How To Get Six Pack Abs (Part 2)

If you have not read the first part to this article, do so here:  How To Get Six Pack Abs

Okay, after having everything in place that I mentioned from the last article, it’s time to build up your abs so you can see that shield of muscle you have built up.  There are lots of different abs exercises one can do, but you mainly just need to make sure you are working every section of your abs.  When you break it down, you basically have the top (the part people think of with a sixpack), the sides (obliques) and the lower abdominal area.  You want to work all three of these sections.

To work your upper abs, there is nothing better than the classic crunch.  You just need to be careful and not pull your own neck when performing these.  Your abs themselves should be handling moving your body.  You can see how to perform a proper crunch here:  How to do a perfect crunch  When you are a little more advanced, you can perform a crunch on a swiss ball or use weighted resistance as well (by holding a weight plate behind your head).

To work your obliques, you can do what is called a Side Bend.  For your lower abs, perform a Leg Raise  When you are more advanced with these you can switch to a hanging leg raise (same movement, you are simply hanging vertical from a pull up bar).

Follow what I gave you in the last article, along with these exercises and you will be on your way to a six pack in no time!

How To Get Six Pack Abs

Virtually everyone wants a six pack.  Six pack abs are probably the most common thing people will think of when they think of what it means to be in shape.  Before I get into any specific exercises one needs to do in order to get a six pack, I need to clear up some misunderstandings most people have.

1.  There is no such thing as spot reduction.  You can’t get rid of fat in a certain area by doing exercises for that area.  Most people still believe if you want to get rid of fat on your stomach, you have to do exercises for your stomach.  This is completely untrue.  Any exercise you do will remove fat from your entire body, but your body has certain areas where it stores the fat the most.  Simply doing crunches won’t target fat from that area.

2.  In order to lose weight to become lean enough to see your abdominal muscles you need to take in less calories.  You can do all the exercises in the world, but if you are taking in more calories than you need, you still won’t see your six pack because it will be covered in a layer of fat.  You have to reduce the amount of calories you are taking in everyday so you become more lean.  I don’t recommend drinking any at all, but just by cutting out 1 Pepsi a day, you can lose about 15lbs in a year.

3.  Working big muscle groups builds the most muscle, which in turn burns the most calories.  If you had to choose between doing squats or crunches to become lean, squats would win without question.  Doing compound exercises (squats, deadlift, bench press, pull ups, etc) will work multiple muscle groups at the same time and build the most muscle.  Muscle is a fat burning material, the more you have, the more fat you burn all day, even when you aren’t even exercising.

4.  Change your cardio.  Instead of doing low intensity exercise like walking on a treadmill for hours, switch to The Tabata Method.  This type of exercise will not only get you into better shape in much less time, but it’s not as boring and has other benefits like increasing your growth hormone production.

Next time I will get into specific exercises one can use to build up the muscles in the abdominal area.

Kettlebell Swing

If you are starting a strength training program, Caveman Training or a Tabata Workout, the Kettlebell Swing is one of the best overall exercises to add into your program. This exercise hits just about every body-part. The more muscles you recruit during an exercise, the more calories you will burn.

Running Rounds!

For those of you who love running and are looking for something to mix things up, try running rounds!

What you will do is get on a treadmill and set it for a speed you can handle for 5 minutes.  When the first round is over you have a 1 minute break.  During this 1 minute break you will drop the speed to a walking pace and raise the incline to one that is challenging for you.  Walk this for 5 minutes (Round 2).  During your next 1 minute break, drop the treadmill back down to a 0 incline and repeat Round 1 again.  Do up to 5 rounds (alternating each round).

The good thing about the treadmill is you can keep track of your progress very easily.  Record your speeds and incline settings and try to increase these each time you do the program.  You can alternate this into your regular workouts or you can do it 3-5 times a week depending on your fitness level and goals.  Since you are mixing things up it goes by quickly and will get your heart pounding!

Example:
Round 1:
Run at 7 mph for 5 minutes
Round 2:
Incline of 7.5, walk at 3.5 mph
Round 3:
Run at 7 mph for 5 minutes

Motivation

It's never to late to get started.  Even if you are so out of shape so can't do any hard exercise, just start by taking a walk everyday.  You can make that harder as you progress by mixing in some walks up hill and/or holding hand weights.  Even the greatest had to start at the beginning.  The important thing is that you start. 

