I’ve been away for a few days, I’ve been spending a few days on the beach, the weather is hot, summer is on its way and I love the beach, the European soccer championship also started and so far everything is going well. Portugal won the first two games and the quality of the tournament is still good.
Anyway, being on the beach made me want to write about abs, I wish a lot of people could have a good six pack to show off, but that’s not the case. Most people are still doing everything wrong when it comes to abdominal training. In the gym or at the park, I still see most people doing hundreds of sit-ups and leg lifts, hoping to burn belly fat with it. In the gym I see something else that I think is even worse, I see trainees doing those exercises with weights and that’s a very, very bad idea.
I’ll start to tell you why it’s a bad idea, because using weights will make your abs grow, and that will make you look bloated, your belly will be big and thick, and you don’t want that, what you want is a slim waist and defined abs.
Doing hundreds of reps won’t do you any good either, high reps don’t give your muscles any definition and won’t burn fat, so stop wasting your time for nothing. First of all, to have defined abs, you must have less than 10% body fat, and for this you must eat well and do your cardio.
This post won’t be about nutrition, but eating right means no saturated fat and a low carb diet. If you need to lose a lot of fat, make it a low calorie diet too. Drink a lot of water, at least 2 L per day, eat a lot of vegetables, make vegetables the center of your diet, also eat good proteins and healthy fats, the best source that combines both is fish.
Now abdominal training, I only do two exercises and I think that’s all anyone needs. The first is the plank, you get into the push-up position, but instead of supporting your body with your hands, you do it with your forearms, you keep your body tense and try to hold the position for at least 30 seconds if your beginner. Try adding more time each day and doing more sets.
Sucking your stomach is an exercise that works the internal muscles of the abdominal wall, and those muscles when they are strong help you to reach your goal of a slim waist. In this exercise, contract your stomach as if you want to bring it together with your back, try to keep your abs tight. Try to hold it for 30 seconds, as with the irons, try to add seconds and sets every day. You will be tempted to hold your breath, but you can breathe and you should 🙂
Both exercises are isometric and will make your abs are toned and defined, but to be visible do not forget that you need to burn that belly fat, and for that, the most important thing is what you eat, how you eat and cardio.
Good luck, have patience and perseverance, you will get it.