Six Pack Crunches, Ab Workouts, Ab Machines … All Mantras For Over A Decade Of Fitness Products And Weight Loss Ads In The US How Many Variations Of The Ab-Name-Goes Ab Machine -Here, the stomach tightener, or whatever you want to call it, have they been marketed and sold under the motto of giving the wearer a six pack of sit-ups? Then there are the limitless magazine articles with headlines like “Best Abs Workouts,” “How To Get Perfect Abs,” or “Tighter Stomach In Just 10 Days.” If aliens landed on earth, these would be some of the first sentences they would learn, at least in English.
Here’s the truth of the matter that anyone who has had a good, solid year of fitness and weight training can tell you: Ripped abs are as much about what and how much you eat as they are about how you exercise your abs.
I remember a “wise older training master meets newbie” occurrence that happened just a few feet from where I was working out one afternoon at the gym. (It was, of course, around the abs machines). A solid, well-defined young man, clearly dedicated to what he was doing, asked an older member who had a more defined set of abs how he got them. The young man protested that he was going crazy doing every abs workout the gurus recommended, but he still wasn’t getting the results he thought he should because of the work he was doing.
Don’t get me wrong: I had a relatively flat stomach, and I’m sure most people would love to have it. It just didn’t match his arms, chest, or legs, which were clearly top-notch for a serious fitness enthusiast.
The wise old man stopped what he was doing, shook his head and chuckled, then said, “I’m not laughing at you. You wouldn’t believe how many times people ask me that. Actually, three things are happening.” . here. You’re already doing all the workouts you need, so that cuts it down to two. One is genetic and you can’t do anything about it. The other part is diet. I don’t care how much you work your abs, if you’re eating too much or eating the wrong foods, you won’t see a six pack.
Okay, I know you’re probably not targeting a fitness abs model, but I’m giving this example to clarify just how critical the diet component is. Everyone who makes and markets those abs training devices knows this too. Just look at the ad carefully and you will see that each product includes a useful diet program to accompany abdominal exercises. At some point during the infomercial, or in the ad copy if it’s a print ad, they make it perfectly clear that if you want to achieve the flat stomach of your dreams, you will need to follow their dietary guidelines as well.
You have no idea how many guys and girls are out there with six pack abs like a textbook, but no one has ever seen them because they are hidden under a layer (or two or three) of fat.
The other thing they are not telling you: there is no “one-off reduction”. You cannot concentrate fat loss in the abdominal region through exercise. The calorie burn that accompanies any form of muscle training affects your entire body, which means your gut-busting abs workout will likely be apparent on your face first. Then, depending on factors beyond your control (genetics), you will lose weight in other parts of your body, the order of which may differ slightly from person to person.
Do not misunderstand. If you’re working your abs hard, you’re certainly strengthening them, and that’s a good thing. But they can stay hidden under belly fat until it’s time for your body to shed some of it.
For men, ironically, the last place you can see the effects of your weight loss exercise program is your abdominal area. As we all know by now, Mother Nature has programmed men to store fat in the stomach area. Women suffer it mainly in the hips and also in the abdominals. Mother Nature doesn’t give a damn that you look like a fitness model. She will keep something extra around her waist just to be safe.
In the final analysis, abs are overrated and too hard to come by. When it comes to developing a stronger abdominal section, unless you are genetically gifted in this area, it is probably best to focus on diet control and balanced workouts, which lead to good weight control and better health. Let abs development creep up on you over time. If you can control your diet and get aerobic and weight training in your workouts, you can develop a stronger, flatter abdominal area, which is an achievement you can be proud of.