What does it take to get ripped abs? We think you’ll find it’s not all that complicated. With a little planning and follow through you’ll have the waistline of your dreams.
A Reality Check
They won’t be seen unless you’re lean!
You will not get ripped abs with sit ups alone. Tough ab workouts will create defined and hard abdominal muscles that will never be seen unless you are lean…Period.
What good are hard abdominal muscles if they’re buried under a blanket of belly fat?
Even the best ab workout must be combined with a healthy diet that will lower your body fat to lean levels. We’re talking under 12% for men and under 15% for women. That’s just for starters.
If you really want ripped abs we’re talking single digit body fat numbers. That’s just reality. You can’t change that fact in spite of what the latest ab gadget commercial tells you.
What you need is a complete plan of action.
A Complete Plan Includes:
Determination
Diet
Exercise
These are actually in order of importance. Notice that exercise is last? This is because if you lack either of the first two, then exercise isn’t going to matter.
Let’s break these down…
Determination:
Determination is the most important part of getting a six pack mid section. Knowledge is great, but you won’t get anywhere without putting that knowledge to work. Most people do not get what they want in life because they fail to follow through. It doesn’t matter how much you know if you don’t take action and stick with it!.
Iron Age bodybuilding champion Dr. Richard Baldwin sums it up nicely while sharing his “secret” to staying very lean even into his 60’s!
Baldwin says, “I don’t do anything special other than doing what others know they should do but don’t.”
Simple right? Find the best workout and diet, follow through, and don’t give up!
Diet:
Ripped abs are made primarily in the kitchen! There are so many diets out there we can’t name them all here. However, for a diet to work it has to do one inevitable thing. It has to provide you with less calories than you burn. There is no way around that.
All weight loss diets are variations trying to accomplish this. Many are silly and will not work. Some will work but are imbalanced, unhealthy, short term, or just plain dangerous. Yet a few are sensible, healthy, and able to be followed life long. Here is one such approach that will get you lean without feelings of hunger or deprivation. The bodybuilding diet can help accomplish this while also building muscle.
Exercise
You can get lean with diet alone. To get ripped you need diet and exercise.
You will want to combine aerobic and anaerobic exercise to help you get ripped abs. This will both create and reveal great abdominal muscles to the best possible degree.
Anaerobic, or weight training exercise will build muscle. Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise will work together with a fat burning diet to quickly get you lean and beyond.
Aerobic Exercise
Create an aerobic or “cardio” exercise routine and follow it religiously for maximum payoff. Remember, determination and follow through right?
The amount of aerobic exercise needed will vary with individual body type, condition, and the level of leanness you’re striving for. Your idea of ripped might not be the same as someone else.
Don’t try to compensate for a poor diet with excessive cardio exercise though. Cardio work should only complement a fat burning diet.
Anaerobic Exercise
Weight training is a crucial component of getting very lean. Why? Because your metabolism is based on your lean body mass. That is basically the amount of muscle you have. Most calories are burned in the muscles. This occurs even during rest. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn 24 hours per day and the easier it is to get lean.
To get lean enough to have ripped abs you’ll want to build muscle everywhere and not just focus on ab workouts. Here are samples of basic muscle building workouts. Combine these with a good ab routine to get the ripped abs you desire.
Endless sit ups and thousands of twists or leg raises are just not needed for proper ab development. Choose your favorite exercises and treat them as any other muscle group. Keep the reps higher but not excessive. 12-25 rep sets are plenty and more than 50 isn’t necessary.
Here’s a sample ab routine you could combine with an overall muscle building routine.
As with any other exercise, use progressive resistance. That is, try to increase reps and or weight progressively from workout to workout.
If you have built your abs to the maximum degree, maintain them with as little direct work as needed. A few sets of crunches with an occasional set of weighted incline sit ups or an abdominal machine may be all you’ll need.
If this is the case, focus more on diet or cardio to bring your body fat levels down until you have the abs you’re after.
Summary
To get ripped abs it takes a little planning and, most importantly, follow through. The right diet combined with cardio and weight training will build and reveal that sought after six pack.
Good Luck and don’t give up!
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