How To Get Good Abs – A Simple Guide

With all the information that is available, it is no surprise as to why so many people are confused about how to get good Abs. The truth is, despite what you may hear or read and despite all the adverts you may see offering help on how to get a six pack with headlines such as:

“how to get six pack abs fast” – “The quickest way to get a six pack” – “how to get a six pack in a week” – “how to get a six pack in a month”

The truth about getting six pack abs is that it takes time, dedication and hard work and if you are not willing to accept that, then you will not achieve your goal!

If you are confused as to why you have a little more fat in the middle than hard muscle, then hopefully this short guide will help shed a little light.

This short guide will explain why you don’t have a six-pack and what you can do to get the six pack and abdominal muscles you desire.

Why Do I Not Have A Six Pack

It may look as though you don’t have any abdominal muscles and this might be because you have an average or normal amount of fat. Guess what? Just because your ab muscles are not clearly visible, if you stand, walk or lift, then you have certainly got some ab muscles deep inside! However, the main problem is, there is fat covering them. This means, you have to lose that fat and then the muscles will become visible! Although this in theory sounds simple, we all know that it’s not!

There are many reasons why losing this fat is not so simple and it could simply be because you enjoy food! Maybe you like having a few beers after work with friends or a few treats such as biscuits, chips or a muffin with or after your meal. If this is the case and you want to lose weight and have a six pack, then some things need to be sacrificed. Yes, you can still enjoy those treats but not on such a regular basis. If you are determined to have ‘six pack Abs’, then you need to change your eating habits and dedicate time and energy towards a diet that finds a balance that cuts calories, yet maintains and builds muscles.

 

The Myth About How To Get Good Abs

So, How Do You Get A Six Pack?

Many people think that the key to getting six-pack abs is to do several hundred sit-ups a day and turn your “fat, into muscle. Unfortunately, none of those techniques will work and the ‘turning fat to muscle’ theory, is actually a myth and TOTALLY impossible! This is because you can only store fat or burn fat for energy! You cannot turn fat into anything else, only energy.

Understanding Calories

A key factor in exercise and maintaining a good weight and a set of ‘Six Pack’ abs is to understand the importance of calories and how the AMOUNT and TYPE of calories you consume on a daily basis, will determine your ability to achieve the look and fitness you want.

Below is a basic breakdown of how the calories you consume on a daily basis, will either help or hinder your fitness goals.

Every food you eat can be broken down into 3 main nutrient categories and these are:

Carbohydrates – Protein and Fat.

If you want to go further and break them down, each of those 3 nutrients contain their own caloric value.

Carbs: Each 1 gram of Carbs is equal to 4 calories

Protein: Each 1 gram of Protein is also equal to 4 calories

Fat: Each 1 gram of FAT however, is equal to about 9 calories (More than double the amount found in Carbs or Protein!).

This is how retailers calculate the amount of calories ‘Per Serving’ that can be seen on food labels. All you need to do is simply add up all the calories per gram and you will be able to calculate the ‘total’ number of calories per serving in all the food you consume. Knowing how to do this, then makes it easy to track your daily in-take of calories. However, since fat contains more than double the amount of calories per gram than that of carbs or protein, it is essential to pay extra attention to the fat in your diet. This is simply because calories from fat can add up VERY QUICKLY, without you even noticing!

Understanding calories is very important and this is just a very brief and very basic overview of how they work. There are many other areas and factors of diets, food, calories and fat burning that you can explore which explains:

What kind of foods should you eat?

How many calories a day should you consume to reach your specific fitness goals?

What the macro-nutrient breakdown of your diet plan should be?

 

Cardio Is Important

Although changing your diet is very important and a key factor into achieving your goal of a getting six pack stomach, simply changing your diet alone will only help you lose so much fat and another important factor in losing that fat is exercise. Introducing a Cardio workout (one that will make you sweat and burn fat) into your routine several times a week will pay dividends in you quest for building great Ab muscles. If it has been a while since you have done any exercise or Cardio exercise, it is advisable to seek the advice of a professional qualified Fitness trainer, who will set you a routine that is suitable for you. Even if you are a regular visitor to the gym, it will do no harm to have a revue at your gym, to see if there is anything else you can add to your routine to help burn a few more calories.

 

Not Just Quantity, Mix It Up

The majority of people who try to get that all important six pack simply embark on a routine that includes hundreds of sit ups and crunches that concentrate (or which they think is concentrating) on their Ab muscles. However, although this will be working the abdominal muscles (and it is certainly better to do them and try to strengthen your ab muscles than not), it may not be the most effective way to see results. The truth is, as well as losing fat (as we explained previously), you really need to mix it up and trick your Abdominal muscles by implementing a variety of different moves and exercises that concentrate on a number of different key areas and baby muscles. These areas and exercises include some for your stomach, some for your back, using free weights which will in time help build your baby muscles in to prominent Ab muscles, that will give you the results you are hoping to achieve. The good news is, many of the exercises allow you to don’t need any special equipment which means you can design a routine so you can do your six pack workout at home!

 

Popular Abdominal Exercises

Many people ask “what are the best exercises to get a six pack and what is the best six pack workout ?” The truth is, there are so many exercises that help strengthen your core muscles and help you gain strong Ab muscles that produce a great six pack. The following list are just a few of the popular and common exercises that are used to get 6 pack Abs:

Bicycle Crunch – Abdominal Crunches Using an Exercise Ball – V Crunch Exercises – Pilates V Exercises – Leg Throw Exercises – Pass the Ball Exercises – Hip Raise – Leg Rise – Wood Chop – Weighted Ball Toss – Long Arm Crunch – Resistance Crunches

Something to consider when you are working on designing your routine and looking for the best stomach exercises for six pack Abs, is to try and incorporate lower ab exercises. Many people overlook these types of exercises but they are just as important and essential if you want the perfect six pack.

 

Additional Exercises To Improve Your Abdominal Muscles And Core

There are a number of other basic exercise that are great for strength building such as, push-ups, kettle-bell swings, dead lifts, squats, which will all help on your goal of getting totally ripped abs as well as strengthening your core.

We hope the information on how to get good Abs helps you achieve your goal!