Have trouble seeing your abs, don't worry, you're not alone and you are about to discover how to get a flat stomach, a great looking six pack. For many getting the lower abs to show can be a challenge. You may spend hours doing all the exercises you are supposed to like...
- hanging leg raises
- crunches
- sit ups
- reverse crunches...
and the rest of those low ab exercises. But all those different core moves didn't get your six pack abs.
You may have but in your time, working anywhere from 6 months to a year doing various core routines. Heck, you may have even bought yourself an ab roller and put that to the test 4 days a week, but still no results. Well it is not your fault because, you can't spot reduce with lower abdominal exercise.
I will cut right to the chase. For you to see your abs and have a great midsection you need to have a low level of body fat. Core exercises will make you stronger but will not strip away fat to show a flat toned stomach.
The best way to get your six pack is to have a proper diet, exercise with interval training and lift weights. Doing hundreds or even thousands of ab exercises every day is not the way to get great abs.
You may be someone who has a flat stomach but have a difficult with the lower abs. You may think that this doesn't apply to you because you have abs, you are just looking to get the lower ones. Sorry to say but you too need to reduce your body fat. It is clear that a lack of muscle development is not the issue, you can see abs already. We all have slightly different fat storage patterns, and it isn't evenly distributed throughout your body. We all have a sticking points too, yours happens to be in your lower abdominal region.
As a general rule guys get the pot belly, love handles, spare tire, etc. They generally store fat more readily in the lower abdominal region. Your lower abs is usually the first place extra fat goes when you gain weight, and the last place it comes off when you're burning fat.
Women tend to pack on extra fat under the arms, the hips, and thighs.
Cut back on the core routine. Stop spending so much time training your abs and use that time to add more interval training to your workout. You do not need anymore than a 12 minute core routine done twice a week to build a muscular midsection. Select 2 to 4 exercises and work in the 12 - 25 rep range. That will give you plenty of muscle for a 6 pack.
To burn that extra layer of fat it is recommended that you do a combination of weight training and interval training. Depending on how much weight you need to lose this can be done anywhere from 4 to 7 days a week, for 30 to 60 minutes at a time.
The other side of the equation is to make sure you have a healthy balanced eating plan. Be sure to monitor calories and cut them by 10%, if you do not see results at this rate drop your calories by another 10%.
If you're looking for more dramatic results you can drop your calories by 25 to 30% for a few days then increase them by 10 to 15% above your maintenance requirements for one or two days in the week. Dramatically reducing calories will deteriorate muscle and slow down your metabolism, so it's not recommended to rely on a strict calorie reduction diet.
- be sure to eat vegetables and lean protein with each meal
- stay away from refined simple carbs like white flour and white sugar
- drink lots of water, aim for a boat 4 L a day
As you can see, endless reps of ab exercises is not the answer to great abs. You may have a phenomenal six pack from doing all that core work but it's just not visible. What you need to do is burn the fat from your stomach with strategically plan does interval training and strength training along with a healthy eating plan. This will melt the fat away and reveal the abs you've been working so hard on.
