How to get a six pack (for girls)

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What does fact checked mean?

At Healthfully, we strive to deliver objective content that is accurate and up-to-date. Our team periodically reviews articles in order to ensure content quality. The sources cited below consist of evidence from peer-reviewed journals, prominent medical organizations, academic associations, and government data.

The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a professional health care provider. Please check with the appropriate physician regarding health questions and concerns. Although we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, no guarantee to that effect is made.

The teenage years are ideal for trying to get a six-pack stomach. Your metabolism should be very high, which means your body burns fat quickly and makes way for toned muscles. When you want to get a six pack, incorporate healthy choices into your lifestyle. The biggest problems you might run into typically include facing peer pressure to party and eating unhealthy food with friends. Stay strong in your decision to live healthy and you should get six-pack abs.

Eat healthy by making food at home. Avoid fast food and sweets. Create well-balanced meals that are rich in protein, such as a lean turkey burger or a grilled chicken breast with a side of lima beans or a spinach salad.

How to Get Rid of a Roll of Fat on the Rib Cage

Burn calories with everyday activities such as cleaning the house and mowing the lawn. Actively engage in your life by walking around town instead of sitting at home on your sofa to lose excess body fat while avoiding a sedentary lifestyle. Get up and move to tone your body — exercise in a gym is not the only way to get fit.

Burn fat with 30 minutes of walking three days a week and jogging two days a week. Eventually start running three days a week and walking two days a week, but remember to take one or two days off from exercising. This way, your body can rest and avoid injury.

Exercises to Slim Hips, Thighs & Stomach

Do exercises that help build ab muscles three or four times a week for 20 minutes. Perform standard crunches by lying on your back with your fingers resting gently under your head your elbows out to your sides. Lift your shoulder blades off the ground, using your ab muscles, for 10 reps. Another ab exercise would be to position your legs on a stability ball with your hands on the ground and arms extended 3. Start with your body in a straight line. With your legs and feet, pull the ball toward your chest and twist both legs to one side for 10 repetitions.

Drink eight cups of water a day. Skip the high-calorie sugar drinks such as juice and soda. Water makes you feel full and keeps you hydrated, which should give you energy.

Doing abdominal exercises alone won’t give you six-pack abs. You must incorporate a healthy diet and cardiovascular exercise to burn fat, including the layer of fat that may be hiding your abs.

Warnings

See a doctor before beginning any weight loss program. Teens can very easily get an eating disorder, which can be a serious health problem with adverse effects.

Avoid parties that serve alcohol. Alcohol is illegal for teenagers and has empty calories.

Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart, hands on your hips. Push your hips and butt back, then tighten your abs as you push your hips and butt forward. Repeat in a continuous motion until you feel the burn.

Lie on a mat propped up on your elbows with your forearms flared slightly to the side. Raise your legs off the floor so that your thighs are perpendicular to the floor, your calves parallel. Inhale as you touch your right toe to the floor, keeping the rest of your body still. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

Lie on your back on a mat with your legs extended at a 30-degree angle to the floor. Interlace your fingers and place your hands behind your head. Engage your abs and twist your torso as you bring your left knee and right elbow toward your chest. Then straighten your left leg and bring your right knee and left elbow together over your torso. Repeat in a continuous motion, alternating sides each time. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps with 30 seconds of rest in between.

Sit up straight with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor. Pull your torso towards your thighs and reach your arms forward at shoulder level with your palms facing one another. Engaging your abs, exhale and lower your back to the floor, curving your spine into a C shape. Then, inhaling, raise your chest towards your thighs again. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps with 30 seconds of rest in between.

Begin on your hands and knees, then extend your left leg and right arm fully. Your left hand should be firmly planted under your shoulder. Exhale, contract your abs, and bring your left knee and right elbow together under your abs, rounding your back. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

Raised Arm Leg Extensions

Lie on your back with your legs raised and your knees bent so that your calves are parallel to the floor. Extend your arms towards the ceiling. Raise your head off the ground so that it’s angled at 45 degrees and sits between your arms. Exhale, lowering your right arm toward your right thigh as you extend your right leg out at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

Arm Pull Leg Crunch

Grab a pair of dumbells and lie on your back on a mat with your legs extended and your arms behind you. Hold the dumbbells so that the discs are facing the ceiling. Raise your legs to a 45-degree angle. This is starting position. Bring your arms up over your chest and lift your shoulders off the mat while engaging your abs and raising your legs to a 90-degree angle. Slowly return to start. Make sure to keep your legs off the floor. Perform 3 sets of 10-15 reps with 30 seconds of rest in between.

Medicine Ball Sit-Up

Sit on a mat with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Hold a medicine ball over your head with your arms fully extended and recline until your back is resting against the floor. Use your core to lift your body back to a sitting position, then slowly lower yourself to the floor. Keep the medicine ball overhead the whole time.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Lisa Maloney, CPT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrea Boldt

You read magazines and see infomercials showing men and women sporting rock hard abs, and you want them, too. But, achieving a six-pack at any age — especially as a teen — can be challenging.

The ability to do so depends on where your body is in its stages of development, as well as your genetic build. Some people just don’t have the ab muscle structure or thin enough skin and tissue on their torso to show perfectly segmented muscles — this doesn’t mean they lack strength, however.

You can certainly try to get leaner through a healthy diet and build taut muscles with strength-training exercise, but don’t expect results overnight.

What It Takes to Sport a Teen Six-Pack

Men with six-pack abs usually have a body fat of between 6 and 9 percent and women between 16 and 19 percent. The same body fat percentages apply to the idea of a teen six pack, too. To get to such lean levels, lose excess body fat through proper diet and exercise.

Your body is still growing, so you don’t want to put yourself on a particularly restrictive diet. Plus, strict dietary rules makes eating at family meals and social events a challenge. Instead, focus on making good choices most of the time.

Pass on dessert, sugary drinks, processed snacks, fast food and fatty foods. Instead, go for options such as grilled chicken, lean steak, salads, steamed vegetables, fish, fresh fruit, nuts, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and low-fat dairy at meals.

If a doctor has told you you’re overweight and would benefit from losing a few pounds, know that a sustainable and safe rate of loss is 1 to 2 pounds per week. This may not be as quick as you’d like, but being healthy as you lose weight is more important than gaining a washboard stomach.

For teens who don’t need to lose weight, but just want to develop more lean muscle mass, don’t restrict portion sizes or food intake. Simply stick to healthy, whole foods at most meals.

Seek Out a Solid Workout Plan

Regular strength training will help you develop more lean muscle mass. Talk to a coach, fitness professional or sports doctor about what type of training is appropriate for your age. Body-weight activities such as pushups, jumping and squats are OK for most teens.

Regular physical activity, such as running or playing soccer, helps keep your heart healthy — but doesn’t necessarily build big muscles or flat abs.

If you do hit the gym floor, keep your expectations realistic. Gaining muscle mass is nearly impossible until a teen has hit a certain stage in hormone development. Boys, for example, need ample testosterone to gain the kind of muscle that really shows.

During puberty, girls gain more body fat, especially in the lower body, to support childbirth; this could make leaning out to get to a six-pack body fat level challenging.

Ab-Specific Moves

A six-pack develops from strong moves that help build the muscles of the rectus abdominis and obliques. If you have the ability to build muscle and have successfully lost extra body fat, moves such as plank, crunches and side plank help develop distinct muscle in your core. Add back stabilizing moves, including bird dogs, to balance out strong abs.

Even if your body isn’t ready or genetically predisposed to developing a six pack, a strong core supports optimal strength and function so sports and daily activity are easier and more likely to be injury free.

Don’t only lose fat and gain muscle to look good in the short term — but stick with it to support good health and physical performance for life.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Lisa Maloney, CPT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christa Miller

At age 14, you may want to get a “six-pack” to look more like the models you see on TV or to improve the way your body looks at a pool party. Having strong abdominal muscles can improve your athletic performance and reduce your risk of injuries — although, you don’t need six-pack abs to be physically fit. If it’s your goal, however, with patience and persistence, you may be able to get visible results when you follow a healthy exercise routine.

Before You Begin

Young teen bodies can be in very different stages of development. For instance, if you’re a male 14-year-old, you may be tall and have a deep voice or you may still sound and look like a child. Both scenarios are normal. Keep in mind, however, that you may not see bulky muscles until your body develops further, because bulking up is dependent on higher levels of the hormone called testosterone. That’s why it’s very unusual to see a 14-year-old with abs.

Set up a meeting with your gym coach or a personal trainer to get tips on creating a workout that’s ideal for your level of physical development. Your coach is likely to recommend strength training over bodybuilding because lifting too much weight at once can strain young muscles and tendons, according to Mayo Clinic.

Elevate Your Heart Rate

Most 14-year-olds need about 60 minutes of exercise every day to stay at a healthy weight and maintain strength and endurance. If you have a little extra covering the muscles in your stomach, doing cardiovascular exercises — exercises that get your heart pumping for an extended period and make you break a sweat — will help trim you down and increase your chances of having visible abdominal muscles. You don’t need to be a sports nut to get in some quality exercise, either. Biking, swimming and dancing are just a few of your options.

Get Stronger Abs

A six-pack workout at home without equipment is something you need to consider. There’s no such thing as an exercise that will burn just belly fat, but doing stomach-specific exercises will help you tone your abdominal muscles. One strengthening exercise that specifically targets the major muscles in your abdomen is called the bicycle maneuver:

• Start the bicycle maneuver by lying flat, faceup on an exercise mat or other comfortable flat surface.
• Lightly place your left hand on the left side of your head and your right hand on the right side and tighten your midsection.
• Bring both legs up off the ground about 6 inches, keeping them straight, and then slowly twist your abdomen to pull your left elbow and right knee toward each other.
• Alternate by twisting your abdomen to the left, pulling your right elbow and left knee together and extending your left leg.
• Continue the motion, which looks quite a bit like riding a bicycle, until you fatigue.

Set Healthy Expectations

Some teens, even after puberty, don’t have the body composition for building a six-pack. For example, you may have inherited thick skin that hides your stomach muscles no matter how hard you try to build them up, but don’t take this to mean that you’re weak or that you should give up on working out your stomach. Keep in mind that strength training offers many physical benefits, including increased endurance, stronger bones and a faster metabolism.

Defined, toned abs — commonly called a six-pack — are an often sought-after goal in the gym. But not all toned abs look the same. Some people sport a four-pack, while others may have an eight-pack.

