You’ve always wanted better abs but didn’t know where to start – well here is your answer! Secrets to successful abdominal development are listed below – well, maybe not secrets – but certainly solid advice to achieve your ab goals.
Look – there are no magic bullets…no secret, easy ways of achieving anything. You get out what you put in – so read the advice…and stick to it. You’ll see the results for yourselves!
Train abs like you would other parts of the body – i.e. HEAVIER
Always eat breakfast!!
Eat small and frequent meals throughout the day and drink Plenty Of Water
Cardiovascular Exercise (CV)
Your focus should be on building muscle all over
Get adequate sleep
Follow these tips and be on your way to killer abs...
Train abs like you would other parts of the body – i.e. HEAVIER
The only abdominal training that you should be doing is intense training with heavy resistance. Work within the 8-12 repetition range. You only require one or two different abdominal exercises with the aim of around 5-6 sets. That’s all you need.
The idea behind this is to build some size and thickness on the abdominals so that they will press up against the skin, showing deeper ridges and that ‘ripped’ look. Performing sit-ups all day will not increase the size of your abs because there is little resistance being added – you will get good at them though!
The 2 absolute best abdominal exercises are:
- Cable Crunches
- Weighted Leg Raises
As with everything – it’s important to make sure that you perform the exercises properly. Cable crunches are the absolute best abdominal exercise out there. However, it is actually very rare to see anyone perform this exercise correctly.
Remember that it is a crunch so your abs should crunch together. Most people don’t crunch down properly and they end up defeating the whole purpose of the exercise.
Always eat breakfast!!
People that skip breakfast in the morning absolutely kill their metabolism. By simply eating a balanced breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up, you can actually increase your metabolism by roughly 20-30%! That is a massive difference!
By eating breakfast, you will kick start your metabolism and help your body to run smoothly throughout the day. It is absolutey, the most important meal of the day!
Eat small and frequent meals throughout the day and drink Plenty Of Water
Eating small and often with adequate carbohydrates, protein, and fats will speed up your metabolism and will allow your body to burn off excess body fat. Your metabolism will slow down dramatically 3 hours after a meal so you should aim to eat once every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. A faster metabolism = more calories burned and less fat covering your abs.
It is also absolutely essential to drink ample amounts of water as well. Think about it. The body is approximately 75% water -every cell in your body needs water to operate properly since many transport systems in the body require water. Water also assists the body in regulating itself by serving as a pH and temperature buffer. Water is vitaly important.
Measure your level of hydration by the color of your urine. Bright yellow? – then you are dehydrated. Urine should either be a very light yellow or completely clear. During a workout, it is best to make sure that your urine is clear. Keeping it clear will allow your body to perform at an optimal level.
Cardiovascular Exercise (CV)
The beauty of cardiovascular exercise is that most of the energy that you burn during cardiovascular exercise is fat (70-90%). Fat can only be burned through aerobic processes in the body. This basically means that your body only burns fat when enough oxygen is available.
Doing cardiovascular exercise stimulates a requirement for energy and forces your body to pump a lot more oxygen into the bloodstream. Since you are stimulating your body through exercise, it will want to maintain your muscle tissue therefore preferring to burn off fat as energy instead. CV is much more effective in the morning too, since the body is refreshed and ready to go.
Intense CV is always preferred when trying to burn off the fat, but it is also important to remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing at all.
If you can’t handle intense exercise, then just get out and move. Go for a walk or a bike ride.You can still get visible abs that way – it’ll just take a whole lot longer.
Your focus should be on building muscle all over
It is essential to try to build up muscle mass on the rest of your body as more muscle mass will result in a higher BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and thus, more calories burned over time.
Your BMR is simply the amount of calories that your body burns while you sit around doing nothing. People that have more mass will have a higher BMR than those with less mass on their body because their body needs more calories to maintain that extra mass.
Lifting heavier weights will also burn a lot of calories. It’s possible to burn the same amount of calories doing a few sets of squats as you would if you spent 30 minutes doing low intensity aerobic exercise.
It’s always a good idea to attempt to train all the large muscle groups and turn your body into a calorie burning machine. This means doing all the lifts that many people tend to shy away from like squats and deadlifts.
Get adequate sleep
Inadequate sleep causes the body to release a stress hormone called cortisol. This hormone promotes fat storage and will ultimately end any efforts to get ripped abs.
Getting enough sleep will also allow the body function at an optimum level which will result in a faster metabolism and greater muscle gains. You’ve heard it all before it remains true – get at least 8-9 hours of sleep and watch your body grow!