Six Pack Abs – How To Get Them
Egger29
Posts: 14,741 Member
Hey Folks! Below is a great article from Coach Calorie's fitness blog. Really outlines some of the key guidelines in burning fat! Check it out!
How To Get Six Pack Abs - By Coach Calorie
Everyone wants to have six pack abs, but the majority of people will never have them. It’s not your genetics that are to blame. Everyone has the potential to have six pack abs. To understand why, a little common sense is all you need. Every human has abdominal muscles, and then a layer of fat over them. The key to getting six pack abs is to remove that layer of fat that’s covering up those muscles. So how do you do this?
I would estimate that 90% of the equation for seeing six pack abs is diet. The other 10% is exercise. Unfortunately, most people have this backwards, and rely on exercise to get those six pack abs to come in. The common thought is that if you do enough sit-ups or crunches, your abs will start to show through. This is a fallacy and the general "Localized fat loss myth".
Real body transformations come through diet manipulation. You can workout until you’re blue in the face, but as long as you have that layer of fat covering your muscles, you will always just look bulky and smooth. The good news? It’s much easier to lose fat than it is to build muscle. I should add one caveat to that – physically it’s much easier to lose fat than to build muscle. Psychologically it’s a whole different story. However, if you’re willing to give yourself 16-20 weeks, nearly anyone can bring their body fat levels down into the lower digits. That being said, here are the key fundamentals for bringing in those amazing six pack abs.
Six Pack Abs Diet
If you want six pack abs, your diet is going to be key. You are going to need to provide an optimal fat burning environment so that fatty acids have a chance to be released. How do you do this? You place a strong emphasis on keeping insulin levels low. There are several ways to do this. One way is to eat plenty of low glycemic foods. Low glycemic foods cause a slower release of glucose which results in favorable insulin levels for releasing body fat. You cannot release body fat when insulin (a storage hormone) is high. If you want those six pack abs, you need to take control of this powerful hormone, and learn to harness its positive muscle building qualities, while minimizing its fat storage capabilities.
How else can we get six pack abs through our diet? Again, let’s focus on controlling insulin levels. Besides eating low GI carbohydrates, you can also keep insulin levels low by minimizing your intake of carbohydrates. While eliminating them or keeping them very low will keep insulin levels low, I do not recommend such low levels. You need to eat carbohydrates to lose weight. Carbohydrates are an important fuel source for the brain and nervous system, and they are also needed for the complete metabolism of fatty acids.
To sum up the six pack abs diet, there is no cookie cutter approach – only principles you should follow.
1) Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
2) Eat enough carbohydrates to fuel your workouts, but no more.
3) Eat low glycemic carbohydrates to keep insulin levels low to provide an optimal environment to release fatty acids.
4) Get in enough essential fatty acids (EFAs).
5) Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals to support optimal body function.
6) Eat enough calories so that your body won’t think it’s starving, but low enough to stimulate fat loss.
These guidelines will work for everyone as long as they stay CONSISTANT. Consistency through diet is the key to getting six pack abs. However, also understand that everyone holds their fat differently. Not only that, but people also have different types of fat in some areas that are harder to get rid of than others – stubborn fat. Yes, it is real, and it is a pain in the *kitten* to get rid of.
Six Pack Abs Workout
Once you start getting your body fat percent levels down into the low teens and single digits, you’re going to have six pack abs. Now is the time you’re going to notice the greatest benefits to doing abdominal workouts. Start working out those abs too soon before you lose enough body fat, and you will actually notice your midsection is getting bigger. This happens because your abs are growing, but your body fat is staying the same – resulting in a larger waistline.
This is not to say you shouldn’t do any core workouts. However, exercises that isolate the abs really aren’t needed until you get down into low body fat percentage levels. It’s at this time that you can start doing those sit-ups, and they will really begin to bring out the definition.
