Having a six pack is the ultimate dream for any man wanting to look the part.
1) You already have great abs. One thing a lot of people don’t realise is they already have a great set of abdominals, without even doing a sit up. The problem is it’s usually covered by more than one layer of fat and this needs removing before you can see them.
2) Sort your diet out. If you’re going to lose the layers of fat covering up your abs, you need to get on top of your diet. Completely cut out junk food and sugars and start eating lean meat, fish and simple carbohydrates. Work out how many calories you need to lose weight and stick to it, closely.
3) Exercise hard. Another common misconception with trying to get a six pack is you need to do thousands of sit ups and crunches every day – this simply isn’t true, in fact it’s completely wrong. Performing full body exercises will be more beneficial as you work multiple muscle groups and burn a lot more fat. If you really want a washboard stomach, don’t focus all your exercises on one area, burn more calories by working every muscle in your body.
4) Use protein supplements. Whey protein is not a magic pill and won’t automatically mean you will sprout big muscles, but it’s a fantastic supplement for helping you reach your daily protein allowance. There are whey protein supplements for everyone, depending on their goals, as we want to encourage lean muscle and weight loss, a standard protein supplement will suffice.
5) Always engage the core. Whatever exercise you are doing, whether it’s squats, bench press, chest flys, shoulder press – they all require a strong core. When you perform these exercises, make a conscious effort to engage your core and keep a straight back. When you tense your core to keep good form, it works your abdominals hard, meaning your working much more than just the original muscle group.
6) Rest and drink water. Eating the right food and actively exercising is obviously extremely important if you want to get lean but getting adequate rest is just as important. If you put in all the hard work in the gym, but don’t actually give your body time to recover and build, you’re going to struggle. Drinking plenty of water is also crucial in helping your body recover and build muscle, so make sure you’re getting enough and remember, you’ll need more water the more exercise you do.
7) Don’t overdo it. If you overdo it and pull a muscle, you could be out of action for weeks, setting you back. If you’re starting a new regime and haven’t done anything like this before, you’re more than likely going to pick up small injuries along the way. The important thing is to rest and recover fully before working that area again.