Let’s take a look at the difference between ab types as well as the diet, exercise, and lifestyle tips that can help you achieve the strongest abs your genetics will allow.

The difference between ab types lies in the structure of your abdominal muscles.

Your abdomen contains four muscle groups. To get toned abs, you’ll need to do exercises that strengthen all four muscle groups. These muscle groups are:

Rectus abdominis

Once toned, the rectus abdominis becomes your four-, six-, or eight-pack. It comprises two connected muscle bands that run parallel to each other, down either side of the abdomen.

The linea alba is the fibrous band that separates the rectus abdominis. It forms the line that runs down the middle of the abdomen.

The rectus abdominis also helps:

• regulate breathing
• maintain posture
• protect your internal organs

Transverse abdominis

The transverse abdominis is located deep within the abdomen. It extends from the front of your abdomen to the sides of your body. It helps provide stability and strength to your entire core, back, and pelvis.

If your transverse abdominis isn’t being worked, your rectus abdominis won’t become defined.

Internal and external obliques

The internal and external obliques help control the twisting and turning movements of your body. Along with the transverse abdominis, they provide a stabilizing girdle for your back and pelvis.

The external obliques are a large muscle group located at the sides of the rectus abdominis. The internal obliques are located just underneath, inside your hip joints. Working your obliques adds definition and tone to your abs.

Is it possible to have a 10-pack?

Being able to achieve a 10-pack is possible for some people.

You need to be born with a rectus abdominis that contains five bands of connective tissue running horizontally across it. You also need to regularly work out these muscles and follow a healthy diet.

Of course, what you eat and how you exercise also play large roles in how your abs ultimately look.

The rectus abdominis muscle has bands of connective tissue (fascia) crossing it horizontally. These bands give the appearance of multiple packs stacked on top of each other on either side of your abdomen.

You’re born with a set number of these connective tissue bands. You can’t build additional ones. Your genetics also determine their symmetry, length, and size.

A person with an eight-pack has four bands. A person with a six-pack has three bands. A person with a four-pack has two bands.

Many people’s rectus abdominis has three intersections. This means that if most people worked at it, they could achieve a six-pack.

But just because you have more or less doesn’t mean you’re stronger or weaker. It’s just your genes.

Some of the fittest people around can’t achieve six- or eight-pack abs. One of these people is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, even during his bodybuilding days, sported a four-pack.

Of course, what you eat and how you exercise also play large roles in how your abs ultimately look.

Ripped, chiseled abs are the holy grail of many fitness enthusiasts. They tell the world you’re strong and lean and that lasagna has no sway over you. And they’re not easy to achieve.

Athletes aside, most people have abdominal muscles veiled by a layer of fat. Some of it is near the surface of the skin (subcutaneous fat). Some of it is deep within the abdominal cavity itself (visceral fat).

The more fat you have, the longer it will take to shed it and then to showcase six-pack abs.

The major muscle in the abdomen responsible for that washboard appearance is the rectus abdominis. It’s a long, flat band of fibers that extends vertically from the pubic bone to under the ribs. It lies over the internal organs and functions to help hold these organs in their proper place.

It’s a divided muscle with a right and a left half that run parallel to each other. Each half is divided into three segments by connective tissue. These six bands of connective tissue are what give the abdomen its “six-pack” appearance.

Regardless of how well-toned your rectus abdominis is, if it’s hidden under layers of fat, your six-pack won’t be visible.

According to Harvard Health, roughly 90 percent of body fat is subcutaneous, meaning it lies just under the skin. It’s the squishy stuff that forms your belly and is a body fat that you can grab with your hands.

About 10 percent of fat is the visceral variety. This fat lies beneath the abdominal wall and in the spaces that envelop the intestines and liver.

It secretes hormones and other substances that cause low-level inflammation, which has a direct effect on the development of things like heart disease, dementia, and certain cancers.

Doing targeted exercises like crunches is great for toning abdominal muscles, but losing both subcutaneous and visceral fat is the first step to unearthing your abs.

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), you’ll need to lower your body fat to about 14 to 20 percent for women and 6 to 13 percent for men. On a scale used by ACE, this is known as the “athletes” category.

Even then, some people don’t have the genetic makeup necessary for six-pack abs. That’s because they may have thicker skin and tissue surrounding the rectus abdominis, making it harder for ripped abs to show.

Some people also have asymmetrical or angled tendons crossing over the rectus abdominis, making their abs look less like a washboard.

Six Pack abs for women and girls.
Welcome to one of the only sites on the net dedicated to developing female abs!

this site contains information about getting in to shape, eating right and doing all you need to do too tone those stomach muscles and start developing a great looking “six pack” for yourself.

Working towards awesome abs.
At sometime in most people’s life the thought will come how can I get washboard abs? The truth is with a little effort, and a simple routine that is easy to maintain. You too can develop a set of beautifull Six Pack abs. This site is designed specifically with women’s abs in mind and the sites focus will be on a simple set of exercises you can easily do along with an emphasis on a healthy nutritional diet, that will help you to obtain and maintain those washboard abs

Feel physically better than you have ever done.
One of the things that is so desirable about having great abs is quite simply you are going to look awesome, and feel like a different person. With a simple set of exercises that you do twice or three times weekly and a slight modification in your diet you are going to feel physically better and have more energy than ever before.

We have arranged the site in a simple and easy to read fashion, at the bottom of each page you will find a link that leads to the next page allowing you to navigate quickly through the site covering all the different sections quickly and easily.

Next up we start to take a more detailed look at each of the different areas that need to be worked on to obtain a set of Six Pack abs.

Continue reading: How to get a six-pack for girls

Here’s what’s worked for them.

Hello, and welcome to the latest addition of “yeah, that’s basically impossible.” Today, we’re examining the fitness goal many have attempted and few have actually achieved: le six pack.

If Instagram is any indication, six packs are as common as magical clear baby skin on adults and perfectly organized closets. But, like those things, they’re hard to find IRL. If this makes you feel sad or maybe even mad at me, I’m sorry. But you should know that actual experts on fitness and nutrition things, like Stephen Ball, professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri, are on my side. “Very few people can achieve this look, regardless of what they do,” says Ball.

Here’s the that on that: Your rectus abdominis—my favorite muscle group on Jason Derulo—is typically covered by fat (because biology). And you can’t uncover it by doing things like crunches and planks, Ball says. “It’s very unrealistic for most people to have body fat percentages low enough to see the abs.”

That, and I cannot stress this enough, is very much normal, and fine, and healthy, and truly the last thing you should worry about right now (or ever).

The best part about this news (besides validating your decision to never care about stomach muscles ever again), is that strengthening your abs is beneficial for your posture, prevents exercise-induced injuries from things like running, and enables you to hold an impressively-long plank. These are the things your abs WANT to do for you. Don’t put those babies in a corner.

Everyone responds differently to diet and exercise—and you should consult with your health-care provider before getting after a new routine. Once that’s covered, check out these tips that trainers who have particularly chiseled abs swear by:

Los Angeles-based online coach and certified personal trainer to clients like Kim Kardashian; NCB Figure and Physique Bodybuilding Champion

A post shared by Melissa Alcantara (@fitgurlmel) on Jun 13, 2018 at 10:26am PDT

Trust no-equipment workouts. Alcantara insists you don’t have to schlep to the gym to squeeze in a core workout. At home, you can strengthen your abs with one minute of mountain climbers, one minute of flutter-kicks, 15 to 30 toe-touching V-ups, and a one-minute plank hold. Then repeat the entire circuit four times up to twice a week.

“To get [results] you need to be consistent, hardworking, focused, patient, and dedicated, which happen to be the exact elements every person needs to be successful at pretty much anything in life.”

Eat mostly unprocessed foods. “The quality of the calories coming from something like broccoli versus chips is dramatically different,” Alcantara says, speaking to the nutrients found in whole foods.

Eat carbs. “There’s this notion that carbs are bad and that you need crazy amounts of protein to be lean and fit,” says Alcantara, who disagrees and eats just as much carbs as protein, although the ideal ratio varies based on your goals. “Whatever you eat to get the results you want has to be sustainable, otherwise you’re going to end up right back where you started with the same habits that got you there.”

Follow a program. Alcantara is all about consistency—one reason why she recommends choosing a structured fitness plan rather than shooting in the dark and praying you surface with abs. “Follow it to 100 percent, do it back-to-back,” she says. Many fitfluencers offer their own programs, but you’ll want one from a certified fitness trainer like Alcantara, who offers an eight-week guide.

Work body parts besides your abs. Muscle imbalance can lead to injury in everyday activities. “Balance is extremely important.”

NASM-certified personal trainer, trainer on E!’s Revenge Body, and creator of the 80-Day Obsession fitness program

What does fact checked mean?

At SportsRec, we strive to deliver objective content that is accurate and up-to-date. Our team periodically reviews articles in order to ensure content quality. The sources cited below consist of evidence from peer-reviewed journals, prominent medical organizations, academic associations, and government data.

The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a professional health care provider. Please check with the appropriate physician regarding health questions and concerns. Although we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, no guarantee to that effect is made.

By: Rachel Burton

Published: 03 January, 2011

black and white abs image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com

Getting a six pack stomach is not an unattainable goal — especially for teenage girls. Most healthy teenage girls are extremely active, making it easier to keep on top of a regular workout regime. It is important you stay determined because it can take some time to develop a six pack. Don’t give up when you do not see your hard work immediately. Abdominal muscle definition takes time and perseverance.

Reduce your intake of white bread, pasta and rice. These foods have little to no nutritional value. When eating these types of foods, choose whole grains.

Fill up on fiber. Fiber is essential to obtaining a six-pack stomach — because it reduces bloat around the abdominal muscles and keeps you feeling fuller longer. High fiber items are beans, fruits and vegetables. Teens need 30 to 35 mg per day, this is very attainable if you eat natural foods.

Snack on nuts, yogurt and lean meats. These foots have lots of protein, which helps build and repair muscles. Since you’ll be working your muscles, this is essential.

Cut out soda and sugary sports drinks. Even diet soda can cause abdominal bloat and cravings for sweets. Sugary sports drinks are wasted calories.

Reduce the amount of sweets you eat. Drastically cutting out sweets, especially if you enjoy them, is not a good idea. This deprivation can lead to eating an excessive amount, setting you behind on your progress. Enjoying a piece of dark chocolate every day will not wreck your diet.

