by Steve Robinson

Created on: January 17, 2010   Last Updated: February 13, 2010

There’s no getting around the fact that muscles covered by fat can’t be seen but by hitting some aerobics, making a few dietary adjustments, and doing proper ab work, you can develop legendary six- pack abs.

Getting Lean

Cardio is the mainstay for fat burning but you no longer have to run a marathon in order to burn large numbers of calories. It has been found that doing intervals significantly increases fat burning and the big plus is that it cuts down on training time significantly.

Intervals are periods of harder work thrown into an aerobic exercise; learn how it works and apply them to whatever aerobic training you like. In jogging they can be applied by sprinting according to time. For example, you jog at a normal pace and sprint for 20 seconds every five minutes. On a track, you can jog the straight away and sprint on the corners or on the street you can simply pick several landmarks.

The key is to raise your intensity and return to a sustainable pace and  they can be applied to any cardio exercise to expose your six- pack.

Six-pack ab dieting

There are a lot of differing opinions concerning the best diet for weight loss and most revolve around reduced fat or carbs. Dramatically reducing either is not healthy nor is a long term solution because these are nutrients that your body requires.

The best strategy doesn’t remove these important resources and it doesn’t call for a drastic reduction in them either. Instead, it looks at how your body uses nutrition and provides fuel that can be used for energy, instead of storing it as fat. When you consume foods that are high on the glycemic index scale, your body reacts by a spike in insulin. Insulin rushes in to clean up excess blood sugar and stores it as body fat. The key is to control your insulin through what you eat and how you eat.

Never get hungry because in most cases, even if you eat the right food, after long periods without food you will get an insulin spike. That is why so many nutrition experts today, advocate  eating 4 to 6 smaller meals as opposed to three large ones. You should be eating every 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Foods that are high on the glycemic scale are carbohydrates that digest quickly; even complex carbs in many cases. Choose carb sources that contain at least 3g of fiber or more. Eat fresh or frozen vegetables and fruit but watch for added sugar in canned products. Drink 100% fruit juice or water, fruit “drinks”, soda, and sports drinks are all high in sugar and will spike your insulin levels.

Ab specific training

Doing endless numbers of sets and exercises is unnecessary for getting six-pack abs. Getting rid of the layer of fat that covers them is the key; followed by moderate exercises to build the muscles; just make sure that you have at least one exercise for each function of your abs.

Choose an exercise such as sit-ups or crunches to directly affect your six-pack. Do several sets and when you can do more than thirty; perform them with additional weights. Pick an exercise that works the sides of your abs such as side crunches or side planks. Add weight to the crunches when you can do more than thirty and make the planks harder by either holding weight or doing them on an exercise ball.

By making a few dietary adjustments, adding intensity to your current aerobic training with intervals, and performing moderate amounts of ab specific exercise, you can bring you six-pack abs out in bold relief.     

Learn more about this author, Steve Robinson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.