Secret behind a killer 6 pack

Secret behind a killer 6 pack

Are you on your quest for a flat stomach or a well-defined 6 pack? Are you doing countless crunches and still seeing no significant changes? Is your training regime heavy on cardio and resistance routines however you still got that jiggling belly or those lovely bingo wings?  There are 2 factors for achieving a killer 6 pack, unfortunately these do not include any magic potions or the sets of exercise equipment you see advertised on TV shopping channels.

The first and most important factor is your diet! If you enjoy your fast food then your journey for success will be far in the distant future. If you enjoy little treats throughout the day such as chocolate, cake, sweets, crisps, then your journey for success will be far in the distant future. Taking this into account would you consider yourself as a weak individual towards food? Scientists have a theory that say fitter individuals are more likely to stay away from fatty foods as they are aware it would hinder their fitness goals. Whereas an overweight individual is more likely to be attracted to let’s say a donut because their attraction is based solely on what will satisfy their taste buds. So what this overweight individual must learn to do is create goals within health and wellbeing so they can overcome their cravings. This will take mental focus, discipline and when asked again, would you consider yourself to be a weak individual? They should be able to answer that question with some dignity.

The second factor is an all-round vigorous exercise programme. Spending less time, walking around the gym, drinking water, talking to your exercise partner about the footy, talking on your mobile phone and any other needless distraction. When training you should be purely focused on that hour, turn off your mobile phone, carry a bottle of water with you so you do not have to go to the fountain, leave footy talk for after the session. This is an hour devoted to working a sweat and nothing more!!!

Where are your abdominals hiding?

Everybody has a set of abdominals but it’s the layer of belly fat in front which hides them. I will give you advice on how to lose that fat so you can start defining your 6 pack today. Unfortunately you cannot focus on losing weight on specific areas i.e. your belly, however during your sessions you will begin to lose layers of fat all over your body. So we are talking about simultaneously losing fat off your arms, chin, thighs, belly, bum and those love handles too.

What is the secret? The secret is how you train that will encourage your body to burn more fat AFTER your session. Doing an hour’s worth of cardio will shed your water percentage but will not develop your metabolism. Resistance training will build your metabolism but your road to a flat belly will take a lot longer. As simple as it sounds if you add these two methods of training together you will get the fast results you are looking for, that is the secret. Building your metabolism with resistance work then washing away the fat with cardio. I refer this to as ‘high intensive training’, you will be working for a full hour with little to no rest periods throughout. No rest periods? Your probably thinking this sounds tough, but what you will learn to do is, rest one muscle group while the other is working. How you earn your rest? Walking from one machine to another is a rest period, having a quick drink of water is a rest period, putting one weight down for another is a rest period. The one thing you will begin to learn to do is not resting longer than 2 minutes, this should be considered as unacceptable!

High intensive routine

Here is a quick example of what I mean by a high intensive routine:

5 minutes warm up

Choose either running / rowing / cross trainer / bike…

Resistance training phase

1.     x10 repetitions, Bodyweight squats

2.     x10, Forward lunges (each leg)

3.     x15-20 reps, Bicep curl (both arms together)

4.     x10, Bodyweight squat

5.     x15-20, Crunches

6.     x10, Hanging leg raises

7.     x15-20, Overhead triceps extension (one arm at a time)

8.     x10, Forward Lunges

9.     30 seconds, plank

10.  x15, Burpees

11.  45 seconds rest

12.  x15-20, Lateral raises (Both arms together)

13.  x30, Jumping jacks

14.  x10, Bodyweight squats

15.  x15-20, lat pull

16.  x10, Bodyweight squats

17.  x15-20, crunches

18.  x15 ,Standing jumps

19.  x15-20, Leg press

20.  30 seconds, T-Plank (both sides)

21.  x30, jumping jacks

22.  45 seconds rest and the repeat the whole routine.

End with 15 minutes of cardio and then a post stretch.

This is just a basic example and what I want you to take note of is the limited rest periods and the high intensive bouts of exercise between each sets of resistance work.  Doing this will lose you your belly fat, which will then bring out those abdominal muscles. This is the secret behind a 6 pack but it does require you putting in the effort.

Doing this will reduce your overall fat percentage. Learn to mix it up as well do not stick to the same routines, if you add variety to your routine your body will be constantly changing to accommodate these new moves. Good luck hope this has helped and make sure you apply this in with your routine to get the results you want faster.

Core strength and its importance

My take on the importance of core training

In my personal opinion working your core muscles is most probably the best and efficient way to get the results you want in fitness. It can assist with weight loss, a flat stomach, killer 6 pack abs, perfect postural alignment, toned muscles and in depth strength. It also factors in well with post-operation rehabilitation.Which  ones are your core muscles?  The pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis,erector spinae (sacrospinalis) especially the longissimus thoracis, and the diaphragm. Minor core muscles include the latissimus dorsi,gluteus maximus, and trapezius). latissimus dorsi,gluteus maximus, and trapezius). I describe it as the body’s engine like a car, the bigger the core the stronger the engine and the smaller the core the weaker the engine. Would you prefer to run as efficient and as powerful as Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 Ferrari or would you prefer to have the inner strength comparable to that of a Renault Clio. I’m not mocking the Renault Clio but in comparison with a formula 1 car there’s no argument which is more desirable. So having a strong core, what will come of these results? Your metabolism will be far more efficient meaning your fat stores would be broken down even when not training thus reducing your body’s fat percentage. If your fat percentage reduces guess what? Your overall bodyweight reduces. Everything else will stem from that, if you want to get toned, now that your body’s fat percentage is reducing, naturally your muscles will come to the fore and you will look more defined.

