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Six pack secrets revealed
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1...2...3...4...5...6. Yup, all there.
Perhaps you have heard the old adage, “Success leaves clues”. It couldn’t be any truer for those sporting a six-pack. Everyone wants to know the hidden secret to the six-pack abs! And understandably, who wouldn’t want a head turning body to flaunt at the pool or beach. No matter how old you are, looking good will never go out of style.
If you ask one million people how they got their six-pack you’d likely get one million answers. The devil is in the details; forget all the different methods you hear. There are the six common denominators nearly everyone (read: the non-genetically gifted) are doing:
1. They are ’24 hour athletes’
No doubt these guys train hard for their abs, but they recognize that nutrition is the bigger component when it comes to lean abs. They focus on nutrient dense food to fuel their bodies with in the other 23 hours during the day that they aren’t in the gym. Fat loss appears to be a two-sided equation of training and nutrition. The reality is that nutrition is the more effective variable to manipulate, but together they are quite a force multiplier. If you clean up your diet you’re results will be more than magical from the training.
Bottom line: It’s the other 23 hours outside the gym that matter most.
2. They aren’t depending on crazy supplements to do the job
Anything promising ripped abs or crazy increases in your sluggish metabolic rate is worth overlooking. In fact, the FDA recently placed a ban on the most popular supplement, Hydroxycut. Forget the over hyped consumer products that may be dangerous in the first place. Getting a six pack is a by product of healthy exercise and nutrition. Start with the three most dependable supplements—green tea (as a drink), fish oil, and vitamin D. Supplements are just that: supplements. They represent the top 2% of the pyramid and if the foundation isn’t there, you can forget the added results. See number 1. Take care of that then enter to the realm of supplements.
Bottom line: Supplements aren’t shortcuts.
3. They reduce their carbohydrates
The absolute best rule with carbohydrates is to eat them before, during, or in a 2-3 hour window after your workout. Exercise will increase your body’s demand for carbohydrate and this is the time you can eat them that they will be best utilized. Those with 6-packs knowingly or unknowingly reduce the amount of carbs they eat. This doesn’t mean a low carb diet (but a shift toward low glycemic is prudent), but a 10% reduction to start with can go a long way for body composition goals.
Bottom line: Reduced carbs aid fat loss.
4. They build muscle
Muscle is the only tissue in the body that burns fat. Thus, if you want to burn more fat you need to have additional muscle mass. It doesn’t take a eye popping biceps to improve your metabolism, but adding a few pounds to your frame will facilitate the process.
Muscle is metabolically expensive too. It is the gas guzzling SUV; which, for fat loss, is good thing.
Bottom line: More, highly inefficient metabolic tissue results in more energy waste and fat loss.
5. They eat protein
There is a concept known as the thermogenic effect of feeding. Simply put, when you eat food it causes an increase in metabolism in varying amounts. Lean protein has the biggest thermogenic effect, meaning more protein results in greater metabolic boosts. Including lean protein with each meal can boost calorie burn by as much as 200-300 calories per day! A free cardio session, if you will.
Bottom line: Protein, eaten or as muscle on your body, helps you burn lots of fat.
6. They train hard
It might be a 5-day body part split, a full body workout, functional anti-cardio, or a high volume endurance training program. When these guys hit they gym they are working hard. If you aren’t already, get your total workout and activity time up to 5 hours per week. With small 30 minute additions here and there you can quickly get up to 5 hours in no time. Staying active in general is highly underrated (stupid as it sounds). Those simple things such as taking the stairs, walking around more, all add to NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This is extra calories you burn without really thinking of it as exercise. The principal of slight edge states that small changes accumulated over time make profound differences.
Bottom line: Train hard and increase your NEAT with simple changes.
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