Just because you aren’t doing direct ab workouts, doesn’t mean your abdominals aren’t getting any exercise. If you are working out like you should be and using big compound movements, your abs get a great workout by playing a vital role in stabilizing the core. When you are doing squats, it takes a large amount of core strength to stabilize the body while you have a bar with weights sitting on your back. Make sure you are doing the 3 big compound movements – bench press, squats, and deadlifts, and combinations thereof.
Now don’t get me wrong, you can certainly do targeted ab work anytime you want, and it can only benefit you. My point is that those little isolation exercises will get you better visual results if used at a lower body fat.
How To Get Six Pack Abs - By Coach Calorie
Everyone wants to have six pack abs, but the majority of people will never have them. It’s not your genetics that are to blame. Everyone has the potential to have six pack abs. To understand why, a little common sense is all you need. Every human has abdominal muscles, and then a layer of fat over them. The key to getting six pack abs is to remove that layer of fat that’s covering up those muscles. So how do you do this?
I would estimate that 90% of the equation for seeing six pack abs is diet. The other 10% is exercise. Unfortunately, most people have this backwards, and rely on exercise to get those six pack abs to come in. The common thought is that if you do enough sit-ups or crunches, your abs will start to show through. This is a fallacy and the general "Localized fat loss myth".
Real body transformations come through diet manipulation. You can workout until you’re blue in the face, but as long as you have that layer of fat covering your muscles, you will always just look bulky and smooth. The good news? It’s much easier to lose fat than it is to build muscle. I should add one caveat to that – physically it’s much easier to lose fat than to build muscle. Psychologically it’s a whole different story. However, if you’re willing to give yourself 16-20 weeks, nearly anyone can bring their body fat levels down into the lower digits. That being said, here are the key fundamentals for bringing in those amazing six pack abs.
Six Pack Abs Diet
If you want six pack abs, your diet is going to be key. You are going to need to provide an optimal fat burning environment so that fatty acids have a chance to be released. How do you do this? You place a strong emphasis on keeping insulin levels low. There are several ways to do this. One way is to eat plenty of low glycemic foods. Low glycemic foods cause a slower release of glucose which results in favorable insulin levels for releasing body fat. You cannot release body fat when insulin (a storage hormone) is high. If you want those six pack abs, you need to take control of this powerful hormone, and learn to harness its positive muscle building qualities, while minimizing its fat storage capabilities.
How else can we get six pack abs through our diet? Again, let’s focus on controlling insulin levels. Besides eating low GI carbohydrates, you can also keep insulin levels low by minimizing your intake of carbohydrates. While eliminating them or keeping them very low will keep insulin levels low, I do not recommend such low levels. You need to eat carbohydrates to lose weight. Carbohydrates are an important fuel source for the brain and nervous system, and they are also needed for the complete metabolism of fatty acids.
To sum up the six pack abs diet, there is no cookie cutter approach – only principles you should follow.
1) Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
2) Eat enough carbohydrates to fuel your workouts, but no more.
3) Eat low glycemic carbohydrates to keep insulin levels low to provide an optimal environment to release fatty acids.
4) Get in enough essential fatty acids (EFAs).
5) Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals to support optimal body function.
6) Eat enough calories so that your body won’t think it’s starving, but low enough to stimulate fat loss.
These guidelines will work for everyone as long as they stay CONSISTANT. Consistency through diet is the key to getting six pack abs. However, also understand that everyone holds their fat differently. Not only that, but people also have different types of fat in some areas that are harder to get rid of than others – stubborn fat. Yes, it is real, and it is a pain in the *kitten* to get rid of.
Six Pack Abs Workout
Once you start getting your body fat percent levels down into the low teens and single digits, you’re going to have six pack abs. Now is the time you’re going to notice the greatest benefits to doing abdominal workouts. Start working out those abs too soon before you lose enough body fat, and you will actually notice your midsection is getting bigger. This happens because your abs are growing, but your body fat is staying the same – resulting in a larger waistline.
