You want to complete your physique with a set of great stomach muscles. Well, here are the facts about gaining 6 pack abs. But what do you really have to do to lose that belly fat and get great stomach muscles ? Do hundreds and hundreds of crunches and sit ups? Put yourself through indescribable torture on one of those uncomfortable ab machines in your gym? Or would you rather waste your hard earned cash on one of those ab-belts that are advertised so frequently on TV? Over the years, I have seen innumerable people, busting their backsides in the gym doing loads of sit ups, crunches, reverse crunches, hanging leg raises and other torturous ab exercises with little to show for their effort. These ab isolation exercises are useful, but they are only part of the process that will help you lose that belly fat and gain great stomach muscles and chiseled 6 pack abs. Three important factors in achieving those chiseled 6 pack abs to die for are Nutrition, Fat Loss and Cardio, together with an understanding of how the abdominal muscles function. NUTRITION You have to pay more care and attention to what you eat. Great physiques are not built on a diet of fast foods or junk foods. Contrary to what you might think, the wrong type of carbohydrates and not fats are the main culprits. {Although of course you must not eat an excess amount of fats} The wrong type of carbohydrates, ie. those with a high glycemic index, are mostly responsible for depositing an excess layer of fat on your body, thus stopping you from achieving those great stomach muscles. High glycemic carbohydrates are carbs that the body metabolizes and assimilates rapidly , i.e cookies, cakes, biscuits, ice cream, foods with a high sugar content, french fries, processed white rice, {ever wondered why you are hungry again within an hour or so of eating a Chinese take away meal} foods made from highly processed white flour, etc. Soft drinks and sodas full of sugar and 6 packs of beer are also no help at all in your quest to burn off fat and attain chiseled 6 pack abs. It is important that your diet is made up primarily of nutritious foods in their natural form and you stay clear or minimize your intake of processed and packaged foods. Do not be fooled by cleverly packaged foods that claim to be healthy, fat free or fat reduced. Sure, they may be low on fat but they are equally high in sugar, cheap corn syrup and a host of other ingredients {chemicals} which most of us cannot even pronounce! You cannot go wrong if you stay with foods that have only one ingredient , i.e oats instead of some gaudily packaged breakfast cereal that claims to be the 'breakfast of champions.' Whole grain rice instead of some brightly packaged, highly processed flavored rice. FAT LOSS & CARDIO Cardio vascular exercise works in conjunction with good and sensible nutrition in helping you lose body fat so the underlying ab muscles can show through. The amount of cardio work you do should not be excessive especially if you are trying to build muscle. Excessive cardio is extremely detrimental to building muscle. Hell, you do not want to end up looking like a long distant runner. The whole idea is to build a lean muscular physique with chiseled 6 pack abs, not to look like an emaciated, stringy muscled marathon runner. Another reason you do not want to lose muscle is because increased lean muscle tissue helps to permanently elevate your resting metabolic rate, which in turn increases your ability to burn fat. To lose that belly fat and attain chiseled 6 pack abs to die for. ABDOMINAL EXERCISES In order to achieve those 6 pack abs to die for, it is important that you have an understanding of the role the abdominal muscles play in the body. The abs are the main stabilizing muscles in the body and are very important core muscles. Hence, your abdominal muscles are brought into play and are exercised best when you do whole body movements or compound exercises, i.e squats, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, push ups, etc This might seem contrary to everything you have been taught or led to believe over the years. But here is a test for you.....go into a push up position, then reach up with one hand and feel how taut and tight your abdominal muscles get. If you go into a squat position, you will feel the same tightening of the abdominal muscles.These are your stomach muscles tightening up as they stabilize and protect your body whilst you exercise. Ever wondered how tight your ab muscles get whilst doing a set of tricep pushdowns? The fact is your ab muscles are worked most times you exercise and during most movements you perform in the gym. This is further enhanced if your breathing pattern is correct, i.e inhaling on the negative stage and exhaling forcibly on the exertion or positive stage. There is a place for ab exercises like crunches, etc, but you must treat your abs as just another muscle and remember not to overtrain them. Overtraining leads to muscle loss SUMMARY It is important to note that fat is essentially stored energy and the body is designed to carry it's fat stores around the midriff. The body does it's best to hang on to these fat stores around the belly and midriff. These fat deposits are alaways the last to disappear. You cannot spot reduce fat, i.e decide to lose fat from selected areas like your belly, so any fat loss you achieve from a healthy nutritious diet and appropriate cardio regime will be all over your body, with the belly being the last to respond. Remember a lean muscular body is a fat burning machine.
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