In order to see sculpted abs on your stomach, you need to do exercises for the abdominal muscles. But this is not enough.
If you do not remove excess fat from the abdomen, even a well-pumped abs will be hidden under the thickness of the fat layer. Therefore, physical exercise must be combined with a low-calorie diet.
The following should be excluded from the menu or significantly limited in it:
- fatty and fried foods, smoked foods, fast food - everything related to fats;
- baked goods, white bread, sweets and milk chocolate - everything that belongs to simple carbohydrates;
- alcohol, energy drinks and any carbonated drinks - they do not contain fats, but contain sugar and carbohydrates in large quantities;
- salt and salty, spicy foods - they retain fluid in the body.
Exercises for the abdominal muscles are recommended to be performed every other day or at least 2-3 times a week.
Rules for performing exercises for the abdominal muscles:
- your back should be kept round, without arching in the lower back;
- When performing all abdominal exercises, only the abdominal muscles should work in isolation; there should be no tension in the lower back and legs.
How to remove belly fat so that your abs are visible - you need to do exercises aimed at burning excess subcutaneous fat, and not at strengthening muscles, although these things are interrelated. Therefore, abdominal exercises are performed with a large number of repetitions and maximum amplitude. You don’t have to count the number of repetitions at all, but perform each exercise until you feel a burning sensation in your abdominal muscles.
Myth 1: “You can burn fat on your sides/belly”
There is a myth that it is supposedly possible to burn fat locally, remove “ears” on the sides, burn fat only on the stomach through special exercises or massages, etc.
Unfortunately, this is not entirely true.
When the body needs energy, and you haven’t eaten for a long time, and the level of glucose in the blood is quite low, the energy is provided, among other things, by triglycerides, which are located inside fat cells. That is, a fat droplet is released from the cell, and fatty acids enter the bloodstream and are transported to disposal sites, for example, muscles or other organs.
Thus, the fat burning process occurs throughout the body, and not locally.
I wrote a separate article with research about local fat burning: “The terrible secret of local fat burning”
There was also a mention of a study in which a group of people trained their legs , and their upper body lost weight , that’s an interesting observation.)
Study reference: Campillo RR, Andrade DC, Campos Jara C, Olguín CH, Lepin CA, Izquierdo M. Regional Fat Changes Induced By Localized Muscle Endurance Resistance Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012
Well, and, perhaps, a very old study from 1983, which has probably already become a classic confirmation that performing regular sit-ups does not lead to a reduction in fat cells on the abdomen , I will still leave the link.
Study reference: 1983 Journal Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Effects of Sit up Exercise Training on Adipose Cell Size and Adiposity
Summarizing
Most people are also interested in whether it is possible to lose weight by doing abs? Certainly! Does the proposed complex help? Undoubtedly! Properly designed systematic training and work on yourself will help you achieve the desired results in just a couple of months. By defeating laziness and doubt, you will become the owner of the body of your dreams very soon. If you have difficulty creating a training program, seek help from a professional trainer. A specialist in this field will help you create a set of exercises and tell you how to remove fat from the abs in your particular case. Improve yourself and always become better!
Myth 2: “Crunches are the most effective abdominal exercise”
Classic crunches are not the most effective exercise . There is an article on the t-nation.com website by Bret Contreras, he is a fairly well-known Western trainer. In this article, he describes his research in which he analyzed the effectiveness of various abdominal exercises using the EMG method, special sensors read the degree of excitation of muscle fibers. And as it turns out, twisting is far from the most effective exercise. For example, an abdominal roller exercise creates tension in the rectus abdominis muscle on average 80% more than classic crunches . Or the same pull-ups engage the abdominal muscles no worse than crunches.
I have already translated his article, so you can see a more detailed table with peak and average load on various abdominal muscles here: “The most effective abdominal exercises”
Link to English article INSIDE THE MUSCLES: BEST AB EXERCISES
There is another study, also using the EMG method, which compared 5 different abdominal exercises. The most effective was not crunching, but an exercise with a roller .
Study link: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: December 2010 Electromyographic Response of the Abdominal Musculature to Varying Abdominal Exercises
But here it is important to understand that in addition to the load on the muscle itself, the time under load is also important. Therefore, use different exercises, this will help vary the load, plus it is psychologically easier to do different exercises than the same routine. And remember that some exercises may be contraindicated for you, so choosing the right exercises is also a safe approach to training.
Serious consequences or how to quickly remove alcohol from the body
Any event can fly by quickly and cheerfully in a noisy company of friends with an abundance of delicious snacks and a sea of alcoholic drinks. But such entertaining evenings tend to leave behind unpleasant consequences in the form of a severe hangover. Unfortunately, at such a moment the headache hurts so much that it is difficult to put thoughts together to find an answer to the question of how to quickly remove alcohol from the body.
A hangover occurs due to intoxication of the body, so it is important to take measures to reduce the volume of harmful substances in the blood. Not every person is able to cope with this, but if you want to have fun, you need to be prepared for a hangover in advance and know how to quickly remove alcohol from the body. Otherwise, it can be fraught with health risks, especially for those who already suffer from it.
Myth 3: “You need to pump up your abs every workout”
Doing abdominal exercises every day is effective for improving the endurance and strength of the abdominal muscles, but is absolutely useless in terms of burning belly fat and creating six-pack abs.
If you want to reduce your waist, then first of all you need to focus on eating in a calorie deficit, and only then pay attention to various exercises. In this case, the priority is cardio/aerobic training, which allows you to burn more calories and speed up the fat burning process.
