The truth about getting a six pack

Everyone has a six pack, yes even you!
Take a look down at your belly, what do you see?

Washboard abs or a belly full of fat?

If you have answered the latter you have come to the right place. In this article I will point out some of the blatant lies you have been told and I will map out some simple but highly effective ways of getting a six pack

In order to get the six pack that you deserve, there are a few golden rules we have to follow. Before I get into that, let’s take a look at where traditional methods fail;

Fail 1. ‘Steady state cardio’ i.e. jogging

Doing hours and hours of steady state cardio is possibly one of the least effective ways to achieving the six pack. First off it raises you cortisol levels (a catabolic hormone responsible for the breakdown of muscle). Secondly it doesn’t boost your metabolism resulting in fat loss and finally there is a big chance of an injury. How many runners do you know that are continually complaining about niggles in there back or a tight achilles tendon. Some people are just not designed to run.

Solution: Interval training

The reason why interval training works so well for burning belly fat is that it challenges your body through intensity, leading to a huge boost in your metabolism.


Fail 2. Doing endless crunches and sit ups
I know people that do 500 plus crunches everyday. Guess what…..they don’t have a six pack. The abdominals are somewhat of a small muscle compared to lets say the legs. In order to burn fat you must work large amounts of muscle. The more muscle you can use at one time, the more calories from fat you will burn and the better the metabolic response. Look at it this way

Crunches: muscles used = abs (that’s it)

Deadlift: muscles used = hamstrings, glutes, quads, TVA, erector spine, lats, rhomboids and traps.

There is a huge difference between the two exercises. All in all the deadlift will recruit hundreds and hundreds of muscle fibres. Versus the crunch which will only recruit a very small number.

Solution: Use compound movements
When selecting exercises for a six pack make sure you choose the biggest bang for you buck exercises such as squats, deadlift, lunges, push ups and pull ups. These exercises will all use your core muscles to stabilise your body but will also shed large amounts of abdominal fat.

Fail 3. So called ‘health foods’
So called health foods are everywhere. What would you think if you found out all the foods you were told were healthy such as porridge oats, muesli, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, rye bread, potatoes and soy milk were actually the reasons you’re still fat or you’re getting fatter!

These foods all belong to the carbohydrate family with an exception of soy milk (protein). There is nothing wrong with carbohydrates, however an average serving of porridge or pasta will contain around 50g of carbohydrates. These 50 grams will quickly convert to sugar and be stored as body fat. Compare this to broccoli, you would have to eat around 5 bowls of broccoli to have the same effect.

‘A chemical compound derived from glucose turns fatty acids (the "burnable" kind of fat) into triglycerides, (the "storable" form of fat). Anything that works to transport glucose into fat cells works to deposit fat. And what transports glucose in fat cells? - Insulin. When insulin is secreted or chronically elevated, fat accumulates in fat tissue. When insulin levels drop, fat escapes from fat tissue and the fat depots shrink.’ Gary Taubes