Having six packs is a feature that most men wish to possess. Apart from looking great in your wears, it also creates a balance in your overall body physique. To acquire a six-pack, you have to be extremely dedicated, diligent, and consistent while performing your workout routine or adapting to your new lifestyle. This does not mean that you would go to the gym every day or lift heavy weights all the time. It merely means that you would modify your former lifestyle to enable you to achieve your future goal. There are specific factors that can be done to help you achieve your goal of developing a six-pack.
Perform More Cardio
This might sound like a weird tip for developing a six-pack, but it is a significant factor. It is one of the most useful information when it comes to creating your core. Most individuals think that lifting weights would enable them to develop their abs better, of which the opposite is the case. Cardio is known to be the name used to classify exercises that will allow your heart pump blood and beat faster than usual. With cardio, you would be able to eliminate fat faster and make your abs more visible than usual. Research has shown that performing cardio at least three times a week aids in significantly reducing excess belly fat. You must perform cardio for about twenty to forty minutes every day to ensure that your abs become visible in the next following weeks. Research has shown that individuals who perform cardio tend to lose weight more than individuals who engage in weight-training or lifting.
Reduce Your Intake of Refined Carbs
Nixing your intake on refined carbs would help you shed extra fat and make it easier for you to gain six-pack abs. The reason why refined carbohydrates aren’t exactly ideal for you if you are trying to gain six-packs or lose weight, in general, is because refined carbs lose most of its essential nutrients during the procession. This would end up resulting in a product with little or no nutrients at all.
Consuming too many refined carbs can affect your blood sugar levels and cause it to increase, and this can even lead to an insatiable appetite, making you eat more than required.
However, when you eat a lot of whole grains, in no time, you would notice significant changes in your waistline and the lower parts of your body.
A certain study showed that those who ate refined carbohydrates in large quantities have a bigger stomach than those who consumed whole grains.
Take out refined carbs from your diet plan, and substitute it with whole grains like barley and brown rice; this would help make you feel fuller and make you have less belly fat.
Exercise your Abdominal Muscles
Your rectus abdominis is known to be your long muscle, which moves vertically through your abs. It is well-known for being the visible muscle, which causes the appearance of a six-pack. What is not well known is that your rectus abdominis is responsible for performing a specific type of activity like coughing, bowel movements, and even breathing. Other muscles that make your abs include your external and internal obliques and even your transverse abdominals. Performing exercises that aim and target these muscles would enable them to become visible and bold. The performance of these exercises, which target your abdominal muscles, also aids in the reduction of excess belly fat. You must include a healthy diet with your abdominal exercises to ensure that you get superb results, which are the proper development of your abdominal muscles. Performing exercises that would target your abdominal muscles ensures that you properly develop a six-pack.
Increase your Protein Intake
This is a factor that is not well known among a few individuals. You must increase your intake of protein to ensure that you increase your chances of eliminating excess fat. Protein aids in reducing belly fat, overall, body fat, muscle growth, and even a proper development of a six-pack. Research has shown that individuals who consume more protein tend to have a reduced appetite to consume food, thereby causing them to consume less and reduce fat. The intake of protein after work out aids in the repairing and building of worn-out tissues; this would, in turn, enable you to develop a six-pack effectively. Consuming a diet that contains a high level of protein aids in increasing your level of metabolism and even your muscle mass while you lose excess weight. Foods that are high in protein include meat, seeds, poultry, nuts, dairy products, and even seafood.
Always Stay Hydrated
Water is a well-known factor that aids individuals in their quest to lose excess weight and build their muscles. It aids in proper body regulation and removal of unwanted waste from your body. The adequate intake of water aids in the regular functioning of your body. By hydrating regularly, you would increase your level of metabolism, thereby speeding up the process by which your body eliminates excess fat. Research has shown that the intake of water aids in reducing your appetite, thereby leading to loss of weight and the appearance of your six-pack.
Go for HIIT
HIIT – High-intensity training interval is a type of exercise that requires you to move at an explosive rate within a short time. HIIT doesn’t give you room to rest for long hours, you only have the luxury of short recovery periods, and after that, you go in hard again. This form of exercise would not only accelerate your heart rate but would also speed up the rate at which your body burns fat.
When you incorporate HIIT into your workout routine, it can speed up weight loss, which is a significant pointer if you want to get six packs abs in no time.
One study showed that those who incorporated HIIT into their exercise regime for 30 minutes thrice in a week lost about 4.4 pounds with a noticeable reduction in their waistline, for 12 weeks.
If you don’t have access to a gym, that’s not an excuse not to do HIIT. You can easily do it at home by alternating between walking and sprinting for 30 seconds. Remember that the idea of HIIT is to engage all your strength.
Alternatively, you can go for high-intensity exercises like burpees and jumping jacks with short recovery periods in between.
Increase Your Fiber Intake
Incorporating into your diet plan, meals rich in fiber is one of the surest ways to trigger weight loss and gain six-pack abs. When you consume soluble fiber, it goes through the gastrointestinal tract without being digested, and this would slow down the rate at which your food digests, making you feel full for a longer period.
Research has shown that adding enough fiber-rich foods to your diet would help you lose abdominal fat quickly by preventing fat accumulation.
Many foods are rich in fiber; you should consider vegetables, nuts, seeds, and many more.
Stay Away From Processed Food
Overly processed foods are usually high in calories and fats, foods like cookies and other fast-foods.
The problem isn’t just with them being high in calories; they are very low in nutrients. Highly processed foods lack the necessary nutrients your body needs to stay strong and healthy, such as vitamins, fiber, and protein.
Taking away these processed foods from your diet, or cutting it down to a minimum can help you lose weight faster, reduce belly fat, and put you on the right track to getting your six-pack abs.
Naturally, you need more energy to e able to digest foods that are rich in protein, so this would help you shed off the extra fat by burning the excess calories. Whole foods also contain nutrients like fiber and protein, and these nutrients are essential because they give you the full feeling, even when you eat less than you should. This would help tone down your appetite and curb cravings, making it easier for you to focus on losing weight so you can achieve your six-pack goals.
Vegetables, whole grains, and fruits are better alternatives to processed convenience foods, like snacks and chocolates.
Bonus Tip
You can indulge in cheat meals once in two weeks, and you can eat anything you want. This is important because if you are trying to gain six-pack abs in as little as four weeks, then that’s a small strict price to pay.
Also, you should try taking snacks like seeds, avocados, and nuts between meals.
Conclusion
Getting six-pack abs is more than just doing numerous numbers of planks and crunches every day. Are you eating, right? Is your lifestyle healthy?
These are the questions you need to ask yourself to be sure that you are doing it right. You can never nail a six-pack while on a bad diet, you can do as many reps of crunches as possible, but if you aren’t shedding the blubbers on your muscles, you won’t achieve anything, and your six-packs would never be visible.
By making little tweaks to your eating habits and lifestyle, you can get your six-pack abs in no time, while also improving your overall health.