Inner strength from core training

When you see Cristianio Ronaldo kick a ball from 40-50 yards with very little back lift you wonder how he generates all that power. He is a very big man with great strength, but it is his core strength that allows him to produce such velocity into his shot. This is what I mean by working on your core to develop your version of the performance of a Formula 1 car.

The best part of having great core strength

There is one thing you will achieve from working on your core, something most people desire and crave, that is a flat stomach. For all those people who go to the gym and wonder why when you do between 100-1000 sit ups a day and still don’t have a flat belly, it is because all you are doing is toning your abdominal muscles below that layer of fat. How do we get rid of that belly fat? Firstly let me make it clear that core work alone will not single handily lose you your belly fat, full body resistance work is a must. But working on those core muscles will develop your metabolism which will eat away at your belly fat. Why are there people who do 100% cardio every day that still have belly fat? All they are doing is reducing their body’s water percentage and this will resemble losing inches. To break down that belly fat you must do resistance work and to get that "beach body" introduce a lot more core work. Then it is at this point for the men and women out there you will see the definition you are working so hard for. 

17/09/2011 Two steps forwards one step back...

Yesterday was gym day and it could not have come any sooner. My session was based primarily on resistance training, focusing on shoulders and arms. For the record, the perfect week for a full balanced workout for my body would be as follows:

Monday: Chest / Back / Abdominals

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Biceps / Triceps / Abdominals

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Full leg workout / Abdominals

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Shoulders / Abdominals

Monday: Rest

A days rest follows each session, why? Because your body needs sufficient time to repair, rebuild and recover. Ideally you should give your body a full 48hrs rest. For me 2 days away from working out is too long. So what do you do on rest days? This is where your diet plays a major role in achieving the results you want. Small frequent meals every 3 hours will give your body what it needs to keep building throughout the days you are not training. However this may not be possible and for most having this discipline may be daunting task. So eat as often as you can, make sure your choices are nutritious and healthy. Depending on what your goals are will play a major role on what you eat.

Yesterday’s session…

Began with a 5 minute warm up with a few minutes to stretch, this session was primarily focused on resistance training. I did say I would work on shoulders and normally I would do these alone working the frontal, lateral and posterior areas of the deltoids (shoulders). However on this occasion I was super setting with my triceps. Super sets are, one set followed immediately by another, however on an opposing or alternative muscle group with no rest period in between. Try to keep all your rest periods as brief as you can, the idea is to work a sweat. Do you want to be part of huge group of people in the gym that spend more time resting than working out. These people wonder why they do not achieve the results they want and this is why! I spent 45 minutes on my deltoids and triceps. To complete my session I decided to do 5 minutes running on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the upright bike and lastly 5 minutes on the cross trainer. Once completed finished off with maintenance and developmental stretches to ensure I allow my body the chance to fully recover appropriately.

Two steps forward one step back…

Last night during a drunken state, I almost fell over and in doing so pulled my hamstring which is very tender. I have been on a rehab programme for the last 2 weeks to sort out an already existing injury in my right leg. I find myself back to square one which is quite upsetting. Being one to try and overcome this I did as many lengths as I could in the swimming pool today. I forgot how much swimming can help condition injuries so will be doing that a lot more over the next few weeks as I look to overcome my injury. 

15/09/2011 Day 1 on the blog

So this is my first post for my new blog. I thought I should broaden my scope in the fitness world and try to reach out to fitness professionals alike, as well as provide information for your average Joe. My aim for this blog is to describe aspects of fitness through my daily routine. Agreed some information may conflict that of what others may believe and it is for this reason I wish to reach out and discuss these views.

To keep firmly on this learning track I will research on areas of health and fitness and publish my opinions here. I hope you would take the time to read and provide your thoughts and feelings towards any of these topics. If you have any ideas on what would be good learning material, please do not hesitate to share these with me.

So what happened today? And whats left to do?

Today was recovery day. I will add that last night was the first night in a long time since I had an uninterrupted sleep. Good news when taking on my morning routine of 20 minutes worth of core exercise. I am on the journey of attaining my "beach body" and having read that working on your core muscles will help push out and display those ripped abs and serratus muscles, I am more than happy to apply myself to this regime.

A day of reading followed and then the idea of this blog has left me where I am sitting now. My current physical condition is a little watery, I would consider myself to be in the best shape of my life however being a keen football player (soccer) has its draw backs. I have sustained a hamstring injury and am currently 2 weeks into my rehab programme. Today will be the first day where I take on a 15-20 minute run. I will be on a programme now which consists of intensifying my session, by its duration of 3 minutes. Running on every third day. The injury itself seems to be healing and it's not so major compared to the different grades they are referred to. Once I have completed my run I will allow sufficient time for my metabolism to eat away of whatever carb fueled energy is left and then allow it to eat into those nasty fat cells. Will then be ready for dinner followed by one last meal an hour and a half before bed. Now it's time to get ready and go for my run...