Exercise

Schedule cardio workouts. Getting your heart rate up will help burn that extra fat around the abdominal muscle. Great forms of cardio workouts are running, bike riding and rowing. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends doing 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio exercises five times a week.

Enroll in a Bikram yoga class. Yoga is very effective at building up your muscles — it is also great at helping you relax. Bikram yoga is done in a room that’s 105 degrees. This temperature helps you sweat out impurities and toxins, this can help burn off the extra layer of fat around and reduce water weight.

Work your upper abdominal muscles. Regular sit-ups offer a limited range of motion, for best results do your sit-ups on a stability ball. Once you become comfortable with this, hold a hand weight on your chest while doing the sit-up for extra resistance.

Focus on the lower muscles. Women, even teenage girls, tend to store most of their fat around lower abdominal muscles. Work away this bulge by doing reverse abdominal crunches. Lie on your back, arms at your side, and thighs at a 90 degree angle to the floor. Using your lower abdominal muscles only, bring your knees to your chest.

Once you achieve your goal, be sure to maintain. If you stop your workout regime, your abdominals can lose their shape and become flabby again. When exercising, be sure to contract your abdominal muscles. Even doing this simple move while doing your cardio exercise can greatly improve your abdominal muscles.

After writing how to lose belly fat fast?, how to lose weight fast?, and how to get rid of back fat?, we are now writing how to get six pack abs? Every man dreams to have a perfect body, but not many of them get succeeded. If one desire to get in shape, then he must also persevere to get it. You can achieve nothing if you do nothing. Six pack abs is not an easy thing to get. It requires a huge determination from your side. You also have to be disciplined. Here are a few tips to build a perfect body with six pack ABS.

1.) Do Crunches to Get Six Pack Abs:

Spread a mat on the floor and lie over it with arms in front of your chest and bend your knees. Raise your upper body towards your knees. Don’t lift your entire back, as it may cause strain on your back. Don’t let your head touch the ground and repeat this. Initially a person can start with 3 sets of 20 crunches and later can improve it. You can also try these exercise to loose belly fat and this ab workouts to get abs fast at home.

2.) Cardio Exercise to Get Six Pack Abs:

Burn extra fat on your abs by running on a treadmill or jogging or cycling or dancing. Try cardio workouts three to five times a week for an hour. This is an effective way to get perfect six pack abs.

3.) Have a Balanced Diet to Get Six Pack Abs:

A Hollywood action celebrity or a wrestler, or maybe a renowned body builder- whoever your inspiration is, their sheer determination to get what they really want has gotten them the result. The most important thing to get six pack abs is to have a balanced and planned diet. Getting the right amount of carbohydrate is essential in this case.

You can try whole grain, brown rice- these are the carbohydrates that are rich in fiber and also very important for your body as well. Eating enough protein in your breakfast should also make it to your planning list. You need to cut down any extra layer of fat that is on the upper portion of your abs. You should also drink a healthy amount (at least 2 liter) of water regularly. Processed foods should be avoided as much as possible, such as fast foods. These don’t add much nutritional value to your health, but adds unnecessary fat. Try to eat frequently as it is healthy for any individual. Read Lose belly fat naturally with home remedies.

4.) Get Sufficient Sleep to Get Six Pack Abs:

Getting sufficient sleep is also important for your body building. Doctors suggest that people who get more sleep are likely to lose more fat than those who sleep less. Stress controls your overall health. It also determines your body shape. So, you need to practice how to control stress. Read how to sleep faster? and how to treat insomnia?

5.) Workout More to Get Six Pack Abs:

Now, we are coming to the core part of getting six pack abs. You must by far know that only diet change will not help you achieve your goal. The workout is equally important in this matter. Some of the exercises, for example- leg lifts, crunches, etc. are the ones that are important to get six pack ABS. Doing sit ups is another primary exercise in achieving six pack abs. This will also give you a flat stomach.

To do a sit up, simply lie down on a flat surface. Keep your knees high and your hands behind your head. Without moving the position of your knees, sit up and lie down. Don’t move the position of your hands too. To do a crunch, first lie on the floor. After that, bring your arms close to your chest, bend your knees, and then raise the shoulders towards the knees. This exercise is kind of similar to sit-up exercises. You can also see the best ab workouts on our blog.

6.) Do Leg Lift Exercise to Get Six Pack Abs:

Doing a leg lift is another important exercise in order to get six pack abs. To do a leg lift, lie down, preferably on a flat surface. Then lift your legs straight up 90 degrees. This will build pressure on your stomach muscles and help you get six pack abs.

7.) Combination of Proper Diet and Exercise:

So, till now you can already judge by yourself that six pack abs is not just about exercising, but a combination of exercise and proper diet. Obviously this is not easy to achieve and it also requires much determination. You need to plan your routine accordingly so that you can easily manage between your work and workout. Six pack abs is not a myth anymore. The body builders are also not the only one to have it. You can also get six pack abs if you follow the proper plan needed to achieve this goal.

8.) Start Weight Training to Get Six Pack Abs:

You need to have strong shoulders and a strong back to get six pack ABS. Include trunk rotations, wood chops and dumbbell fly in weight training.

9.) Keep Steady Metabolism:

Avoid sugar, high fatty foods and refined carbohydrates to keep your metabolism steady. These foods slow down your metabolism, which tends to increase your weight. Keeping metabolism steady by eating right will help in getting six pack abs. Read how to speed up your metabolism?

10.) Drink Lots of Water Every Day to Get Six Pack Abs:

A person should drink at least 10-12 glasses of water every day. If you sweat a lot and exercise heavily then you need to drink lots of water. It will help to lose fat from the body and will help to get six pack abs. Read benefits of drinking water.

A doctor weighs in on why they’re so hard to get.

We all want six pack abs, but how realistic are they?

Summer is right around the corner, and for some of us that means it’s time to frantically Google how to get six pack abs in time for swimsuit season. You’ve probably seen Youtube videos with titles like “How to get a six pack in one week” supposedly with the perfect exercise routine you should do for a chiseled midsection. Sorry if this bursts your bubble, but it turns out that six pack abs aren’t that easy to get. At all.

Whether or not you have those coveted abs has less to do with exercise and more with genetics and body fat percentage. Genetics are completely out of our hands, and body fat is a little harder to control than you may think.

For more like this

Still determined to try for six pack abs, or want to learn why your exercise-filled attempts have never been successful? I spoke to Dr. John Morton, the head of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Yale Medicine, and together we’ll tell you everything you need to know, including how to work towards your goal safely.

What does body fat percentage mean?

Body fat is partly determined by what you eat, but there’s other factors going into the number that are out of your control.

It may sound fairly self-explanatory, but your body fat percentage just measures how much of your body mass is fat . And don’t look at fat like it’s a bad word — body fat percentage includes essential fat you need to survive.

Body fat percentage is easy to get confused with body mass index, or BMI, but the two are quite different. BMI isn’t the best measurement of health, since some people can have a “healthy” reading but actually be in danger for obesity-related illnesses because they have too little lean mass.

There’s a bunch of different ways you can measure your body fat percentage, and for the best readings you’ll want to get it done at a doctor’s or dietician’s office. They’ll have machines like an underwater weighing station or the ability to do a DEXA scan, which are far more accurate than anything you can do at home.

However, if you don’t have the resources to make the trip to a healthcare provider, you can get a fairly good estimate at home. The American Council of Exercise has a calculator where you can plug in some skinfold measurements for a rough idea of what your body fat percentage is.

27 tips to help you sleep better, starting tonight

What body fat percentage do I need for a six pack?

No matter how strong your ab muscles are, they’re not going to show through unless you have a low enough body fat. That specific body fat number though, is individual.

Morton says that you’ll typically need to be below 15% body fat for a six pack, though he stresses that it’s different for everyone. Some women on Reddit report that they can start to see a six pack at around 20% body fat, while others are at 18% and don’t see anything.

The reason why the number varies for everyone is because we all have different body fat distribution — some carry fat around their midsection, while others have an “hourglass” shape, where you carry fat in your chest and hips. Body fat distribution is determined in part by environmental factors, like alcohol intake and cigarette use, but it also has a strong genetic component.

So, you may be at 18% body fat but carry my weight on your hips, but I may be at 18% and carry it around my stomach — in that case, you’ll have a lot easier time getting a six pack.

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Morton also points to groups of people that have a harder time getting to a low body fat — namely, Hispanics, African Americans and women.

Depending on your individual situation, the body fat percentage needed for a six pack may not even be healthy. Low body fat can disrupt menstruation and fertility, and can damage your heart, immune system or cause a ton of other serious conditions. Women will typically not want to go below 14% body fat, and men 8%, but for some people that number may be higher — if you’re experiencing health problems connected to your weight, contact your healthcare provider.

Say you get to a low enough body fat percentage in a healthy manner — I hate to break it to you, but you still might not have a six pack. Your abs are actually one big muscle, called the rectus abdominis, and the six pack look is created by the intersections of three lateral tendons and one horizontal one. While most people have this tendon pattern, some have two or four lateral tendons — in that case, you’ll have a four or eight pack.

What workout should I do for a six pack?

I hope I haven’t rained on your parade too much — if you’re still motivated to try, there are certainly steps you can take to maximize your chances of getting that coveted six pack.

The first thing you’ll probably want to do is lose weight . But be careful — weight loss doesn’t automatically mean fat loss. Morton says to emphasize your protein intake instead of carbs and fat, and keep up your exercise and weightlifting during your weight loss journey. This way, you can ensure that you’re primarily losing fat and not muscle or water.

When losing weight, be sure to keep up the exercise.

“Another helpful way to get a six pack is to avoid the other six pack,” Morton says, referring to alcohol. There’s a reason why it’s called a beer belly — alcohol intake usually puts weight around your midsection, so you’ll definitely want to avoid overconsumption if you want a six pack.

Finally, don’t neglect the core workout. Morton tells me that even if you aren’t striving for a six pack, core workouts are super important for preventing neck and back issues, as well as improving your posture.

Certified Physical Therapist Jeff Cavaliere, known on YouTube as Athlean X, has a great workout routine video with some simple compound movements to develop your abdominal strength. Whatever workout you end up doing, you’ll want to ensure you’re incorporating whole body movements so that you don’t develop muscle imbalances.

Just remember to make sure you’re getting protein, avoiding too much alcohol and working out your abs — if the genetic gods are kind to you, your hard work will get you to where you need to be.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

This post may contain affiliate links.

