The 3 Week Diet

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

How to Get a Six Pack - The Best Way

By Brennan Jacobs


If there is anything that will get you motivated, it is checking out some rock-hard defined abs. So then you ask yourself "how do I get a six pack?" or "how do I get ripped?". Forget the notion that there is a "six packs diet", "six packs workout" or "six pack abs machine" that by itself is going to do the trick. In my opinion, your first question should be: "how to lose belly fat?", because unless you lose belly fat, your abs are going to be invisible to the world anyhow.

Getting a handle on your diet should be a high priority if you truly want to get those six pack abs. Where it not for the confusion that the media creates on what is good and bad for our health, losing pounds would not be nearly as difficult as it is. It's no wonder that most of us find it difficult to make sound decisions concerning our health and diet. Conflicting information about our diet and health gives us nothing on which to make sound decisions. However, there are a few simple but basic things you can do to positively help your diet: 1) Cut back on meat and eats more fruits and vegetables; 2) Avoid processed foods; 3) Drink plenty of water and 4) Avoid sugary food or drinks.

Your weight-loss goal should not exceed 1 to 2 pounds a week. When you go beyond losing 1 or 2 pounds a week, you dramatically increase your chances of gaining the weight back. Also, rapid weight loss is usually associated with dehydration and nutrient deficiency. And, if you are losing weight rapidly, your body is probably not taking in the calories it needs. And when your body does not have enough calories, it will try to obtain energy from other sources, such as muscle cells.

The problem with losing stomach fat is usually not lack of desire - most of us have that. The problem is that few of us actually understand what it actually takes to make this happen. A common mistake is to focus on abdominal exercises and nothing else. When you do this, you lose sight of what should be the real goal - burning calories. Your abs muscles represent just a small portion of you muscle system. You will burn calories during an abs workout, but you will usually not burn the calories required to affect any significant weight lost.

Essential to burning calories is understanding metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which you burn calories. Metabolism is influenced by constants such as heredity and age of which you have no control. However, there are variables that affect your metabolism that are within your control. Two ways you can increase your metabolic rate are by building muscle and cardiovascular exercise.

Building muscle is essential to increasing your metabolism. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body will burn in a day. Although some experts say this figure is actually higher, it is widely accepted that muscle burns at least three times more calories than fat. With that said, the lower your bodies' body fat percentage, the higher your bodies' capacity to burn calories. Most people are driven by results. And when the results are not there, they quit. If your entire focus is on working out the abs and you don't see any results, the natural tendency is to believe that your abs workout routine is ineffective.

If you concentrate on working out the body as a whole, you will build more muscle and ultimately burn more calories. If you really want to know how to get those six pack abs, you should consider performing intense workouts, with short rest periods, working the largest muscle groups of the body, instead of trying to isolate specific small muscles like the triceps, biceps, or calves.

Some of the more popular cardiovascular activities such as jogging, walking, aerobic exercise and biking are great for burning calories. However, it should be understood that too much cardiovascular exercise can do more harm than good. Prolonged cardiovascular exercise can actually cause you to lose fat ALONG with muscle. Also, by doing slow-paced cardio, you may not be burning enough calories to make any real progress. An alternative solution could be to reduce your cardio exercises and integrate some high intensity weight training. This approach allows you to build muscle while also burning calories.

In summary, if getting those six pack abs is the goal, the first thing you should do is control your diet and start eating healthy. Also, exercise the body as a whole instead of isolating smaller muscles. You will burn more calories in the long run. Consider some high intensity weight training, as it will not only help you lose calories, but build muscle to affect longer lasting results.




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