Fitness expert Jeff Nippard is back offering up his best advice for achieving the highly sought after six-pack of abs. In a recent YouTube video, Nippard walked fans through his science-based approach to building a shredded midsection.
As a thriving coach and fitness influencer, Jeff Nippard’s ability to offer unique and evidence-based workout tips has turned him into a star. The Canadian native boasts over 3.8 million YouTube subscribers, where he regularly offers guidance on wellness, exercise, nutrition, and weight loss.
Aside from his online ventures, Nippard became a successful natural bodybuilder and powerlifter, holding several achievements and records. He earned the 2012 Mr. Junior Canada title and held the national record for bench press in his weight class.
Jeff Nippard Shares 3 Science-Based Tools for Getting Abs
- Training
- Nutrition
- Supplements
Nippard lays out exactly how he intends to help you define your abs using a nutrition, supplement, and training plan.
“First, how to train your abs optimally using just two exercises, second, how to adjust your diet. I’ll help you calculate exactly how much fat you need to lose and how to set up your diet to mathematically guarantee that you get there as long as you follow the plan. And third, the supplements I recommend that are actually worth your money.”
“It’s popular these days to say that ab training is a waste of time because the argument goes, you can train them as much as you want if you’re not lean enough, you won’t see the definition anyway. But I disagree. Imagine applying this logic to any other muscle, it’d be like saying don’t train your shoulders because unless you’re lean enough, you’re not going to see the definition anyway.”
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Training
Exercise 1 – Cable Crunch
First, Nippard explained how to perform a cable crunch.
“Loading the ab muscles with weight and to build your best six-pack you really only need two exercises. One weight-loaded crunch and one leg raise. That’s it. For the loaded crunch you can do a cable crunch where you grab a rope kneel down and crunch while allowing your lower back to round as you squeeze your abs.”
“If you don’t have a cable, you can do plate-loaded crunches.”
Exercise 2 – Leg raises
For the second exercise, Nippard went over how to complete leg raises.
“For some lower abs bias, you should at a leg raise. These you can do them hanging from a pull up bar or you can use a Roman chair. I like the Roman chair variation better because it keeps my lower back locked in which allows me to direct attention to my abs better. If you can’t do a straight leg leg raise yet, you can do bent knee raises instead,” explains Jeff Nippard.
Breakdown:
- Volume: 3 sets 10-20 reps
- Frequency: twice a week
- Intensity: last set to failure
Full Training Plan
“You hit your abs twice per week and then you can shuffle the days around to whatever fits your schedule the best. It would also be smart to include some cardio in your plan even if it isn’t required for fat loss.”
- Monday – Weighted crunches 3 sets 10-12 reps/ Leg raise 3 sets 10-20 reps
- Tuesday –
- Wednesday –
- Thursday – Weighted crunches 3 sets 10-12 reps/ Leg raise 3 sets 10-20 reps
- Friday –
Nutrition
Next, Nippard opened up on the nutritional demands necessary for sculpting a six-pack.
“Let’s set up your six-pack diet. It’s very simple. Take your current body weight in pounds and multiply it by 10 to 12. That’s how many calories you’ll eat. Then take your goal body weight also in pounds and multiply it by 0.8 – 1, that’s how much protein you’ll eat. Make sure you eat at least 50 grams of fat per day, whatever is left over, are free calories. They can be carbs, fats, or a protein.”
He also shared a common mistake made by those aiming to dial in their midsection.
“Now, the biggest mistake that I see people make on a fat loss phase is cutting too fast. This is a near guaranteed way to not only lose muscle and strength but rebound all the weight back as soon as the diet is over for a sustainable fat loss, you want to lose about 0.5 to 1 percent of your body weight per week.”
Supplements
As for supplementation, Nippard listed his big three below:
- Protein powder
- Creatine Monohydrate
- Caffeine
“The first is a protein powder. This isn’t required but it can make hitting your total daily protein intake a lot easier. I’ll usually have a 30-50 gram protein shake immediately after training not because there’s a super time-sensitive anabolic window but simply because it’s an easy way for me to boost my daily total.
The second is creatine monhydrate. I take five grams every day. It doesn’t seem to matter when you take it and you don’t need to cycle on and off. Decades of research have shown no negative side effects and it’s one of the only legal supplements that actually offers a meaningful boost in both strength and muscle mass,” said Jeff Nippard.
Nippard praised the thermogenic properties of caffeine and suggested taking it only on days when its needed.
“The third is caffeine, I personally take a pre-workout supplement for this but if you don’t want to take pre-workout for whatever reason, coffee or caffeine tablets can get the job done. Caffeine does have a small thermogenic effect and it does seem to burn some extra calories but it isn’t clear if it translates to significantly more fat loss for the long term.”
“I take it because it helps me feel more focused and alert during training. You do develop a tolerance to caffeine though so I would suggest only taking it on days when you feel like you really need it.”
This wasn’t Nippard’s first science-based exercise demonstration. He unveiled his ‘5-point checklist’ for achieving the perfect squat, emphasizing the importance of bar placement, lock-outs, stance width, depth, and the bar’s path.
Taking a comprehensive approach to fitness, Jeff Nippard has become a valuable resource for anyone aiming to level up their physique. He believes with these science-based tips, you’ll be on your way to unlocking a more impressive midsection.
Watch the full video from Jeff Nippard’s YouTube channel below:
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