If you’re looking for the best ab workouts for women to help you get six pack abs in time for summer, check out this collection of at home workouts! I’ve been doing numbers 2 and 5 religiously for 2 weeks now, and I’m seeing AMAZING results!

1. Extreme Six Pack Abs Workout by Six Pack Shortcuts

I like this workout because it’s intense but quick, and I appreciate that Mike takes the time to dish a couple of secrets about the science of getting six pack abs (contrary to popular believe, doing a million crunches won’t do it!). I also love that he walks through his workout to demonstrate the correct form.

2. 10 Minute Ab Workout: How to Get a Six Pack by XHIT Daily

What I love most about this workout is that each exercise only lasts for 30 seconds, which makes it easier for me to give it my all for each different set. And while XHIT Daily offers shorter ab workouts, I really feel the burn with this one and feel like it gives me the best results.

3. Six Pack Abs by XHIT Daily

If you’re not afraid to do crunches, this workout is for you!

4. Jillian Michaels’ 6 Week Six-Pack Abs Workout by BeFiT

If you’re looking for a workout that combines cardio, core, and abs, this one is fabulous. It’s much longer than the other ab workouts in this collection, but it’s a great way to squeeze a bunch of exercises into a short period of time!

5. The 7 Best Ab Exercises by XHIT Daily

This workout is only 7 minutes in length, so it’s my go-to ab routine on days I don’t have a ton of time to commit to my abs!

6. 8 Min Abs Workout (How to Have a Six Pack) by Passion4Profession

This workout combines a lot of the ab exercises in the other workouts included in this collection, but if you get bored of doing the same routine day in and day out, give it a try!

7. Advanced Total Abs Workout (Six Pack Abs in 20 Minutes) by GymRa

If you’re up for a 20-minute ab challenge, this workout will NOT disappoint you. It’s intense!

8. The Best Victoria Secret Ab Workout by XHIT Daily

I haven’t tried this workout yet, but if it promises to give me abs like a Victoria’s Secret model, you better believe I’m adding it to my list of ‘must try workouts!’

9. Total Ab Workout: No More Muffin Top by XHIT Daily

This workout isn’t designed to get you six pack abs, but it’s intense and has made a huge difference in toning my lower core, so I had to include it!

10. How to Lose Belly Fat: 5 Minute Abs by XHIT Daily

This workout may be short and sweet, but it will make your abs burn. Trust me!

If you found these ab workouts for women helpful, please share them on Pinterest!

And if you’re looking for more workouts to get you back in shape this year, please follow our Health and Fitness board where we share all kinds of inspiration!

All the information you need to sculpt a chiseled six-pack, including training principles, workouts, exercises and a seven-day meal plan

Page 1 of 4How To Get A Six-Pack

Want hard abs? Of course you do – and getting them may be more straightforward than you thought with these tips from top trainer Mark Coles

Almost everyone who trains regularly wants to have a rock-hard six-pack. But the reality is that hardly anyone does. Why? The problem is rarely that they don’t train hard enough. More often it’s that they don’t train smart enough.

The biggest misconception most people have when training abs is that more is better. But the time you spend working on your abs has very little impact on how long it takes you to get a six-pack. Just like every other muscle group, quality reps of the key moves are far more significant to your success than the quantity. This leads to the second most common misconception, which is that cranking out very high-rep sets is the only way to bring out your abs. The problem with both of these ideas is that the longer your set or workout lasts, the harder it is for you to maintain the levels of consistency, intensity and focus that are essential to maximising muscle mass development.

When I’m training clients, there are six key principles I rely on to help them build a six-pack effectively and safely. Keep on reading to discover what they are – and then you too can get on the fast track to having the hard abs you’ve always wanted.

1. Recruit the abs

The abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis) flex and extend the spine. It’s really important to think about this and let it truly sink in before you even consider crunching. Because when most people “train their abs”, they’re likely to be recruiting other muscles – typically the hip flexors – and hardly paying their abs any attention. You can tell from a distance because they will be swinging up and down with every rep, using momentum to power the movement and never the muscles.

Your abs are a muscle group just like your quads or chest or back, and you need to ensure you train them just like you work these other muscles. I always tell clients that maximal stimulation of the working muscle is essential for development. Always consider this when setting up to train your abs because, again, they’re like any other muscle: you must lengthen the muscle first, then create tension on it, then contract the muscle to its shortest position.

The lengthened position of an abs crunch is way further than most people go, and the contracted position is way shorter than most people can get to. Work on improving your range on a given abs move first, before you consider adding any additional resistance to the exercise.

2. Improve your range

When I start working with new clients, I find most have a poor range of abdominal movement and can’t fully engage their abs, which means the muscle group is underdeveloped. So when I design their programme, I start by taking them back to basics, correct any problems, and then work them through my method of strategic progression.

The best abs exercise is one you can do perfectly . If this is only a very basic version of one move, then so be it. Hardly anyone I work with is ready for the hanging leg raise from day one, for instance. The same goes for any loaded abs exercises – you need to work up to these. When I add abs exercises to a client’s programme, I start with a small arsenal of exercises: the abs crunch on a gym ball, kneeling barbell roll-outs, and incline bench reverse crunches.

Each exercise has a progression, but it’ll take you a good couple of months of hard graft on these moves before you’re ready for the advanced versions.

3. Master the movements

To start with, take the gym ball crunch. For the first week you lie over the ball and work on the stretch component of the exercise. Most people can’t help but shake at this point, which is why they struggle to achieve a full contraction.

Following this, you would then work on contracting up halfway for a week, and so on. As you master the movement pattern you will shake less and the contraction will come easier. I like these stages to be performed slow and controlled for maximum benefit. To develop your abs you need to add load at some point, and once you can do consistent crunches, you can hold a light dumbbell across your chest.

The kneeling barbell roll-out is a tough move, but one at which you can progress quite quickly. From a technique perspective you must start with a very small movement range – don’t attempt to drop down fully to the floor, because you’ll end up with a flat nose.

Just like any exercise, progression is key and you need to always feel tension in your abs. As you lower you should feel your abs lengthening until you can’t lower any further. At this point, contract your abs hard to return to the start position. Use a wall as your marker, and kneel further away as you get stronger.

4. Minimise momentum

The incline bench reverse crunch is a foundation exercise for the hanging leg raise because it focuses on the lower abs. I like it because it allows people to focus on their abs and take out any swinging from their hips. If you watch most people performing the hanging leg raise, they’re swinging back and forth and certainly not making a meaningful contraction. With this in mind, starting with the reverse crunch is extremely useful.

Place the bench at a 30° incline and lie on it on your back with your hands over your head holding on to the bench. Bring your thighs up until your knees are bent at 90°. This is the start and end position of the exercise, and in between there should be no swinging at all. The objective is to lift your knees to your chest, flexing your abdominals as hard as you can.

As you lower your legs, maximum tension should be placed on your abs at all times. When it’s done right this exercise is very hard indeed, and you’ll see why I use it as a pathway to the hanging leg raise.

5. Get the reps and tempo right

Training frequency is important, and I get most clients to train their abs at least twice a week. Beginners will do mainly foundational exercises, while advanced gym-goers and athletes will perform more advanced versions.

When it comes to rep ranges, most people aren’t strong enough to train their abs properly for high-rep sets. I like to always start off with three or four sets in the ten-to-12 rep range, so long as they can keep 100% tension on their abs.

Finally, I keep the tempo pretty slow. I’m a big fan of tempos around 3030 or 2020 when training abs, so you’re taking two to three seconds to lower and raise. Using a slow tempo ensures focus on the abs through the concentric and eccentric phase of each movement.

6. Get lean

You will only start to see your abs when you are lean enough. Many people find they train their abs year-round and never get a six-pack, because it’s covered in a layer of belly fat. If you’re going to put so much effort into training your abs, put the same level of effort into getting lean, otherwise you’ll never get to see all your hard work in the gym pay off.

Mark Coles is a physique coach and owner of M10, a private personal training and performance gym based in Nottingham

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30 Days of Workout Routines
Amazing results will be achieved earlier once you set a clear goal. 6 Pack Abs – Abs Workout helps you set exercise goals by providing systematic and scientific 30-day workout routines. All exercises are free and they can help you burn belly fat as well as tone your abs. Exercise intensity increases gradually, so you can easily make exercising a daily habit.

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One of the most circulated fitness myths is that having a visible six-pack equals being in peak physical condition. Yes, it’s a hard-to-miss attribute of many fit people (many of whom proudly let it show on Instagram or while working out in a sports bra). But the truth is that defined abs are not a requirement for fitness, don’t come easily to a lot of people, and sometimes don’t come at all—even to dedicated fitness pros. While some people are more naturally inclined to have defined abs, others aren’t, and it may not have anything to do with how hard they train or how strong they are. Yet a flat, cut stomach is something of a fitness holy grail, and for many people, pursuing that particular look can be damaging, both physically and emotionally. Certified personal trainer Noelle Tarr, the blogger behind Coconuts And Kettlebells and co-host of The Paleo Women Podcast, learned this firsthand.

Tarr, 30, says her desire to achieve a six-pack began when she started college—as a cheerleader, she spent a lot of time in a uniform that put her midsection on display. “When I went to college, I thought that the way I looked really mattered, and I really wanted to be perceived as strong and lean,” she tells SELF. In addition to being a cheerleader, she also started working at her university fitness center her freshman year of college, and having the “look” became her priority. “I believed that in order to have respect and be worthy and valued, I needed to represent what I thought that was, which was being very thin and having a six-pack,” she explains.

She devoted all of her time and efforts to sculpting her abs and lowering her body fat. What happened was that she became sick, tired, and eventually, seriously injured (and, for what it’s worth, still no six-pack). Here, she shares her journey with SELF—and explains how she regained a healthy relationship with fitness and her strong, beautiful core.

After starting college in 2004, Tarr started going to the gym daily, and eventually progressed to extreme training (including two-a-day workouts). While she was already pretty active to begin with, her new routine was still a step up from her usual cheer workouts and practices. She did some weightlifting, but she spent the majority of her time at the gym doing long cardio sessions and about 15 to 20 minutes of targeted core work every session. It was a lot of sit-ups and crunches, she explains.

She continued her rigorous exercise regimen, logging more and more time in the gym. “The look, the exercise, being the ‘fit girl’—that became my identity,” she says. But the more time she spent training, the more she felt dissatisfied with her appearance. She was seeing progress, but it was never enough, she explains. “The more I thought, ‘This isn’t the way I should look,’ the more I relied on things like exercise and restriction.” She was reading up on the topic, so she knew that showing off six-pack abs was dependent on having low body fat. With this goal in mind, she’d try to out-exercise the limited calories she ate. “Eventually I progressed to a point where I was working out two to three hours a day.”