Motivation

I have noticed most people have the wrong motivation when it comes to working out.  They typically just want to lose 20lbs or fit into a certain size of clothes.  This is one of the main reasons so many people quit working out as soon as they meet their goals (or fail to meet their unrealistic goals).  While there is nothing wrong with setting short term goals, these short term goals shouldn't be your primary motivation for exercise.

Your primary reason to exercise should be to be healthy.  If you are working towards that goal it will never end.  Now you have a motivation that will drive you for your entire life.  You can set small goals like lose 5lbs or gain 5lbs of muscle, whatever it might be, but those are just short term goals on your path to being healthy.  Change the way you think and you can succeed!

Tabata Training for Boxing/Kickboxing

If you haven't already read my blog about Tabata training, read this first:  http://www.shaolindo.blogspot.com/2012/06/arc-bobs-against-god.html

Now that you have read that and understand how it works, here are some ideas you can use to mix up your boxing/kickboxing workouts.

Using the same 20 seconds on, 10 seconds of rest set up as before, hit your heavy bag, focus mitts or shadow box with weights (or without) as hard and fast as you can (while being safe).  And once again do this for 8 sets to make up 1 round.  Because you are working for effort, not technique, just throw lots of straight punches for 20 seconds or throw lots of low roundhouse kicks.  You are looking for intensity in this, not 100% perfect form.  Of course this is only for experienced martial artists, if you do not know how to throw a proper punch or kick, do not try this.

Depending on your level of cardio, you can do up to 4 rounds.

Example:
Round 1:
1.  20 seconds of straight punches, 10 seconds of rest
2.  20 seconds of low roundhouse kicks, 10 seconds of rest
3.  20 seconds of straight punches, 10 seconds of rest
4.  20 seconds of low roundhouse kicks, 10 seconds of rest
5.  20 seconds of straight punches, 10 seconds of rest
6.  20 seconds of low roundhouse kicks, 10 seconds of rest
7.  20 seconds of straight punches, 10 seconds of rest
8.  20 seconds of low roundhouse kicks, 10 seconds of rest

Rest 1 minute

Round 2: (repeat round 1)

etc.  

Let me know how it goes!

The Tabata Method

If you are tired of wasting endless hours running on a treadmill or any other type of boring cardiovascular training I would highly suggest the Tabata method.  

The Tabata method is named after its creator, Dr. Tabata, for the purpose of training Japanese Olympic athletes.  This method of exercise not only burns fat and increases your VO2max, it also helps your body produce more growth hormone (essentially the hormone that makes you young).  The bodies production of growth hormone drops like a rock starting at 30, making this type of exercise that much more important.

Here is the real kicker; not only is the Tabata method better for you than traditional cardio training, it takes less time!  Tabata is all about intensity, not time.  Just do a 3-5 minute warm up and you are ready to go.

You can use any type of exercise for Tabata training you want really (sprinting, kettlebells, etc.).  As an example I am going to use sprinting.  For 20 seconds you are going to run a sprint, then follow that with 10 seconds of rest.  Repeat that 7 more times and you are finished with 1 Tabata round.  It may not sound like much, but trust me, 4 minutes of Tabata training is HARD.

You might eventually want to work your way up to 4 Tabata rounds (the only difference in doing more rounds is after each round is over you take a 1 minute break before starting a new round.  You can do this type of training between 3-5 times a week depending on your goals and what you are training for (everyday Joe or a serious athlete).

Example of multiple rounds:
Round 1:
1. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
2. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
3. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
4. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
5. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
6. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
7. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest
8. Sprint 20 seconds, 10 seconds of rest

End of round 1, take 1 minute break then start round 2.

*As a beginner you may not even be able to do the 8 sprints required for round 1.  That's okay, just do what you can depending on your fitness level.  Start with just 2 sets of sprints, instead of 8 and build from there.  And again, instead of doing sprints you can substitute anything you want.  Do 20 seconds of push ups or squats or you can even mix them and alternate each of your 8 intervals.