Getting a six-pack requires the correct training and an appropriate nutrition strategy. To reveal your abs, you need to reduce body fat. Mainly achieved through exercise and diet – you can’t do one without the other and expect to achieve great results.
Let me make this clear! You do not get a six-pack by doing 500 sit-ups a day or 1000 crunches. You may somewhat strengthen the muscles, but you will never get a six-pack from doing these exercises alone.
You will only get a six-pack by following a structured workout and a specific nutrition plan. This post will give you a guideline of what you need to get started regarding training so you can get a six-pack FAST! (Part 2 will be about the nutrition side of things).
LIFT WEIGHTS
Lifting weights burn more overall calories than any other form of exercise. You may burn fewer calories than cardio at the time, but over the next 24 hours, your body will burn calories faster when you lift weights.
That even means while you are sleeping, that’s right when sleeping! How cool is that?
You are building muscle speeds up your metabolism, so you burn fat at a faster rate. Lifting weights burns most energy from carbohydrates and fats, therefore retaining your muscle.
· Do: lift weights with the correct technique and intensity. Use lighter weights with higher intensity and fewer rest periods.
· Don’t: do long cardio sessions – people that do long cardio sessions burn a lot of muscle.
COMPOUND EXERCISES
Compound exercises are movements that actively use more than one muscle group. They are big exercises and burn the most calories while building the most muscle.
Examples of these exercises are squats, bench press, deadlift, shoulder press, clean and press, etc.
Burning the most calories from fat in the shortest time will give us a six-pack at a quicker rate.
Think about it for a minute. What is going to burn more calories at a faster rate? A bicep curl or a bench press?
How many muscles are involved in a bicep curl compared to a bench press?
Performing compound exercises will build more muscle, speed up your metabolism, burn fat faster, burn calories at a quicker pace, and reveal your six-pack abs more quickly.
· Do: incorporate compound exercises into every workout
· Don’t: Focus too much on smaller isolation exercises, as they are not burning the most calories or building the most muscle in the quickest time frame.
INCREASE ACTIVITY LEVELS
Probably an obvious one and not much of a secret to most people. You would be astonished at the difference this can make.
I once had an office job where I would sit at a desk from 8 am – 5 pm and not leave my chair for the entire day except for a lunch break. I started gaining weight weekly, and it wasn’t good, lean weight it was fat.
The extra activity I do now, be it going up and down a flight of stairs, food shopping, carrying bags, and walking, has a more significant impact than you might think.
It elevates the heart rate from time to time throughout the day that will regulate your metabolism and allow you to keep burning calories faster.
· Do: get your heart rate up multiple times a day in any way possible.
· Don’t: substitute increased activity for your workouts; this is additional to them. You must be doing both if you want that six-pack FAST!
SPRINTS
I remember first reading this exciting fact about five or so years ago in a Men’s Health magazine, and it still amazes me so that I will share it with you:
Studies prove that one workout of 3 x 100-meter sprints burns more body fat than three workouts of 30 minutes’ continuous jogging.
That means that in around 40 – 60 SECONDS of actual exercise, you can burn more fat than in 90 MINUTES just by choosing your training more carefully.
Can you now see it’s not about working hard and having sweat dripping off you and being sore for days, it’s about using your head and being smart about your workouts?
Another significant fact about this is that short sprints will burn predominantly fat rather than muscle, due to the type of energy source your body requires.
· Do: sprints can be on anything, not just running: rowing machine, cycling, swimming, etc. Make sure you give it 100% on those sprints, though.
· Don’t: do long, continuous cardio – this will burn muscle.
More Muscle – Less fat
The more muscle size you have, the faster your metabolism becomes, which means you will be burning fat faster. Muscle also generates heat, which also helps to shred fat, even when you are resting.
Be sure that you check out part 2 for the nutrition side to get a six-pack fast (without ever training abs).
