Abs - The True Measure of Real Fitness

I don't know anyone who doesn't look at a great set of six-pack abs with amazement and a little jealousy in their eyes. It's such a rare sight (especially on women) that when you actually see it, you're practically mesmerized.

How do you go about getting these elusive abs? Of course you know this isn't going to be an easy task....if it was easy, everybody would have abs!

First of all, let me share with you a great quote I heard recently..."Abs are made in the kitchen". For the most part, abs are a direct result of what you eat. If your diet consists of a high amount of fat, sugar, and processed foods, it's going to show up on your body. So give yourself a head start and clean up your diet.

What do I mean by "clean up your diet"? I mean eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. Figure out how many calories you need per day for your body weight and fitness goals. Calculate your caloric needs with the Harris Benedict Formula on the "Weight Loss Basics" page.

Next, after you know how many calories per day your body needs, decide on the macronutrient ratios; meaning the percentage of carbs, protein, and fat you want. An example of a good fat-loss diet would be:

Carbs - 40%

Protein - 40%

Fat - 20%

This means 40% of your calories will come from carbs, 40% from protein, and 20% from fat. Now, you will typically have two calorie goals to work with. First, calculate your Maintenance Level calories. For this example let's say it's 2000 cal/day. Now, if you want to lose bodyfat, you'd probably reduce that number of calories by about 20%, to 1600 calories per day. Now take 1600 calories and multiply by 40% for carbs (160 grams), 40% for protein (160 grams), and 20% fat (35 grams). That's it - divide up those counts into five small meals and you're done.

By the way, it's important not to spend more than three days in a row at the lower calorie level. Every fourth day you should eat your Maintenance Level of calories for one day. Then, go back to 20% below that level for three days again. Keep the rotation. If you eat low calorie all the time, you will eventually slow down your metabolism. That would be detrimental to your fat-loss efforts.

Next, make sure you're drinking enough water. Your body is made up of mostly water, and if it doesn't get enough throughout the day, it will hold on to water. Therefore, when you drink enough water, you body feels safe and releases the excess. For more info on water, see my article "The Magic Qualities of Water". So, is that "all" it takes to get great abs, you ask? Of course not! Another piece of the abs puzzle, is cardio. Yes, you knew that was coming! Cardio is important for burning extra calories. What do I mean by "extra"? I mean, first, you're lowering your caloric intake by only eating 80% of your maintenance level of calories (for three days at a time). The cardio and weightlifting (we'll get to that in a second) is the other half of burning off the calories. Part one - eat less, part two - burn more.

What is cardio? Cardiovascular exercise is activity that makes you breathe in more oxygen than normally and keeps your heart rate elevated (that's the short explanation). Think of exercises such as speed-walking, jogging, elliptical training, stairmaster, bicycle riding, etc.

Cardio should be done for anywhere between 20-45 minutes. Figure out where your heart rate should be to get cardiovascular benefits. To calculate your "Target Heart Rate", visit Target Heart Rate Calculator. Try to get in 5-6 days of cardio a week.

Now onto Weight Training. We won't cover everything here, but let me just say that your hip bone is connected to your thigh bone...etc! When your train with weights, you are often utilizing many muscle groups at the same time. Since your abs are part of your "core", you are often using these muscles to "assist' you in performing other exercises.

Of course, there are many specific exercises just for abs. If you'd like to get a great book on abs with tons of exercises and videos too, visit the Metabolic Surge website. This site actually has phenomenal books and exercise programs. My fiance and I did the "Metabolic Surge" program last year and it was awesome.

For me, the main ab exercises I do are as follows: - decline bench crunch with weight - rope cable pulldown - hanging leg raises (usually on a Roman Chair) - Knee-ins on an exercise ball - regular crunches - woodchopper on a cable machine - side crunches with a long stick - leg lift with small weight between feet (on a bench)

You can also do other activites that will strengthen your abs, like yoga, dancing, running, etc. You'll know that you worked them though because they will be sore! What a great feeling!

So, to put it all together, clean up your diet, kick up your cardio, drink your water, and lift weights (especially for abs).

And last, but not least, give it time and stick with it. Changes won't happen overnight, but they will happen. Just be consistent with your diet and training and watch your abs become a reality.

For more information on bringing out your abs, check out this article: What is the Ideal Body Fat to See Your Abs?

Cougar Fitness Club

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