“Because I was putting so much effort into my workouts, not only did I not have much of a social life, but I was also always injured,” says Tarr. “As a 22-year-old, I had knee issues, back issues, plantar fasciitis…anything that you could have, I had it. And once I dropped below 19 percent body fat, my period just stopped.”

I think I speak for most women when I say that there is nothing like topping off great glutes and lean legs with a set of awesome abs. Just follow the next six steps, and you will uncover a six pack by summer after all!

I think I speak for most women when I say that there is nothing like topping off great glutes and lean legs with a set of awesome abs. Yet, so many women remain dumbfounded as to how to achieve a sexy stomach.

Although I’ve been blessed with good genetics, I still needed the “know how” to create a defined midsection. It really isn’t a big secret. Just follow the next six steps, and you will uncover a six pack by summer after all!

1. Perform Cardiovascular Exercise

I know, I know. You were expecting to hear about the latest and greatest abdominal machines and exercises. You do need to work those abdominals effectively. However, if they are covered by a layer of adipose tissue (that’s fancy for fat) you won’t see the results of your hard work!

Any cardiovascular exercise involving continuous rhythmical movement of the extremities that elevates your heart rate to target heart rate range will do the trick. For example, jogging or walking outside, cycling, walking/running on a treadmill, or climbing on a stairmaster are all good choices.

2. Eat A Clean Diet

Again, you must lower your body fat levels to see your abs. If you are eating donuts for breakfast and McDonald’s for lunch, it’s time to re-evaluate your nutrition plan. Try to eat small frequent meals with a combination of protein, fat, and carbs at each meal. Stick to lean protein sources such as chicken, tuna, egg whites, and lean ground turkey.

Eat moderate amounts of carbohydrates, from foods like brown rice, yams, and fruits/vegetables. Try to stay away from pasta, bread, and processed foods (cookies, crackers, cereals high in sugar). If you do eat bread, choose whole grain brands. Lower your fat intake but be sure to get some essential fats in your diet.

Sources of good fats include those found in olive oil and salmon. Sweet cravings can be hard to overcome but with great tasting protein bars, it is easy to find a healthy substitute. I highly recommend the new Pure Protein Revolution bar by Worldwide Sport Nutrition.

3. Focus On Form

Okay, you will also have to put some effort into performing abdominal exercises. Make sure that you are using proper form and focus on quality over quantity.

4. Lift Weights

I find that my abs get a lot of stimulation just from stabilizing my body to maintain proper posture while lifting particularly for free weight exercises. Lifting weights also increases metabolism by increasing lean tissue mass.

Lean tissue is more metabolically active than fat thus burning more calories at rest and helping you to decrease body fat levels. So, building muscle helps burn the fat away.

5. Drink Water

If your body is dehydrated, it will retain water, giving you a “smoother” look. Make sure you are well hydrated to avoid water retention. I personally drink a half to one gallon of water a day. Remember, water “in” means water “out”.

6. Genetics

If you have honestly tried steps 1-5, and are still not happy with the results, you can blame your parents! Okay, maybe it’s not their fault, but genetics do play a role in how far we can go to change our bodies. In that case, celebrate who you are, and just feel good knowing that your abdominal muscles are strong. Even if you can’t see them!

Conclusion

In the end, it’s quite easy to get confused by the myriad of fad diets, supplements, and exercise machines available on the market today. We are constantly bombarded with infomercials promising miracles for our midsection. Remember, there is not “one” particular trick to getting six-pack abs.

A combination of cardiovascular activity, lifting weights and a balanced diet prove imperative, in order to reach your desired physical-fitness goals. I hope these hints have armed you with knowledge to improve your physique. Overall, the best remedy is consistency, and before you know it, you will achieve the toned tummy that you have always wanted.

About The Author

Holly Wilbur

Holly Wilbur – I have competed in several Fitness America competitions since April 2003. I am hooked and intend to continue to compete!

America’s top runners have a secret weapon: core training. Steal their moves, and you’ll become stronger, fitter, and more efficient on the road.

Every Monday through Saturday at 5 p.m. you can find them, some of the best runners in America–including Meb Keflezighi, Deena Kastor, and Ryan Hall–grunting and groaning together on the carpeted floor of Snowcreek Athletic Club in Mammoth Lakes, California. Under the blare of a techno beat and the watchful eye of coach Terrence Mahon (whom Meb has dubbed “Dr. Pain”), the members of Team Running USA work for 45 minutes toward a common goal: building stronger abs and backs that can only be described in one way–elite.

Intense core training has become essential for elite runners for good reason: It improves efficiency and endurance as it lowers injury risk. Dan Browne, a 2004 Olympic marathoner and a regular carpet-dweller at the 5 p.m. sessions, is quick to cite the benefits he’s experienced since beginning a regular regimen: “When I’m running, some of the muscles that used to fatigue don’t get tired as quickly, letting me run stronger and longer.”

The secret is stability. That’s because core strength is the primary force that controls motion in the hips and spine when you run. Think back to when you were learning to ride a bike. You’d wobble and maybe fall until your dad or mom placed a hand on your back. When you run, your core acts as that steadying hand. The stronger the muscles, the more stable your center–and the more efficient your running will be.

A strong core also helps address overuse issues. “If we don’t have a strong center, other muscles have to stabilize us,” says Toni Dauwalter, a physical therapist whose clients include 2004 Olympic 1500-meter specialist Carrie Tollefson. Over time, the extra work can lead to injury. Mahon cites a litany of problems relating to the lack of that steadying hand: patella tendinitis, piriformis syndrome, sciatica pain.

This is precisely why nearly every top runner busts through some core moves. But there is no industry standard. Routines run the gamut from old-school to cutting-edge. Brian Sell, who finished third in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in November, grunts through 150 sit-ups a day. Tollefson does exercises typical of gym classes: planks and curls. And Shayne Culpepper, a 2004 Olympian at 5000 meters, performs Pilates.

And then there’s the routine followed by Team Running USA. In 2006, strength and conditioning coach Dennis Kline of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse overhauled the squad’s ab workout, creating a regimen that targets not just the abdominals but also the back, hips, and glutes (see the exercises in this workout by going here). The program combines static exercises that improve overall strength and muscular endurance with dynamic moves that teach the core and legs to work together. “We’re mimicking the running motion,” says Kline. “So we use some exercises that engage the core while using the legs.”

Josh Cox, who joined the group last July, had never done something so intense on a regular basis. “I was really sore my first week,” he admits. Meb, who also initially struggled with some of the exercises, now has impressive strength–and an eye-popping six-pack to prove it. “It’s hard work,” says Keflezighi, “but in order to be the fastest, you have to be the fittest.”

Real talk: Getting a six-pack is hard work. Just watch the video from Youtube fitness guru Jordan Yeoh below.

That’s what you’re about to learn, in case it wasn’t obvious—the art of carving out your ab ladders. Washboards. This can be achieved, and there are some precise steps you can take to do it—and you might see results in time to rock it on the beach before the summer is over.

Writing for Fatherly, Julia Savacool makes the following necessary points:

So the first step to a six-pack is watching what you eat, and sticking to lean meats, vegetables, and cutting out all sweets and most carbs.

The second step is committing to an intense ab-focused strength-training routine — not the twice a week deal you do now, but three to four times a week, with determination and focus — to see your abs transform themselves. The good news: Many of the moves don’t require machines or extra weights, so you can do them in the convenience of your own home.

The final ingredient to building your six-pack is a solid dose of daily cardio. Developing your overall fitness will help train your body to use energy more efficiently, and teach it to start torching calories the minute you begin to move. And that’s key because you can have the strongest abdominals in the world, but if they’re covered with a layer of fat, you’ll never see them.

So let’s get specific. Here are Fatherly’s seven basic steps with our brief explanations:

Step 1: Eat Less Fat, and More Protein

This one is almost as simple as it sounds. Protein is important because it fuels recovery following workouts, aids in building muscle. It’s thermogenic as well, which simply means it aids in burning body fat.

Step 2: Count Your Calories

Yeah, leave these alone. In the effort to reduce that body fat obscuring those washboard abs, all that happy talk about focusing on nutrients and the burn is fine, but in the end, dropping the kcal intake is vital. A deficit of 200 calories per day—meaning if you normally eat 2,500, you need to drop it to 2,300—does the trick for many.

Step 3: Pick Exercises That Hit Multiple Muscle Groups

Image: The Rock/YouTube

Isolation exercises are for bodybuilders. And The Rock (see above). To really get the body working on burning fat and building the muscle for those abs, you have to go for compound work. Planks and reverse crunches are excellent for core work, hitting the entire complex of muscles needed to support that six-pack, and deadlifts and squats don’t hurt, either.

Step 4. Make Your Cardio Workouts More Intense (And Shorter)

Make like Tom Cruise and book.

Burpees and sprints, sprints and burpees. Tabata intervals—go hard for 20 seconds, rest 10, do that for four minutes straight. Fitness gurus slag on medium intensity cardio a little too much but HIIT (high intensity interval training) has been proven to aid in burning fat.

Step 5. Hanging Leg Raises

This is an ab exercise that doesn’t get taken seriously enough for all the good it does, as it works the sometimes neglected lower abdomen as well as deeper muscles for overall core stability. Ab man Jordan Yeoh gets them right for you above.

Step 6. Prioritize Hydration

This is overall fitness advice we’ve all heard a thousand times. When it comes to unveiling those abdominal muscles, hydrating boosts overall energy and helps prevent water retention and bloating.

Step 7. Vary Your Routine.

Varying what you do is great just to stay interested, but according to Fatherly, it’s also good to really work the abs in meaningful ways. They suggest additional core-centric moves like these:

Pronated Leg Raises. Lie flat on your back, legs straight, hand tucked beneath your lower spine for support. Engage your abs and raise legs to about 45 degrees. Lower. Do 10 times.

V-Holds. Sit on floor, knees bent, hand tucked under your knees. Engage your core and slowly raise your feet off the floor several inches. Once you find your balance, extend your legs in front of you, creating a V-shape with your body. Hold 60 seconds.

