally, don’t eat after hours.
5. Weekly Workout
Exercising is necessary if you want to keep your abdominal muscles. Exercise for at least 4 hours each week in order to stay fit. Combine aerobic exercise, weightlifting, and strength training to lose excess fat and develop slim muscle.
Sculpt Those Six-Pack Abs!
Having an amazing set of six-pack abs doesn’t have to be an unattainable goal; it can easily be achieved by following a nutritious diet and frequent fitness routine.
You must pledge to undertake core cardio and weightlifting exercises, as well as have a proper nutrition program in order to reach this objective.
