MISSION: ABDOMINALS 6 Pack Abs Secrets

Dawn G.
on 5/23/06 2:53 am - NJ

A woman recently wrote in to a popular fitness website's Q & A column and said she would do anything to have a body like Miss Fitness Olympia, Monica Brant. The very next day, another woman e-mailed and said, "I wanna look like Demi Moore, Halle Berry or Jennifer Aniston, NOT Miss Olympia." A 19 year old said he wanted to get huge, absolutely massive muscles - like the pro bodybuilders. Other guys say they don't want to get too big - they want to fit into their business suits nicely and they just want a few inches off their waist, and that "Men's Fitness" look. I'm not sure what your idea of a "perfect body" looks like because everyone has different goals and different standards of physical attractiveness. But there's one thing that everyone wants ... RAZOR SHARP ABDOMINALS! I've never met a single person, male or female, young or old, who didn't want a lean, flat stomach with a "six pack" of abs. Abs are the one "defining" part of the body considered universally attractive and desirable...! Ironically, getting great abs is the one goal that seems to elude most people. How many people do you know - maybe even yourself - who have successfully reduced their body fat percentage, taken in their belt a few notches, dropped a few pounds, and yet they STILL don't have that rock-hard, flat-stomach six-pack look? When you flip through the fitness magazines, you see awesome abs everywhere, but when you go to the beach, the pool or the park in the summer, how many sets of six pack abs do you actually see in public? You have to agree - a truly impressive set of six pack abs is a rare sight. Why is it so hard to achieve the ripped abs look, and how do you get it? There is an answer... Most people are either going about it completely wrong, or they are on the right track, but their approach is incomplete. The first place they stumble is that they believe ab exercises alone will get them a six pack. Ab exercise strengthens and develops the muscles but it does not necessarily remove the body fat. You could have great abdominal muscle development, and strength, but if your body fat is too high, then you still will not be able to see them. This is because most of your fat is "subcutaneous" - which means the fat is stored right UNDERNEATH your skin, but right ON TOP of your muscles - covering up your muscle definition. ------------------------------------------------------------ So, the #1 key to getting great abs is body fat reduction. ------------------------------------------------------------ If your body fat is not low enough, you will never see your abs. You need a method for reducing body fat to a level low enough that allows your abdominals show through. The ideal fat reduction method must include nutrition, cardio training and strength training. Ask yourself, are you leaving out any one of these critical components? Are you dieting without exercising? Are you doing cardio, but not weight training? Are you training hard, but eating poorly? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are going to have difficulty getting the six pack abs loo****il you get all three into place at the same time. -------------------------------------------------------------- Key #2 is to diet properly in a manner that is hormonally and physiologically correct, in order to make sure you avoid hitting a fat loss plateau. -------------------------------------------------------------- It's common to get great results when you first start a program, but then you hit a fat loss plateau within 4-12 weeks where fat loss slows down or stops completely. Sound familiar? This happens because there is a lag time before your body recognizes a severe calorie deficit and when it does, your body fights back to maintain homeostasis. Once your body starts getting clear signals that there's a food shortage, your metabolic rate will decrease. Fat burning hormones like leptin and thyroid will also decrease and the appetite center in your brain will get turned up full blast. This explains from a physiological point of view, why "the last 10 pounds" is such a drag to lose - it's because your body goes into "starvation mode" before you get lean enough to see your abs. How do you avoid starvation mode? Simple - don't starve yourself! Most conventional diet programs are based on extreme calorie restriction, which almost always works in the beginning, and almost never works for long. There are exceptions. For example, the entire Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program is based on this premise: It's better to burn the fat than to starve the fat (eat more, burn more) ------------------------------------------------------------ Key #3 to 6-pack abs and the body you want is to use the right combination of cardio and strength training. ------------------------------------------------------------ There are three different types of training you must do to get great abs. BELOW IS A COPY OF AN EMAIL I RECIEVED FROM BodybuildingApplied.com. IT IS RATHER LONG BOTH THE INFORMATION IS PRICELESS!! DAWN One is cardio vascular training to assist with the fat burning process. The second is weight training - for your entire body - which will increase lean body mass. Lean muscle is the engine that drives your metabolism. The third is the specific abdominal exercises. Ab exercises alone don't work. Diets alone don't work. "Diets don't work" is more than a cliché, it is a physiological truth. Exercise combined with nutrition is the answer, not one or the other.