This is not to say you shouldn’t do any core workouts. However, exercises that isolate the abs really aren’t needed until you get down into low body fat percentage levels. It’s at this time that you can start doing those sit-ups, and they will really begin to bring out the definition.
Just because you aren’t doing direct ab workouts, doesn’t mean your abdominals aren’t getting any exercise. If you are working out like you should be and using big compound movements, your abs get a great workout by playing a vital role in stabilizing the core. When you are doing squats, it takes a large amount of core strength to stabilize the body while you have a bar with weights sitting on your back. Make sure you are doing the 3 big compound movements – bench press, squats, and deadlifts, and combinations thereof.
Now don’t get me wrong, you can certainly do targeted ab work anytime you want, and it can only benefit you. My point is that those little isolation exercises will get you better visual results if used at a lower body fat.
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Replies
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Lots of bro-science in that article.0
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excellent article. I think the only thing I'm missing is eating enough protein. I will work on eating more protein.0
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Good intent and I liked one of your other articles. This one not so much.
GI/Insulin regulation are pointless things to manage unless you're diabetic or have insulin resistance. OP: Read James Kreiger's series on insulin over at weightology.0 -
bump0
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Awesome!! Thanks for sharing.0
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bump0
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bump great reading0
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Yep ^^^Lots of bro-science in that article.
Here's an even better article on getting abs, by a more respected fitness/nutrition guru. http://www.burnthefat.com/get_six_pack_abs_that_POP.html0 -
I love articles that say "THIS ONE THING IS THE KEY TO MAKING ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!" Even better when they say it'll happen if you only give yourself 16-20 weeks.
ORLY?
How do you know when you've eaten enough carbs to fuel your workout, but no more?0 -
How do you know when you've eaten enough carbs to fuel your workout, but no more?
I wondered that same thing.0 -
Thanks for sharing0
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Good intent and I liked one of your other articles. This one not so much.
GI/Insulin regulation are pointless things to manage unless you're diabetic or have insulin resistance. OP: Read James Kreiger's series on insulin over at weightology.
Thanks Man. I'm just the messenger here and I don't agree with everything myself either, but appreciate the link to James Kreiger. The biggest challenge I see is there are so many different schools of thought and no one thing works for everyone.
That being said, my purpose for sharing the article was more in relation to the principle of how it's your food choices and nutritional habits that bring the major results, not how long or how hard you sweat away in the gym. I see a ton of people everyday who train like animals but have terrible nutritional habits and wonder why they're not seeing results.
Cheers! :-)0 -
How do you know when you've eaten enough carbs to fuel your workout, but no more?
by my new E book and i'll tell ya!
back on topic, cutting down on carbs might be of some benefit once you're already significantly lean and looking to shed some stubborn fat, but before that just maintain a consistent caloric deficit to drop bf0 -
i love Coach Calorie - always so insightful! But I do have a question for anyone who knows the answer: how do you know how many carbohydrates you need to just fuel your workouts alone and no more?0
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Thanks Man. I'm just the messenger here and I don't agree with everything myself either, but appreciate the link to James Kreiger. The biggest challenge I see is there are so many different schools of thought and no one thing works for everyone.
That being said, my purpose for sharing the article was more in relation to the principle of how it's your food choices and nutritional habits that bring the major results, not how long or how hard you sweat away in the gym. I see a ton of people everyday who train like animals but have terrible nutritional habits and wonder why they're not seeing results.
Cheers! :-)
I understand that you're just the messenger. Equally worth noting, the people here who are disputing things in this article obviously aren't directing this at you, they're just trying to prevent the spread of bad information. To be fair, I thought the premise of the article was good, it's just that it contained some outdated/disproven information that could serve to complicate the process for some folks.
Dieting itself is already rough enough for some people and simplifying things as much as possible can really benefit the majority. This is the main reason I jumped on the insulin portion as it's just a useless metric for non diabetics/insulin resistant folks.
