Revealed! The 3 Keys to Six Pack Abs
I'm not sure what your idea of a "perfect body" looks like because
everyone has different goals and different standards of physical
attractiveness.
But there's one thing that everyone wants...
ABDOMINALS!
I've never met a single person, male or female, young or old,
who didn't want a lean, flat stomach with a "six pack" of abs.
Abs are the one "defining" part of the body considered universally
attractive and desirable. abdominal flab is always an unwanted
guest.
Ironically, getting great abs is the one goal that seems to elude
most people.
How many people do you know - maybe even yourself - who have
successfully reduced their body fat percentage, taken in their
belt a few notches, dropped a few pounds, and yet they STILL
don't have that rock-hard, flat-stomach six-pack look?
When you flip through the fitness magazines, you see awesome
abs everywhere, but when you go to the beach, the pool or the
park in the summer, how many sets of six pack abs do you
actually see in public?
You have to agree - a truly impressive set of six pack abs is a
rare sight. Why is it so hard to achieve the ripped abs look, and
how do you get it?
There is an answer...
Most people are either going about it completely wrong, or they
are on the right track, but their approach is incomplete.
The first place they stumble is that they believe ab exercises
alone will get them a six pack. Ab exercise strengthens and
develops the muscles but it does not necessarily remove the
body fat.
You could have great abdominal muscle development, and strength,
but if your body fat is too high, then you still will not be able
to see them.
This is because most of your fat is "subcutaneous" - which
means the fat is stored right UNDERNEATH your skin, but right
ON TOP of your muscles - covering up your muscle definition.
A good example of this is when a bodybuilder "bulks up" after
a competition, gaining excess fat. This bodybuilder already has
impressive muscle mass and abdominal development. The muscles
are still there - underneath - but when they get covered up
with fat they're no longer visible.
So, the #1 key to getting great abs is body fat reduction.
If your body fat is not low enough, you will never see your abs.
You need a method for reducing body fat to a level low enough
that allows your abdominals show through.
The ideal fat reduction method must include nutrition, cardio
training and strength training.
Ask yourself, are you leaving out any one of these critical
components?
Are you dieting without exercising? Are you doing cardio, but
not weight training? Are you training hard, but eating poorly?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are
going to have difficulty getting the six pack abs look until
you get all three into place at the same time.
Key #2 is to diet properly in a manner that is hormonally and
physiologically correct, in order to make sure you avoid hitting
a fat loss plateau.
It's common to get great results when you first start a program,
but then you hit a fat loss plateau within 4-12 weeks where fat
loss slows down or stops completely.
Sound familiar?
This happens because there is a lag time before your body
recognizes a severe calorie deficit and when it does, your body
fights back to maintain homeostasis.
Once your body starts getting clear signals that there's a food
shortage, your metabolic rate will decrease. Fat burning
hormones like leptin and thyroid will also decrease and the
appetite center in your brain will get turned up full blast.
This explains from a physiological point of view, why "the last
10 pounds" is such a drag to lose - it's because your body goes
into "starvation mode" before you get lean enough to see your abs.
How do you avoid starvation mode? Simple - don't starve
yourself! Most conventional diet programs are based on extreme
calorie restriction, which almost always works in the beginning,
and almost never works for long. There are exceptions. For
example, the entire Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program is based
on this premise:
It's better to burn the fat than to starve the fat (eat more,
burn more)
Key #3 to 6-pack abs and the body you want is to use the right
combination of cardio and strength training.
There are three different types of training you must do to get
great abs.
One is cardiovascular training to assist with the fat burning process.
The second is weight training - for your entire body - which will
increase lean body mass. Lean muscle is the engine that drives
your metabolism.
The third is the specific abdominal exercises.
Ab exercises alone don't work.
Diets alone don't work.
"Diets don't work" is more than a cliché, it is a physiological
truth. Exercise combined with nutrition is the answer, not one
or the other.
When you add the "mental training" component, which includes
setting goals properly, visualizing, and focusing your mind on
what you want (not what you want to avoid), this gives you the
motivation to stick with your exercise and nutrition program
more easily and consistently.
And there you have it... the fat burning, ab revealing formula.
Train hard and expect success!
Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle
Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle
About The Author
 Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat,
Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders
and Fitness Models. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder and fat loss
expert who achieved an astonishing 3.7% body fat level without drugs
or supplements. Discover how to increase your metabolism and burn
stubborn body fat, find out which foods burn fat and which foods
turn to fat, plus get a free fat loss report and mini course by
visiting Tom's site at www.BurnTheFat.com
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