Study results: changes in body weight, fat percentage in a group of people who performed abdominal exercises for 6 weeks (5 days a week) and groups of people who did not. No significant effect was found in changes in body weight or fat percentage.
Comparison of changes in results in abdominal exercises in the same groups of people. The group that did abdominal exercises showed a significant increase in abdominal strength and endurance.
Study link: 2011 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The Effect of Abdominal Exercise on Abdominal Fat
A selection of exercises
A calorie deficit combined with training will help you achieve the desired result and those treasured lower abs. If you have not done these exercises before, start with 30 seconds and gradually increase the time.
Plank “Legs together - legs apart”
Feet together, plank resting on your forearms. We push our legs apart and then return them to their original position. The body remains motionless.
Shoulder Touch Plank
While lying down, alternately touch your palms to the opposite shoulder.
Plank with transition to prone position
While in a prone position, first with one hand, then with the other, move to straight arms in a prone position. Maintain a straight body position.
While resting on your forearms, alternately straighten and extend your right arm and left leg in line with your body. Then vice versa.
Source
What percentage of body fat do you need to have for six pack abs?
What does 30% body fat look like (look at the photo)
If you ask about the normal percentage of body fat, it is different for everyone.
But there is a purely medical definition. For example, for men between 20 and 39 years of age, a body fat percentage above 25% is classified as obese. For men 40 years and older, this figure is 28%. It is also believed that 30% body fat in both men and women puts them at risk. This means they have an extremely high risk of cardiovascular disease and heart problems.
Are you asking how to calculate your body fat percentage? First of all, let's look at body weight. Unless you are a bodybuilder or athlete, a high reading usually indicates high body fat. In this case, a doctor's consultation is necessary. And knowing where fat goes when losing weight.
What does 25% body fat look like (look at the photo)
Another milestone in identifying an unhealthy body type.
25% is not such a big figure, but it still shows in relation to men that we are dealing with excess weight. However, this figure shows that the body's muscle mass can be quite large. In general, a person with 25% body fat will still look fat. And his abdominal muscles will be covered with subcutaneous fat.
What is 20% body fat and what can be said about it (see photo)
This is the point where things start to look a little more promising. In this case, the person will look like a person of average build. And the ratio of fat to muscle mass is already healthier.
Nutrition and training rules for relief
- Let's start with muscle hypertrophy. If an athlete is a beginner, his first stage of creating relief will be strength training or mass work. Naturally, during this period all the muscles of the body are worked symmetrically, but we will talk specifically about the press. In this case, it may take 3-6 months for the cubes to grow. During this period, the muscles should be loaded with sufficient weight, performing 8 to 12 repetitions of 3-4 sets.
- If you can feel those same cubes under the layer of subcutaneous fat, it’s time to work on relief, or more precisely, on endurance. This is the opposite of the previous training regimen. To gain definition, perform high repetitions with low to moderate loads. The number of repetitions will be from 15 to 30, the number of approaches: 3-4.
- Once you start working on relief, you need to immediately reconsider your diet. To do this, you need to reduce the amount of carbohydrates in your diet and start counting them. To obtain relief, the approximate daily requirement for carbohydrates will be 2 g per kilogram of body weight. Over time (3-4 weeks), if the results are unsatisfactory, you can reduce the substance to 1.5 g per 1 kg of body weight.
- Train 3 times a week during the period of mass gain, since the muscles must have time to recover for anabolism. But it’s the same with terrain, there’s no point in overtraining. Exercise at least every other day. Instead of the fourth workout, do cardio exercises, which will additionally burn fat. The optimal time for cardio exercise is 40-60 minutes.
- The moment you see satisfactory results, do not immediately return to your usual diet and do not indulge in sweets. Otherwise, you will return to the original result, accumulating new fat and swelling in addition. Add foods to your diet gradually, or better yet, maintain a balanced diet and give up sugar. Read more about proper nutrition →
Reduce your carbohydrate intake
Following a proper diet is one of the conditions for beautiful abs.
Carbohydrates in the diet are necessary for energy, but consuming more of them than necessary will lead to an increase in body fat. When your body's carbohydrate reserves are replenished, the excess sugar turns into fat. If you reduce your carbohydrate intake, your body will be forced to burn stored fat for energy. To achieve this effect, you need carbohydrates to make up less than 50% of your total daily calorie intake. When choosing foods containing carbohydrates, take those with a low glycemic index (cereals, durum pasta, vegetables, etc.).
What does this depend on?
Without a doubt, you know that it is impossible to remove fat in one place (excluding, of course, surgical operations) and leave other places as they were. In addition, it is no secret that combining the consumption of “harmful” foods: fast food, a little beer after work, sweet desserts with an insignificant amount of physical exercise will not lead to a decrease in the body fat content of either a man or a woman. In this case, it is useful to know 10 ways to reduce your appetite for weight loss.
To get the coveted abs on your stomach, you have to go through a difficult path. And give up a lot of things that make your life enjoyable today. But don't let that scare you. You may be closer to your goal than you think.
Below are six typical examples of the male body to help you determine how quickly you can get your perfect abs. Also included below are some recommendations on how to find out your body fat percentage and how to effectively reduce it.
How to remove belly fat so you can see your abs
In order to see sculpted abs on your stomach, you need to do exercises for the abdominal muscles. But this is not enough.
If you do not remove excess fat from the abdomen, even a well-pumped abs will be hidden under the thickness of the fat layer. Therefore, physical exercise must be combined with a low-calorie diet.
