Six-Pack Abs: The thinking man’s guide to a flat, lean stomach
We are delighted to offer our readers another guest post from Kevin over at Strong And Fit.net. His last post with us proved to be an overwhelming favorite amongst our readers and as you can see on the right sidebar has been viewed over 1200 times and counting. Please take a minute and visit Kevin, where you can find all kinds of great subject matter in physical fitness. Thanks You Kevin.
There’s an epidemic in America that’s much more dangerous than H1N1. I’m talking about our weight–about 30% of Americans are considered obese, and the numbers just keep looking worse each year.
Here’s the irony: as our waistlines are expanding, so is our obsession with leanness. We’re getting fatter while the ideal physique in our collective psyche is getting leaner.
No wonder we are so miserable. No wonder we spend billions on products claiming to give us the ever-elusive flat stomach.
I want to quickly explain some factors that create the “washboard” or “six-pack” stomach. Please read this article before you waste your money on belts, abdominal machines, or diet pills:
Factor 1: Low Body Fat
More than anything else, a low body fat level is what will give you that “six-pack” stomach. This is where so many people get it wrong; thinking sit-ups or abdominal training will give them the look. It won’t—visible abdominals are primarily the result of having no fat to cover up the abdominal muscles. A real strategy for this look involves dieting and exercise (of which abdominal training is a relatively small part).
Factor 2: Water Balance
Once one’s body fat is low, water/sodium intake can be manipulated to make the abdominal muscles even more visible. Bodybuilders usually do this before a competition, and models/actors also do the same before a photo shot or filming. Without going into all the details, it is a matter of manipulating the body’s hydration so that minimal fluid is present under the skin.
Factor 3: Genetics
We are all genetically programmed to carry fat in a certain way. Like most men, I have a hard time getting rid of the last little bit of fat around my stomach. Women usually have more trouble losing fat around their hips/thighs. There’s not much we can do about this—we simply have to get lean enough for our body to finally tap into those stubborn fat deposits.
Here’s a related article on my blog you guys may be interested in reading:
The Truth About Abs: Five Facts You Must Understand
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=4ffe09bd-5bfc-4f9d-9bfd-c78ace816a1a)
Short URL: http://man-over-board.com/?p=3226
Posted by Kevin Sanders
on Dec 3 2009 Filed under HEALTH, SELF HELP.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
Six-Pack Abs: The thinking man's guide to a flat, lean stomach …: We are delighted to offer our readers another g… http://bit.ly/61HhQg
I didn’t know this about body fat. It makes sense though. Great post Kevin.
Have a terrific day. Big hug to Glenn.
That is one of my favorite subjects aside from self-esteem…I have always been into health and fitness. Throughout my years of body sculpting, running and cycling…fat has been a huge topic of interest.
I love the Strong and Fit site and I have always agreed with their advice. I wish they had a different comment situation as I cannot seem to connect with what they have. Hence their never hearing from this brain
Great choice for guest post by the way….love the abs up there also
I’m having trouble in the hips, thighs and jelly belly! I’m not large but there’s still some stuff there that just won’t behave! There it goes again, showing up where unwanted…here’s to hoping my increased routines send the extra fat off to bother someone else.
Hi DorothyL,
You should be able to comment over at Strong and Fit as long as you have a blogger ID or open ID.
appreciate your hard work on gettin this info out to people who could use it
Another thing that is very important is to work the opposing muscles to the abdominals and obliques (being the lower back). This ensures that your abs don’t weaken your lower back, and subsequently prevent you from exercising…
RT:@man-over-board Six-Pack Abs: The thinking man’s guide to a flat, lean stomach http://bit.ly/bQM6xd
my 6 pack is better
I give this four stars cuz you have to take time to adjust it to workout both sides of yor legs (quads, hamstings). And its a bit wobbly. But you just add standard weights and you get a decent weight workout without the trip 2 the gym. The machine cost like $350, not bad. If you want perfection in your workout equipment this machine is not for you, but if you dont mind, than you’ll be satisfied.
Great post! yesterday i found another great video post about body building. Here is the link
best abs workout
I’ve been considering the exact identical point myself lately. Glad to determine a person on the similar wavelength! Wonderful posting.
i think that is photoshop. can’t be so perfect with all types of factors
Hi there,Thank you for the nice post, there are many nice insight that I think lots of guys do not know.
Great! been looking for info on getting rid of belly fat. Just need to implment whats in this article…… thats another story lol. Cheers Jason
This is true, if you have a fat layer you wont have the abs showing. That is where people usually make a mistake by thinking if they do ab exercises they will get a six pack. I bought the ab king pro, used it like crazy. Nothing happened. So now I eat a healthy diet. The fat is slowly going away! Great post, it just makes sense.
Nothing works better then this common sense approach. It didn’t take a week for your fat to accumulate and it won’t take a we days and one pill to lose it either.
Great post and informative post. Sounds interesting. I think, I need to implement this. Let’s see what happens.
Cheers! Mate
Thank you for that informative post. I really love to read articles that have good information and ideas to share to each reader. I hope to read more from you guys and continue that good work that is really inspiring to us. Great Job! Very useful informations about these subject. Great info.I like all your post
Thank you for the information. Well, I’m great fan of body building activities and this will help me alot.
Thanks
Tushar.
Going to try and get low body fat but I do think abdominal training is a bit part along with the dieting and exercise as you need to ab training to build adominal muscles.