If you've been training at the gym to get a six pack and build
muscle but are seeing little results, try making these changes to your
workout so your midsection looks amazing!
Work Many Muscle Groups
If
you want to train for a six pack, you want to maximise the fat burning
effect in the exercises you do. This means doing intense exercises with
multiple muscle groups across the entire body for
maximum fat loss!
Why
should you train this way? It's called the EPOC (excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption) or afterburn effect, where you can burn fat after
your workout (even when you're resting) for up to days after your
workout! The greater the intensity of your workout, the greater the fat
burning effect!
To make sure your workout is intense, do compound
movements! This means bench presses, squats, deadlifts, dips and
chin-ups! When you activate more muscle groups at a high intensity and
work rate, your body needs to burn more fat to recover your muscles,
balance your hormones and refuel!
Compound movements involve a higher
workload than isolations (such as bicep curls and many machine
exercises) because more muscle fibres are activated and more force is
required to complete each action!
To make sure your workout is
intense, do a whole-body workout! This works along the same principle as
choosing compound movements over isolations... when you work your whole
body vs. a few muscle groups, your body needs to burn more fat to
recover all of those different muscle groups!
Increase Protein Intake
This
tip may not be for everyone - but consider the amount of protein in
your diet. Are you eating lots of poultry, fish, beef, pork and other
meats? Or is most of your diet made up of things from the carb variety?
If
you've grown up on a low or medium protein diet, increasing your
protein intake may have a MASSIVE effect on your body's ability to store
muscle and burn fat. This is because many of the amino acids you ingest
when you eat protein help encourage the processes of muscle building
and fat storage. The protein leucine helps keep you full, so you eat
less empty calories (keeping you trimmer) and the amino acids arginine,
ornithiene and lysine help your body secrete growth hormone, which is a
vital signal for your body to build muscle and burn fat as energy.
Increase
your protein intake by eating lots of meats from lean sources, such as
poultry, fish, eggs and lean beef. Additionally, nuts and tofu are great
sources of protein for snacks.
My favourite protein power-food is
whey protein, a powdered form of the liquid by-product of cheese
making. If you've seen people at the gym with their coloured shakes or
buying protein drinks from the counter, most likely they're taking in
whey protein.
Whey can be up to 90% protein (in isolate form) and
is a great low-fat, low-carb protein source! It also has mood-boosting
properties and is fast absorbing. Consider whey protein supplementation
to boost your daily protein intake!
Do Cardio!
Especially
if you have endomorph body-type tendencies, that is, you will store fat
at any opportunity, cardio is a great way to make sure you keep trim!
For
many people, a cardio program alone will NOT be enough to get enough
fat loss for a six pack.
However, along with a weight training program
that boosts your metabolism for an extended period of time, cardio can
help put your fat burning into overdrive!
Just like in your
weights workout, you must ensure that your cardio is at an intense
level. Generally, the greater intensity and higher oxygen output your
cardio, the more overall fat you'll burn in the workout. However, if you
are just starting out cardio, don't be afraid to train your body up. It
make take some weeks of training before you can push your body at a
high intensity!
Eat Protein Post-Workout
To
ensure you're building muscle and burning fat at your maximum-rate
post-workout, make sure you eat a high-protein meal after any
high-intensity workout, especially weight training sessions!
By
the end of a session, your body will be in a catabolic state, breaking
down muscle tissue for energy. Eating a high protein meal of lean meats
or a whey protein drink will ensure that your body has the fuel to
repair and grow muscle tissues, not break it down for recovery.
That's It!
If
six pack abs are the thing you really want, that's how you start to
adjust your workout and lifestyle for maximum fat loss and some muscle
building! A high-protein diet and intense exercise activating as many
muscle groups as possible is key in creating a fat burning stimulus that
will get your abs looking super awesome!
Remember, there's always
more you can do to maximise fat loss and it's all nutrition and
discipline! Cut the foods that put on fat and eat clean, natural foods
to get accelerate six pack results!
If you want free, step-by-step instructions for six pack abs,
sign up for your 7 Day Six Pack Super Course at
Free Six Pack Guide! You'll also get heaps of workouts, meal plans and motivation!
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