Sparklinpunk379’s BodyBlog

Achieving a six pack is a challenging goal, but sporting a washboard is also the ultimate fitness statement.  We all have a washboard stomach, but some of us just have a few piles of laundry on top of it (me included! lol).  Shaping your abs into a six pack is most definately a long term goal and it can be difficult to stay motivated on the journey.  Not only do you have to approach this goal with the right attitude, but you also need to educate yourself about what’s involved so that you can recognize progress along the way. 

There is a difference between building your abs and simply uncovering them.  If you’ve been working out for awhile, you probably already have a decent amount of ab strength; its just a matter of getting rid of the layers of fat that are covering it up.  There is no quick fix for this.  There is no such thing as spot reduction and thats why thousands of crunches every day wont produce the results that you want.  After all, you wouldn’t do that many bicep curls day after day without any weight; building muscle is about more weight and less reps.  You must continuously challenge your body!!!

 Abs are made in the kitchen.  You can work as hard as you want, but if your diet is poor, your progress will be slow.  Its not all about the scale; its about body fat.  You may very well have extra weight to lose, but it might be a matter of toning- which is reflected less on the scale than in a bf percentage reading.  A controlled/clean diet of whole grains, lean proteins, vegetables, and non-processed foods that create a calorie deficit will get you to your goal more quickly.  No one said that this is easy- reaching for a protein shake when you really want a Krispy Kreme donut takes a lot of willpower.  The motivational thing about diet is taht its easy to track.  Many people think that a six pack just isnt attainable because it doesnt happen right away, so they wind up sabotaging themselves.  If you stick with it and find small milestones, im sure you will be able to keep going!!!

With that said, you have to be ready for a complete lifestyle change.  Its easy to procrastinate and keep saying tomorrow or next week, or next year.  THE IDEAL TIME IS NOW!  After you make the necessary changes, its time to stick to your plan.  There are no quick fixes, gimmicks, or anything else that promises immediate results.  Endless crunches wont get you close to your goal- full body workouts wll.  You wont burn enough calories working your abs alone.  Circuit workouts work great for this with exercises that work the core.  Weight training is an excellent way to build total body strength.

Even though I dont have my own set of abs yet, I am determined to put in the work to get there.  No one said that it would be easy waking up an extra hour every morning to get in another session of cardio, devoting ten minutes of my workout routine each day to build a strong core, or passing on all of the holiday treats that Im sure are going to start popping up more and more in my office.  Its been almost a year since I started devoting more time to the gym and preparing for a fitness show, and still my abs have not popped.  After being frustrated for months, I decided to switch things up and get a new trainer.  I am sure he is going to lead me on the path to fitness success…and remove all the laundry covering my washboard!  Im going to be ready to wear my own set of abs as my fitness statement and the transformation begins now! 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 2:02 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.