Do you want 6 pack abs? I am guessing that because you found this article, the answer is probably ‘YES’. That’s great to hear, however in this article I want to be completely transparent with you and tell you what it really takes to get 6 pack abdominals. There are a lot of misconceptions people have when it comes to getting ripped abs, so here I am aiming to set the record straight. It is true that getting a visible 6 pack isn’t easy, especially if you are carrying a little extra weight. However, with a little dedication, persistence and consistency, it is not the hardest thing to do in the world either. If you are working with an effective 6 pack producing regime it will be even easier. Now I will provide you with some top tips to show you how to get a 6 pack, and how to generally get in the best shape of your life.

In order to get a 6 pack, you must first get your mindset right. This is probably the most important factor that will determine your success. Like I mentioned earlier, this isn’t going to be a walk in the park; but you want abdominals right? So, it is important to set a goal, even write it down. For example, ‘I want a visible 6 pack, and muscular chest and arms’. Then give a reason such as ‘I want to make my girlfriend/wife/partner proud of me. Also, I want to look really good at the beach’. Giving a ‘why’ will make your goal so much more powerful. Now stick this up somewhere where you will see it every day. It really will make a big difference and will help motivate you when times get tough.

Okay, so now we are in the right place mentally, I want to discuss the second most important aspect when getting ripped abs. No, its not exercise, like you may think. The next most important factor is your diet. If you do not clean up your diet you may as well give up. Diet is so very important I can’t stress it enough. We all know what a healthy diet is. It is very simple. How many of us though actually have a clean, healthy diet? Unfortunately, just ‘knowing’ is not enough. We have to take action. Diet is the part that I see most people struggle with, but if we want to get ripped, and we are serious about it, then we must clean our diet up. I recommend you look more into high protein, low carb diets for best results. This is what I personally do, and it works very well. I will write further articles specific to diets at a later date, but for now just cut out the junk, get plenty of veg, and meat (or other sources of protein) and go really easy on carbs such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc. I mean go REALLY easy! Carbs are the worst food type for triggering fat gain.

Finally, the third most important factor for developing 6 pack abs is exercise. However, it must be the right kind of exercise. Doing 500 sit-ups a day and plodding along on a treadmill for hours is the least effective way to build a 6 pack. I see a lot of people in the gym that think doing tons of abdominal specific exercises such as the sit up or crunch is what will get them a 6 pack. WRONG! Firstly, what is the point in trying to tone up your abs if they are covered in a layer of fat? You can’t spot reduce fat, and the humble crunch isn’t much of a fat burner. Also, lightly jogging on a treadmill for an hour or two only raises your metabolism and burns the most calories whilst you are actually performing the exercise. When you stop, your metabolism drops straight back down again! Not very good! Therefore, we need to focus on high intensity, shorter workouts which work the whole body. This means high intensity cardio such as sprints or fartlek training for about 30 minutes. Then resistance/weight training to build muscle (the more muscle you have the higher your resting metabolism. I recommend doing compound exercises (exercises that work large muscle groups) for maximum effect such as bench press, squats, chin ups and military shoulder press for example.

Now, we can look at working our abs. We have a clean diet, we have hit our body with high intensity cardio and weight training and the fat it dripping off! Now you can do some effective abdominal exercises such as the air bike, variations of the plank and variations of leg raises etc.

So, just remember the order in which we need to sort out the various aspects of our fitness regime.

• Mindset

• Diet

• Exercise (cardio and resistance first, then abdominal specific exercises)

I hope this article has been informative and of some help to you, I wish you all the best, and I hope you and reach your fitness goals very soon.