Any one who enters the weight lifting and body building world has a set of six pack abs on their mind. In order to attain this lofty goal it is necessary to establish a training cycle and stick to it.
Just about anyone who is involved in health and fitness has a goal of “looking good”. For most of us simply being is shape is not good enough unless we can demonstrate that to others. Some want shoulders as wide as the Pacific Ocean. Another group is looking for biceps that will rip your t-shirt sleeves when flexed. And just about all of us are seeking a wasp-thin waist coupled to “Oh my Gawd look at those” muscles that are characterized with that six-pack look.
Spend a few evening hours in front of the boob tube and you can get the impression that excellent musculature fitness is only a $99.99 machine away. Awww! come on! Step away from the remote control and get into a bit of research. Now what did you find? Oh yea,
neither increases in muscle mass nor decrease in body fat is found in a few pieces of bent tubing covered with foam. Work is still the answer which cannot be replaced by any short-cut.
It is possible that you have heard this before. Success in the fitness field comes from stressing a muscle group, giving that muscle group proper nutrition, and then recuperation time that allows time for rebuilding and increasing that muscle group. Lets start with the work. Work is exercise. Work is stress. Work is sweaty and hard and NECESSARY. And of course, work for bodily fitness is fun if done properly.
Back to the basics. As for any type of business that succeeds, abdominal training cannot be a hit and miss venture. You need to define what you want. You need to know what will get you there. And you need to know how to implement the second in order to get this first. Simply worded, you need a PLAN. No miracles, no magic pills or machines, and no other type of short-cuts. Get the dream, plan it out, follow the plan and success is in your grasp. Notice that did not say “immediate” grasp as it is necessary to understand this is not an overnight thing. Time and perseverance are the keys to your goal so get on about it.
Countless articles and self-help books have outlined further countless workout methods. Just a few?
-lying bicycle.
-abs bench-crunch
-hanging knee-ups
-seated jack knife
-sit ups, crunches, hold your breath and squeeze your muscles at your desk, thirty second tighten and loosen reps while you are driving.
You get the picture. On your journey to strong and visible abs you can choose your own method of pain. Just choose it and (what did we say?) GET ON WITH IT!!
You have spent your time with the exercise. Your gut muscles are stronger than the cables holding up the Golden Gate Bridge. You flex and let your kid slam a fist into your belly and his hand hurts more than you do. Hundreds of knee-ups and sit-ups no more bring fatigue. Work, work, work and you STILL cannot get a good view of your abdominal muscles. It is obvious they are there. You can feel them. You KNOW you have one great looking set of abs! So where is the six-pack? Guess what—you still have a car cover thrown over that 1956 Detroit Iron Muscle car. Fat. Fat. Again Fat.
There is a layer of fat covering all abdominal muscles. Rich man, poor man, beggar or thief. Fat layer. The problem is not that you do not have the set of muscles you desire. The problem is you have camouflaged with that enemy of all — fat. Now you know what was meant all the time when you heard the words—“six-pack abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym”. The workout routine has given you the first necessity to having wonderful abs. You have the muscles now you need the display shelf!
Diet (read nutrition) is next. Throw out all the fried foods. Cut down on unnecessary carbohydrates and grab hold of the protein. Discard the salt shaker and the beer bottle. Basics? You have to get rid of that ugly fat layer covering that belly. Balance to your diet. Nutritious with all of the necessary fats;, proteins and carbohydrates. Lets say it again—all the crunches in the world may indeed build your abdominal muscles, until you get rid of that FAT! no one has any chance at all of seeing them.
Effective method to drop that fat is to follow a mildly calorie deficient diet while increasing your metabolism through cardio work. Darn—here we are with that word work again! The cardio workout will not only burn the fat at an increased rate but will give you better heart and lung health at the same time. Ever wonder where “cardio” came from? How about the “cardio-pulmonary system”. We will stick with cardio to keep our tongues from getting tangled.
Get that cardio workout. Feed your body reduced fats, increase protein and necessary carbohydrates. Follow your plan, build the muscle and then work to display it. Sacrifice a bit now and as soon as the beaches open up you will be “the man”. The admiring looks will prove worth the effort. And by admiring looks I mean from others on the beach, not from you in front of the bathroom mirror!
Get a desire, get a plan, get the two together and GET-ON-WITH-It!