Bicycle. This favorite of aerobic classes everywhere gets your heart rate up with working your obliques. Start on your back, knees bent, hands behind your head. Raise your head and feet off the floor and begin cycling your legs back and forth as it you re riding a bike. Bring opposite elbow to knee as you go. Do 60 seconds, rest 20 seconds, and go again.

There you go: a blueprint for a six-pack. Get busy, and remember, you can always stop once sweater season kicks in again.

While there is no clear right or wrong way to get six-pack abs, there are ways of doing it that prove to be much more productive. Here are the truths and myths about six-pack abs to make yourself aware of. Learn more.

The goal of getting six-pack abs is one that a large number of individuals strive to reach using a variety of different methods. While there is no clear right or wrong way to get six-pack abs, there are ways of doing it that prove to be much more productive. Further, there are also a number of methods that just simply don’t work, so knowing which these are and avoiding them will be important.

Here are the truths and myths about six-pack abs to make yourself aware of.

Truth 1 Six Pack Abs Don’t Come Overnight

The very first truth you must come to accept if you do want to get results with your six-pack ab training is the fact that abs are not going to come overnight. Unless you’re starting at a very low body fat level already, you must be patient with the process as it will take some time.

Especially as you get leaner and leaner and near the very low levels you can expect that progress will become less and less dramatic. If you keep pushing it though, you will eventually arrive at the end goal.

Myth 1 The Best Way To A Six Pack Is Through Crunches

Another very common ab myth is that the best way to obtain them is through hundreds of crunches a day. This is incorrect because of the fact that crunches actually burn very few calories per minute. When you do them, they will work to strengthen the abdominals but they won’t do a lot to help shed the layer of fat covering the abs.

It is this layer of fat that’s going to be what prevents them from looking defined and what you will need to focus on removing if you are to get the aesthetic results you’re looking for.

Truth 2 You May Never Have A Six Pack Exactly Like That In The Magazine

There are many people who spot a model in a magazine looking exactly how they want to look and that becomes their new mental image of their goal. While this is fine – it’s great to use pictures as motivation like that – it’s also important to bear in mind that the way your abs are structurally built will provide some limitation.

For example, some people have a very large split down their abs, while others don’t. Some have larger top ab muscles, while others are smaller. Your individual genetics will determine exactly how your abs look when you get lean enough for them to become visible.

Myth 2 You Must Do A Low Carb Diet

Low carbohydrate diets are extremely popular right now and what many people think they need to follow in order to strip the fat from their midsection. These types of diets do tend to offer a number of benefits including hunger control and reduced water retention, but if you feel horrible without carbs, don’t fight it.

Some people just do not react well to low carb diets and when this is the case, they’re actually much better off opting for a mixed approach instead.

Truth 3 Males Tend To Have An Easier Time Getting A Six Pack

Much to every female’s disappointment, if it seems like your male counterpart is getting results faster than you, it isn’t an illusion. While there will always be some very determined females who will outdo a male who isn’t as dedicated, for the most part, males will have an easier time obtaining six-pack abs simply because they have a lower absolute necessity for body fat levels.

A woman needs a higher level of body fat just to function properly, so her body will fight her harder as she aims to get down to the lower levels required to see six-pack abs.

She can certainly still obtain great abdominals, but they may never look quite as cut up as the very lean males’ abs do.

Myth 3 Cardio Needs To Be High To Get Results

Another classic myth that surrounds cardio training is the thought that you need to be doing hours and hours of cardio in order to get clearly defined abdominal muscles.

Cardio training will help you burn calories over time and if you’re doing interval training, can help speed the metabolic rate so you experience a faster rate of fat loss throughout the entire course of the day, but cardio training isn’t the only way to go about losing abdominal fat.

You can just as successfully if not more successfully lose abdominal fat with an intense weight training program and a good diet plan. So if you’re someone who hates doing cardio, don’t by any means think that you’re never going to be able to obtain a six pack because of this fact.

You may need to tighten up with your diet since you aren’t burning the calories you would be with cardio, but if you take steps to do so, there is no reason you can’t see fantastic results.

Truth 4 You Can Have A Six Pack Without Having Strong Abdominal Muscles

Many individuals are under the impression that in order to get a six pack, they will need to develop strong ab muscles. Working on building strength in the abdominal core is always a smart move because it will help prevent injuries and help you perform other weight lifting activities better, but it’s not a requirement.

For example, if you look at younger boys around 7-9 years old, many actually have six pack abs. Yet, if you were to test their abdominal strength, it likely wouldn’t be all that high.

The reason this is possible is because these boys haven’t accumulated the amount of body fat over the abdominals, making it easy to see the muscles clearly. All of us have abs, so it’s just a matter of reducing body fat levels low enough to see them.

Myth 4 Once You Get A Six Pack, Your Work Is Done

Finally, the last six-pack ab myth is that once you get your six pack, you’re now home free. It will feel incredibly great when you can clearly see your abs after all that hard work, but that doesn’t mean they can’t disappear once again.

Unless you are watching your diet on a continual basis and taking steps immediately if the abs start to become covered again, you can’t expect to maintain them. Getting them is the hardest battle since with maintaining you don’t have to eat at quite the same hypocaloric level, but if you think you can just go back to your old ways and your abs will stay, you’re strongly mistaken.

Conclusion

So be sure you’re keeping these truths and myths in mind. Being realistic about the timeline to get a six pack and the best ways to go about arriving at that goal will help ensure you don’t end up disappointed.

Rainbow Six Siege MUTE Protocol Packs

Rainbow Six Siege’s MUTE Protocol event is upon us, and with this comes the opportunity to earn MUTE Protocol packs to enhance the gaming experience.

The MUTE Protocol event runs from August 5 to August 17, and brings a neon-soaked sci-fi aesthetic to the game. A reworking of the classic Secure Area game mode, players will be able to morph at will around the Tower Map.

MUTE Protocol packs will drop special loot, including robotic skins for many of the game’s Operators and weapons. The only problem is actually getting hold of these packs.

• OVERWATCH: How to get Pharah’s lifeguard summer skin

How to get MUTE Protocol packs

If all is working as it should, the player should receive one free MUTE Protocol pack upon starting up Rainbow Six Siege during the event period. Another pack will be given upon completion of an event challenge within the game.

Beyond this, the player is expected to purchase additional packs for either 330 R6 credits or 12500 Renown. It’s possible to grind for this in-game currency, but the easiest solution, be design, is to pay real world money.

While this all seems straightforward, some players have been experiencing problems with even getting hold of their complimentary packs. Here’s what to do if the game doesn’t give them to you for free.

The issues with players not receiving their packs for the M.U.T.E. Protocol event should now be resolved. Please reboot and you should receive your pack if you did not get it previously. We are still working to fix the error on the event challenge timers.

• FORTNITE: How to drive cars

What to do if you don’t receive your free packs

According to an official tweet from developer Ubisoft, some players have been unable to claim their free MUTE Protocol packs due to a game bug.

This issue has now been resolved, and apparently, if you log back into the game you’ll receive your promised free packs.

Of course, two free MUTE Protocol packs won’t take long to open, and the event will be running for the next two weeks. If you’re looking to get your hands on more goodies, you’ve got a lot of gaming ahead of you.

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If you’re looking to get a six pack, switching up your diet is essential.

Certain foods can boost metabolism, enhance fat burning, and keep you feeling full between meals.

Meanwhile, others contribute little more than extra calories and sugar, increasing your risk of weight gain and excess body fat.

This article examines the best diet to get defined abs, including which foods you should eat and avoid to maximize your results.

Surprisingly, your kitchen is a great place to start building abs. It’s important to fill your diet with lots of nutritious, whole foods, such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, healthy fats, and high-protein items.

These foods are not only high in micronutrients and antioxidants but also low in calories. Thus, they can support weight loss and increase fat burning.

Additionally, they supply fiber, protein, and healthy fats, all of which play a central role in improving body composition ( 1 , 2 , 3 ).

However, it’s important to focus on overall fat loss rather than spot reduction, which involves targeting a specific area of your body, such as your belly, for weight loss or fat burning.

Despite the popularity of this technique in the fitness industry, studies show that spot reduction is generally ineffective ( 4 , 5 ).

Additionally, keep in mind that diet isn’t the only factor when it comes to getting more defined abs.

In fact, getting regular physical activity is just as crucial to burning calories and toning your muscles.

Summary A diet for abs should include plenty of whole foods rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats. It’s also important to focus on overall fat loss rather than spot reduction and pair your diet with regular physical activity.

Aside from hitting the gym, choosing the right foods can help you get abs quicker. Here are a few of the best foods to eat on an ab-building diet.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and veggies are very nutrient-dense, meaning that they’re low in calories but high in antioxidants, fiber, and an assortment of vitamins and minerals ( 6 ).

They may also boost weight loss and fat burning, making them a must-have for any ab-building diet.

According to a review of 10 studies, eating at least 4 servings of veggies per day was associated with a lower risk of weight gain and reduced waist circumference in women ( 7 ).

Another study in 26,340 people showed that eating more fruits and veggies was linked to lower body weight and less overall body fat, while more fruit intake was tied to less belly fat ( 8 ).

Whole grains

Whole grains like oats, barley, buckwheat, and quinoa can be a great addition to your diet if you’re looking to get abs.

In addition to being high in fiber, which can enhance weight loss, digestion, and blood sugar levels, whole grains are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants ( 9 , 10 ).

Some research suggests that eating whole grains can reduce appetite and influence your body’s energy use, both of which can affect body composition ( 11 ).

One small, 12-week study in 50 people also found that swapping refined wheat bread for whole-grain wheat bread led to significant reductions in belly fat ( 12 ).

Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds provide the perfect balance of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, all of which can be incredibly beneficial for getting abs.

In a 6-week study in 48 people, eating 1.5 ounces (43 grams) of almonds per day led to significant reductions in belly fat ( 13 ).

Another study in 26 people showed that eating 1.2 ounces (35 grams) of chia flour daily for 12 weeks decreased body weight and waist circumference ( 14 ).

Pistachios, walnuts, almonds, pecans, and Brazil nuts are all great nuts to incorporate into your diet, alongside seeds like chia, flax, pumpkin, and hemp.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which play a key role in heart health, brain function, inflammation, and weight control ( 15 , 16 , 17 ).

Eating fish can not only help you drop belly fat but also potentially reduce rick factors for heart disease, such as high triglyceride levels.

One study in 2,874 adults found that those who regularly ate fatty fish tended to have less belly fat and lower triglyceride levels. Similarly, eating lean fish was tied to lower waist circumference and triglyceride levels in women ( 18 ).

