Getting those washboard abs - the unpopular truth!

The majority of people typically think of exercises (mostly crunches and sit-ups) when they are considering going for that set of washboard abs … possibly for the first time in their life.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take 4 combined elements to get the type of abs you see showcased in magazines and movies; there really aren’t any short cuts, unfortunately. All four activities are necessary and they’re aimed at the crucial combination - lose fat, build muscle.

Your Diet

The single biggest issue here is, you can spend the rest of your life working out with crunches but if you still have too much body fat, you’ll never have six-pack abs.

So your diet has to be one that supports fat loss. First thing being, think about calories — you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. Second, you need a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fat - and yes, there IS healthy fat. You need the protein because you want to build muscle and also to help muscle recover from exercise; and, protein can help with appetite control. You need carbs for energy. And healthy fat because the right types of fat - and most fat in people’s diets is NOT the right type of fat - are an essential part of a balanced diet.

Cardio Exercise

So … why cardio-vascular exercise, specifically?. The answer is simple mathematics … because to eliminate 1 lb of fat you need to burn 3500 more calories than you take in, so if you want to get rid of that layer of fat that “hides” your abs, no matter how well developed, cardio is one step along the fastest path.

Strength exercises

People are often surprised to learn that strength training has the biggest impact on the metabolism … meaning, if you perform strength training regularly, you’ll literally put your body in a position where the metabolism speeds up and … you’ve guessed it, your burn fat more quickly. Large muscle exercises - squats, bench presses, lunges, etc - performed regularly will have a bigger impact on metabolism even than cardio and certainly more than small muscle exercises (bicep curls, for example) although it all helps. The faster you burn the fat … the faster you get those great abs you’re working so hard for.

Abs-specific exercises

And finally we come to the exercises that most people start out with in their mind - the crunches, sit-ups and leg lifts.

So, this is the path you need to take for great abs; but the biggest obstacle isn’t actually associated with any of these. The biggest challenge is purely mental, and it’s this - are you willing to pay the price?