Find Your Abs

Are you frustrated to find that after months of doing leg lifts and sit-ups, you still can’t find your abs. No matter how strong those abdominal muscles are, you won’t ever have a six-pack that anyone can see if you have a layer of fat hiding the muscles. Getting great abs is more than just building the abdominal muscles, it means shedding the fat that covers them, as well. Getting the chiseled look and definition isn’t all about muscle building. No matter how toned and ripped you are, if nobody can see the muscles because they’re hidden under fat, you’ll look bulky, not chiseled.

If you can pinch an inch, you need to lose more fat.

You don’t have to be overweight to hide your abs. Men should have a maximum of ten percent body fat and women, a maximum of 20 percent. If you’re over that, those glistening muscle ripples will never show themselves to the outside world. Most men have between 11 and 17 percent body fat and women average between 15 and 23 percent body fat. Your personal trainer will help you determine how much you should weigh to show off those hard-earned abs.

Eat healthy to develop a six-pack.

Not only do you have to eat fewer calories to lose weight and show off your six-pack, you also need to limit certain foods and focus on others. If you eat food with added sugar of any type, you could be jeopardizing your potential to build a six-pack. Alcohol of any type, particularly beer (think beer belly), sugary drinks, flavored coffee, pastry and other foods with sugar added all pack on the pounds around your waist. Don’t even consider switching to diet drinks if you want a six-pack.

Use exercise to help reveal your six-packs.

Remembering that getting that ripped, sculpted look doesn’t mean just building abdominal muscles, it’s more about reducing the layer of fat. That’s why doing exercises that burn a high amount of calories can get you on the road to success. Strength building exercises burn calories both at the time you do them and for hours afterward, while adding more muscle tissue to boost your metabolism. HIIT—high intensity interval training—cardio is also a super calorie burning workout.

• Studies show that diet drinks add inches to your waistline by increasing visceral fat.
• Stick with compound exercises using heavier weights. Compound workouts use multiple muscle and joint groups and burn more calories.
• Drink plenty of water. Water helps remove the waste from your body and helps reduce bloating that can hide your abs. It can temporarily boost your metabolism to burn more calories.
• Increased fiber also helps your digestive system to work better. It fills you up faster and helps lower caloric intake, so you’ll lose fat faster.

image source: lindyhealth.com