What’s more, fish is high in protein, which may promote abdominal toning.

Research suggests that higher protein intake may be associated with less belly fat and could help reduce appetite and increase weight loss ( 2 , 19 , 20 ).

Legumes

Legumes are a family of plants that include lentils, beans, peas, and peanuts.

They’re typically a great source of essential nutrients like protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, copper, magnesium, and zinc ( 21 ).

In particular, eating more protein has been linked to improvements in body composition and reductions in belly fat ( 19 , 20 , 22 ).

Meanwhile, increased fiber intake is associated with weight loss and decreased belly fat ( 23 , 24 ).

Green tea has been studied for its potential to rev up weight loss and fat burning.

This is largely due to the presence of catechins like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound shown to increase the number of calories burned throughout the day ( 25 ).

One review of six studies noted that regular green tea intake led to a decrease in belly fat, weight, and waist circumference ( 26 ).

Black tea is also rich in flavonoid compounds that can stimulate weight loss.

One 3-month study in 111 people found that drinking 3 cups (710 ml) of black tea daily led to a 3/4-inch (1.9-cm) reduction in waist circumference and 1.4 pounds (0.6 kg) of weight loss ( 27 ).

Other teas, such as white, oolong, and herbal varieties, may also be beneficial.

In fact, a study in 6,432 people determined that tea drinkers tend to have lower body weight and waist circumference than people who don’t drink tea ( 28 ).

Summary Fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, legumes, and tea are all nutritious additions to an ab-building diet.

Is it possible to get six pack abs in 2 weeks? Read on to find the answer as well as an effective diet and exercise plan to get washboard abs.

Is it possible to get six pack abs in 2 weeks? Read on to find the answer as well as an effective diet and exercise plan to get washboard abs.

You must have surely read about some miraculous diet plans, or exercise plan which promises fat loss around the abdomen within days. However, getting six pack abs takes a lot of grit, hard work, and patience on a person’s part to get those ripped and well cut abs. Of course, you can speed up the process, if you are already into exercising, and if your body can tolerate a strenuous workout routine.

Mental Preparation

The first thing to do to get ripped fast is to mentally prepare yourself for it. Think that you already have well-defined, six pack abs, it’s just that they are lying under your belly fat. All you have to do is to follow a diet, and incorporate certain effective exercises, that this layer of fat is removed, and your six packs become visible.

Would you like to write for us? Well, we’re looking for good writers who want to spread the word. Get in touch with us and we’ll talk.

The fastest way to get a six pack is by eliminating all such foods from the diet which cause weight gain, such as refined foods, fatty foods, junk food, fried foods, and alcohol. Include healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, fish, lean meat, beans, low fat dairy foods, nuts, and seeds in your diet.

Eat more of proteins and decrease the intake of foods which contain carbohydrates. Spread your meals throughout the day instead of eating three large meals; as every time we eat food, our bodies burn calories in order to digest it. And if proteins are included in each of these small meals, the body’s metabolism will rise, and you will feel even more energized. Thus, a proper diet plan can help you to burn more calories, and also keep up your energy levels, which are much-needed to carry out your workout routine.

A healthy diet should be complimented with adequate amount of water intake. Water helps in reducing the hunger, hydrating the body, and flushing out the toxins and by-products of fat breakdown from the body, thus helping in the process of getting toned abs.

Exercises

In order to achieve this goal, a high intensity cardiovascular exercise routine along with abdominal exercises has to be followed. Cardiovascular exercises help the body in shedding fat from all over the body, including your abdomen so perform them on alternate days, i.e., three days a week. An effective cardiovascular exercise is cycling, which can be either undertaken outdoors, or in your gym on a stationary exercise bike. You can also include swimming, jogging, and running, as these too are quite effective in burning the fats fast from the body.

For three days, perform cardiovascular exercises, on the remaining three days, do targeted abdominal exercises such as crunches, abdominal sit-ups, leg raises, side bends, and side twists. Include a number of variations of crunches in your 6 pack abs workout, such as standard crunches, cross crunches, leg crunches, reverse crunches, leg crunches, 90 degree crunches, 45 degree crunches, and ball crunches, so that your lower abdominal muscles, upper abdominal muscles, and your obliques, all get exercised.

It is possible to lose weight only if you stick to the low fat diet plan, and are able to perform high intensity exercises. You need to do at least 8 – 10 sets of each of the abdominal exercises with twenty repetitions in each set. Make sure that your body gets enough rest in between workouts to recover itself. Only if you have the mental strength and physical stamina to carry on with such a strenuous exercise routine, that you should go ahead, and aim to get six pack abs in two weeks.

A sculpted midsection is your dream, but there are no shortcuts to getting this ripped — just excruciating, tedious work. Are you ready?

Let’s be real: Six-pack abs are a pretty dumb fitness goal. First and foremost, having a stomach that has ridges is not a barometer of health. In fact, in many ways, it is quite the opposite. To have six-pack abs you need to have somewhere around the order of 6% body fat. Sounds good, right? Not exactly. Extremely low body fat (that’s below 5%) can put a strain on the system, causing testosterone to drop, the immune system to struggle, brain fog, splotchy skin… the list goes on. In other words, great abs workouts for men are a vanity pursuit.

So you still want to give one a go? We get it, that six-pack is aesthetically pleasing and make anyone look damn good in a swimsuit. But be prepared to work for it. There is a very high bar you’ll need to hit repeatedly for workout dedication and dietary discipline.

So the first step to get a six-pack is to watch what you eat. This means sticking to lean meats and vegetables, and cutting out all sweets and most carbs. The second step is committing to an intense six-pack workout routine — not the twice a week deal you do now, but three to four times a week, with determination and focus — to see your abs transform themselves.

The final ingredient to building your six-pack is a solid dose of daily cardio. Developing your overall fitness will help train your body to use energy more efficiently and teach it to start torching calories the minute you begin to move. And that’s key because you can have the strongest abdominals in the world, but if they’re covered with a layer of fat, you’ll never see them.

Confused yet? Don’t worry, we’ve broken it down into seven easy-to-understand (but maybe not so easy-to-follow) steps. Good luck.

Step 1 to Six-Pack Abs: Eat Less Fat, and More Protein.

Protein helps your body build muscle and recover from tough workouts. It also has the highest thermogenic property of the various food categories (carbs, fat, etc), meaning pound per pound it requires more energy to burn, helping you lose weight faster.

Step 2 to Six-Pack Abs: Count Your Calories

Yes, your meals should be filled with high-quality nutrients and low on processed crap. But at some point, a calorie is a calorie, and to lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you expend. The average guy needs about 2,500 calories to maintain his weight. Shoot for 200 less than that a day to help hit your target safely. (For easy reference, that means cutting out the bowl of chips before dinner, or skipping dessert.)

Step 3 to Six-Pack Abs: Pick Exercises That Hit Multiple Muscle Groups.

Crunches and sit-ups have their place, but exercises that involve multiple muscle groups give you more bang for your buck. Two of the best ones, which should be performed to the point of temporary muscle failure (i.e., you cannot do another rep), are planks and reverse crunches.

Plank: Start lying face-down on the floor, torso propped up on your elbows. Engaging your core, raise your body up onto your forearms and toes, making sure your body forms one long line from shoulders to feet. Hold this position as long as you can, working your way up to 90 seconds.

Reverse crunches: Lie on the floor on your back, knees bent at 90 degree, feet raised several inches off the ground. Contract your abs and hike hips off the floor, keeping your spine rounded. Raise knees high toward the ceiling. Relax and repeat as many times as you can.

Step 4 to Six-Pack Abs: Do More Hanging Leg Raises

Don’t be fooled by its name — hanging leg raises are one of the best abdominal workouts you can do. The move works those deep, lower abdominal muscles that basic exercises like crunches miss. Start by hanging from a bar, legs straight. Engage your core and raise both legs straight in front of you (if this is your first time, it’s likely you will not be able to lift them very high — that’s OK). Repeat until failure.

Step 5 to Six-Pack Abs: Make Your Cardio Workouts More Intense (And Shorter)

Cardio is an essential component to getting your six-pack because it speeds up the weight-loss process. Despite what you’ve probably read about moderate-intensity cardio being the best method for burning fat (which is true), the fastest way to achieve overall calorie burn is HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), which goes like this: 60 seconds of biking, rowing or sprinting as hard as you can, followed by 30 seconds of rest. Repeat 10 times.

Step 6 to Six-Pack Abs: Vary Your Routine.

Even though you’ll need to do some ab-specific exercises along with general strength and cardio work, you’ll see better results if you alternate the moves you do, as each one works the abdominals in a slightly different way. A few to add to your repertoire:

Pronated Leg Raises. Lie flat on your back, legs straight, hand tucked beneath your lower spine for support. Engage your abs and raise legs to about 45 degrees. Lower. Do 10 times.

V-Holds. Sit on floor, knees bent, hand tucked under your knees. Engage your core and slowly raise your feet off the floor several inches. Once you find your balance, extend your legs in front of you, creating a V-shape with your body. Hold 60 seconds.

Bicycle. This favorite of aerobic classes everywhere gets your heart rate up with working your obliques. Start on your back, knees bent, hands behind your head. Raise your head and feet off the floor and begin cycling your legs back and forth as it you re riding a bike. Bring opposite elbow to knee as you go. Do 60 seconds, rest 20 seconds, and go again.

Step 7 to Six-Pack Abs: Prioritize Hydration.

It’s true, all the water in the world isn’t going to make your abs pop overnight. But it’s also true that drinking at least 8 glasses of water (or other non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverages) a day helps boost your energy levels so you can commit to your next workout. It also helps prevent water retention, which can give your gut a bloated appearance.

They’re redefining what it means to be a strong mom.

The internet can’t seem to get enough of women who maintain their abdominal definition during pregnancy. Here are 10 women who proved it can be done:

1. Sarah Stage

A post shared by 🍔Sarah Stage🍔 (@sarahstage) on Mar 10, 2015 at 10:08pm PDT

Perhaps the original six-pack mom, this lingerie model got her break during pregnancy when her well-defined abs went viral.

2. Sia Cooper

A post shared by 𝗦𝗜𝗔 | FITNESS & WORKOUTS (@diaryofafitmommyofficial) on Mar 21, 2016 at 4:23pm PDT

Diary of a Fit Mommy blogger and NASM-certified personal trainer Sia Cooper is a mother of two and proud owner of a six-pack that basically doesn’t budge, according to photos she posted throughout her pregnancy.

