It seems everyone is in search of the infamous six pack. Many people spend hours a week in the gym doing gruelling abdominal exercises hoping for an ab or two to pop through.
First of all, there are three things you need to do in order to get a six pack. Cardio, strength training and a healthy, balanced diet. You can do thousands of crunches, but it won't make up for a garbage diet and lack of intensity in your workouts.
In order to see definition in your abdomen you need to have a low body fat percentage. To have a "ripped" mid section men usually need to have less than 10 per cent body fat and women typically below 16 per cent. This is quite low considering the optimal amount of fat ranges from 15-23 per cent for women and 10 to 18 per cent for men (depending on age). If a 30-year-old man has 18 per cent body fat he is considered in the healthy range but in order to see ab definition he may need to lose eight per cent body fat. That is difficult to do.
Doing relentless ab work won't get rid of the layer of fat covering that six pack. Yes, you will have an incredibly strong core, which is important, but you need to burn off the fat in order to see it. Rather than spending the last 20 minutes of every workout doing crunches try adding some extra cardio instead. Doing 100 crunches will burn about 20 calories whereas adding an extra 30 minutes on the treadmill will burn about 300. Plus, you'll be using your core, legs and arms along with your respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
Remember your abdominals are just like any other muscle group. They need rest and recovery time too. You wouldn't work your biceps every single day, would you? Give your abs some time off between workouts. Doing a few abdominal exercises two or three times a week is plenty.
Remember that these things take time! You put a lot of time and effort into building up that "insulation," it will take some time to get rid of. That being said, it's time to get started. Burn some of that fat today.
Say it! Mean it! Do it!