The specific article that I would recommend can be found here, and I think you'll enjoy reading it:
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=3190 -
Everyone wants to have six pack abs, ...
Am I really only person in the world that doesn't want 6 pack abs?? I like a flat tummy, but I prefer it flat and soft and smooth. Not ripply and hard.0 -
Thanks Man. I'm just the messenger here and I don't agree with everything myself either, but appreciate the link to James Kreiger. The biggest challenge I see is there are so many different schools of thought and no one thing works for everyone.
That being said, my purpose for sharing the article was more in relation to the principle of how it's your food choices and nutritional habits that bring the major results, not how long or how hard you sweat away in the gym. I see a ton of people everyday who train like animals but have terrible nutritional habits and wonder why they're not seeing results.
Cheers! :-)
I understand that you're just the messenger. Equally worth noting, the people here who are disputing things in this article obviously aren't directing this at you, they're just trying to prevent the spread of bad information. To be fair, I thought the premise of the article was good, it's just that it contained some outdated/disproven information that could serve to complicate the process for some folks.
Dieting itself is already rough enough for some people and simplifying things as much as possible can really benefit the majority. This is the main reason I jumped on the insulin portion as it's just a useless metric for non diabetics/insulin resistant folks.
The specific article that I would recommend can be found here, and I think you'll enjoy reading it:
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319
Totally agree! Thanks bud!
Cheers!0 -
Bump0
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Everyone wants to have six pack abs, ...
Am I really only person in the world that doesn't want 6 pack abs?? I like a flat tummy, but I prefer it flat and soft and smooth. Not ripply and hard.
I'm pretty happy with the "abs" I have. However my thighs are not going to be to my liking unless I drop some more body fat and that'll probably produce more of a six-pack type look.0 -
Love the discussion here.0
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Double post0
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that was so very long, but for the most part, seems I was on the right track, though I still have some work to do0
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but... the infomercial said...
srsly though, awesome article.0 -
Great help!
Thanks for posting and thanks to everyone for the additional conversation!!!0 -
wanna know how i get them? flash a sweet smile, briefly flaunt the boobs, flaunt the *kitten*, turn my head and wait.
works every time.0 -
I think it's amusing how the OP says "I'm just the messenger.."0
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i love Coach Calorie - always so insightful! But I do have a question for anyone who knows the answer: how do you know how many carbohydrates you need to just fuel your workouts alone and no more?
Figure out how many calories you expect to burn divide by 4 then eat this many grams of carb0 -
Low Glycemic Foods - just googled & got this. Now this is great for someone like me because I eat tons of Indian foods with Dal & Beans (I'm not Indian though).
Table 1. List of the Best Low GI Carbohydrate Sources
Name Of Food GI Portion Size Carbs GL
Chana Dal 10 1/2 cup, cooked 17 2
Beans, Common 20 1/2 cup, cooked 14 3
Barley, hull-less* 22 1/2 cup, boiled 21 5
Lentils 29 1/2 cup, cooked 24 7
Soba Noodles 35 1 cup, (al dente) 25 9
Plantains, Green 40 2 avg. tostones 22 9
Pasta, whole wheat* 40 1 cup, (al dente) 25 10
Split Peas, Green 48 1/2 cup, cooked 20 10
Brown Rice, Long Grain 50 1/2 cup, cooked
http://www.low-glycemic-foods.org/best-carbs.html0 -
This is a general rule of thumb from Wikipedia about the glycemic index
Glycemic index of foods
GI values can be interpreted intuitively as percentages on an absolute scale and are commonly interpreted as follows:
Classification GI range Examples
Low GI 55 or less most fruits and vegetables, legumes/pulses, whole grains, nuts, fructose and products low in carbohydrates
Medium GI 56–69 whole wheat products, basmati rice, sweet potato, sucrose, baked potatoes
High GI 70 and above white bread, most white rices, corn flakes, extruded breakfast cereals, glucose, maltose0
This discussion has been closed.
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