3. Oxana Rumyantseva

A post shared by Oxana Rumyantseva (@oxana.fit) on Jul 26, 2016 at 12:26pm PDT

This Russian mother of four is a personal trainer and fitness competitor who didn’t let pregnancy impede on her fitness routine. No wonder her abs appeared to stay pretty much intact. (At 6 1/2 weeks postpartum, she’s basically back in action.)

4. Chontel Duncan

A post shared by CHONTEL DUNCAN (@chontelduncan) on Mar 23, 2016 at 2:03am PDT

Australian fitness expert and model Chontel Duncan first went viral after posting a belly-baring Instagram photo of herself standing next to a client who was also pregnant but shorter and carrying differently, which made the woman appear relatively less fit. Chontel kept her abdominal definition throughout her entire pregnancy.

How do you lose half of your body fat and gain abs of steel in just five months?

Ask the staff of marketing firm Viceroy Creative. Four members of the team took on an intense diet and exercise regimen to prepare for a major photo shoot with AdWeek — in the nude.

Within five months, David Moritz, Aaron Bearce, Raegan Gillette, and Gabrielle Rein had transformed their bodies into those of statuesque models. How did they do it? Was it starvation? Surgery? Nope. “It was a combination of diet and exercise,” says Aaron.

All four went on specialized diets and followed intensive training regimens that both added muscle and trimmed their body fat levels. But along with magazine-worthy physiques, they each obtained the tools they needed to maintain a strong, healthy body in the long term.

Following specialized diets created by Body University in San Diego, the four colleagues ate six meals a day, focused mainly on protein, green vegetables like broccoli and asparagus, rice, fish, and lean meats such as chicken and turkey.

“The hardest part for me was the diet piece, by far,” says Aaron. His meal plan allowed for 2,000 calories per day, including 283 grams of protein, 120 grams of carbohydrate, and 12 grams of sugar. “I was never hungry, but I definitely had cravings for things that weren’t on the diet. Basically, sugary things and carbs!”

What helped, he says, was that each diet included a reward system to ward off cravings. “I’m a sweets person,” says Aaron. “There was no real sugar allowed, but at the end of the night I was allowed to eat a Pop-Tart.”

Reagan and Gabrielle were on similar diets, taking in about 200 calories per meal. Raegan would start each day with a cup of gluten-free Rice Chex, unsweetened almond milk, and half an apple. For lunch, it was three ounces of grilled chicken, with a cup of spinach, and half an avocado.

While they were already active, fit people, the time leading up to the photo shoot required a level of intensity they’d never expected. They worked with Equinox trainers five days per week, doing at least an hour of weight training followed by cardio.

“I’m the kind of person who goes to the gym two or three times a week, but not to such intense levels, just maintenance,” says Aaron. Adds Raegan, “I was a bit of a runner, but definitely not a weight lifter! I did not work out to that intensity.”

For the first four months, they focused on boosting their cardiovascular health, strengthening their muscles, and speeding up their metabolism. “First we had to get in shape for the training. After just a few months, every exercise was done in a triple or quadruple combination without rest,” says David.

“I would work out with [my trainer] in the morning, and by the end of the day I couldn’t even lift my arms over my head. And then I’d have to go back the next morning, even though I still couldn’t lift them!” recalls Raegan. “I just had to keep my eye on the prize.”

Gabrielle was on the same program, even though she’d recently had a baby. Her regimen focused on rebuilding her abdominal wall and strengthening her core so that she could take on weight lifting and full-body workouts.

“The experience really opened my eyes to the levels that you can target a specific muscle group in a single day,” says Raegan.

When it comes to showing off a fit body, it’s not all about the exercise. The final four weeks saw the group amp up their regimen to give their bodies definition.

The men reduced their intake to about 1,700 calories per day (compared to a typical 2,200 to 2,400). The women consumed 1,300 calories (compared to 1,800 to 2,000).

By the time they were ready to strip for the camera, all of them had reduced their body fat by at least a third. Gabrielle and David reduced their body fat by almost half, to 16.5 and 6 percent, respectively. Aaron and Reagan reduced theirs to 9 and 20.5 percent, respectively.

Compare those figures to the national average of 25 to 31 percent for women and 18 to 24 percent for men.

All four say their body fat has since increased to more sustainable levels. But what hasn’t changed is their dedication to leading healthier, more active lives.

Aaron works out four days per week, and sees the same trainer often. Raegan works out six days a week. “The experience really captured a need to work out and stay healthy. It makes me feel good,” she says.

If boosting your fitness levels and shedding a few pounds is something you aspire to do, the team has some advice:

1. Be open

“Tell people about it and put some social capital into it so that you feel like you can’t get out of it,” says David. “It would really help to jump-start the training and learn how to get that fire and determination necessary to keep going, and eventually smooth it out to a lifestyle change.”

2. Be social

“My advice to people who have fitness goals is to make it social, to do it with friends,” says Raegan. “With all of us in the same boat, there was a real level of camaraderie.”

“And a little competition,” adds Aaron.

3. Be aware

“The biggest learning for me came from the diet, and understanding what it takes to build and maintain muscle, and what kinds of food you need to eat,” says Aaron.

4. Be good to yourself

“Have a very specific goal in mind when you start, and reward yourself. If it’s 25 pounds in 4 months, have that goal in mind and reward yourself for getting there,” says Aaron.

“Everyone needs motivation,” he adds. “Ours was getting naked in a publicly available document… That’s motivation!”

According to reddit, this is how to carve washboard abs without giving up your life

We get that they’re mirror muscles, and logically we shouldn’t crave having them, but nothing announces to the world you’re in amazing shape than possessing a perfectly formed six-pack.

Sure, MH cover stars can get their abs out at the drop of a dumbbell, but is it possible for mere mortals to achieve a similar physique? According to hundreds of men talking on Reddit, it is definitely possible, but not easy.

We collected the best of their comments, so you can see how real men get their six-pack on show. On the flip-side, we’ve also talked to pro bodybuilder Ryan Terry, who gave us a complete guide to getting abs. Utilise this advice, action it and an HD six-pack can only be weeks away.

Abs Are Built in the Kitchen

Most of the people who commented on the Reddit thread were keen to point out that abs are in fact built in the kitchen, not the gym. “I don’t train my abs directly at all,” said Reddit user threewhitelights. “I’m a competitive strongman competitor, so I lift heavy three to four days a week, but as someone that has lost, gained, and then had to lose weight again, as I’ve changed weight classes, I can tell you it comes 100 per cent from diet, not the number of crunches you do (or don’t do in my case).”

Actually Train Abs

However, according to user itslazarusss, if you want abs then you need to work on them in the gym. He (sort of) recommends leg raises. “If you want to get very defined abs. Training them will 100 per cent help and improve them. Ask every competitive body builder. 90 per cent will train abs, with their main movement being haunting leg raises.”

Abstain from Alcohol

While a few Redditors pointed out that you don’t need to give up alcohol completely, one contributor said he had seen good results from going teetotal.

“I quit drinking for a year and lost so much weight despite keeping my eating habit relatively similar,” said mmm-toast. “It is the “easiest” way to cut calories for sure.”

Get MyFitnessPal

Want to lose enough body fat to have our abs poke through? pickledCantilever says the only way to do that is by tracking you[r] calories with the MyFitnessPal app. “The biggest thing you could ever do is start tracking your food in MyFitnessPal. At the beginning don’t even focus on changing your diet. Just log everything. After a week or two once you are used to it you will have a MUCH better understanding of your diet and how each part of your diet contributes to your overall intake. Then start focusing on a calorie goal.”

Can I Interest You in a Four-pack or an Eight Pack?

Four-pack, six-pack, eight-pack, which one you get may have as much to do with you genes as it does your work ethic. “Since nobody else has addressed this yet, that 4-pack might be all you get,” said user slapshotsd.

“The number of distinct abdominal muscles – four, six or eight – is entirely genetic once you’ve properly cut. I wouldn’t worry about it too much though; Arnold Schwarzenegger himself had a four-pack and nobody on the God damn planet is gonna criticise his peak physique.”

Make Sure You Actually Want Abs

Whether they thought it was diet, training or genetics that helped build a six-pack, all of the people who commented agreed that building a six-pack is hard work, and, as user bulldog89 points out, all that work isn’t necessarily worth it. “Got some good abs after about 5 years of athletics (sports and just a general love of fitness).

Biggest thing I found? No one gives a shit. Sure it’s nice when a girl takes your shirt off and you can hear a “damn” or when you’re at the beach, but after that moment it’s over, and was it worth the loooonng time of mentally yelling at myself, skipping meals, and body shaming myself to (attempt) to get there?

Hell no, so if that’s why you’re doing it, trust me, it’s not worth it. However, if you want them to feel confident in yourself, because it’s a fitness goal, something for you, then go for it, because being fit is something everyone should strive for. The body is an insane machine, and you should always love to know you have it in the best shape.”

I want to get a six pack within a week and keep it there. Is it possible? If so then how?

There’s a pretty common saying that goes something like this: “Everyone has a six pack, for most of us it’s just covered up.” It’s absolutely true. A six pack is simply your abdominal muscles (rectus abdominus) below a layer of skin and body fat. You can change the size and strength of your abdominal muscles by completing various core exercises such as crunches, leg lifts, medicine ball work, and the like, but if you still have a high body-fat percentage, you won’t be able to see them, no matter how well developed they are. Which brings us to another point core stability and functional strength outrank six-pack abs any day of the week. If you’re going to do the work anyway, do it for a good reason and incorporate exercises that develop your entire torso, not just your six pack.

If you’re dead set on achieving a six pack, the only way to it is to lose a considerable amount of body fat, and that CANNOT be done, to a significant degree or in a healthy manner, in one week. Not only that, you can’t choose where the fat you’re burning is coming from, so you can’t exercise specifically to lose belly fat. By changing your diet and increasing the amount of aerobic activity you do, it’s safe and possible to lose one to two pounds of body fat per week. For some people, it may only take a few pounds of weight loss to begin seeing a six pack. On the other hand, there are people who may have better-developed abdominal muscles, and greater core strength, yet won’t be able to see a six pack for quite a while.

In order to lose body fat, your daily caloric intake should be roughly 500 calories less than your caloric expenditure. Just realize that a bigger deficit is not going to get faster results. A 1,000 calorie deficit may, in fact, cause you to store MORE fat and put you farther from your six-pack goal.

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