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Spring hit the Washington, D.C. area this past weekend and with that the gym has become packed with people trying to get their beach bodies after long winter hibernation. It is not uncommon for me to go to the gym and see some Hefty Harry huffing and puffing away at some random abdominal or core machine. It’s probably wrong but I often laugh at this exercise in futility. If you’re 20 pounds overweight or more you’re not going to get six pack abs by slaving away doing crunches, or abusing the ab slider machines. That is not to say that you shouldn’t work on your core, but if you’re doing crunches and other abdominal workouts in order to get rock hard abs you’re wasting your time. You’d better be served gluing a poster of Mehcad’s Brooks abs to your stomach. Six pack abs are like girls, if you ignore them and focus on other things they’ll eventually come to you.

Genetics are bitch...

Great abdominal muscles are a combination of genetics, diet, and cardiovascular exercises. People often ask, me “How do I lose weight in my stomach?” The answer to that question is you can’t, there is no such thing as spot reduction, if you have fat stomach it’s probably because you have fat in other places of your body. Abdominal muscular definition only becomes apparent at about 11% body fat and less depending on genetics, and if you get it down to 8% you could be Calvin Klein underwear model. For females it is about 17% because women tend to have more body fat due to their fun bags. If you’re a female and you can get it down to 14% you’re going to give Scary Spice a run for her money.

You could iron your shirt on her abs...

I bet you’re probably wondering if crunches, sit-ups, and the various abdominal machines don’t work then what does. The answer is diet, cardio, and diet. In order to get great abs, you’re going to have to lower your overall body fat percentage, and the best way to do that is to run baby, run. However, in order to maximize your results, I have found that HIIT training and the stair mill are your two best friends. Using the tread mill on the fat burner or calorie burner setting, will melt the fat off your physique and give you an awesome workout. I have spoken about HIIT training before and information on it is all around the web. However, I have found doing HIIT in a fasted state produces excellent results. Additionally, lifting high reps and low weight will build muscle tone and help burn fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat so don’t be afraid to hit the weights and hit them hard.

Ridiculous...

Eat right and your tummy will stay tight

Exercise is just one part of great abs. The most important part of health and fitness is your diet. Remember, you are what you eat! In order to get abs, I would recommend a strict diet of little to no carbohydrates. Any and all carbs should be limited to the morning meals. Also lean meats such as chicken breast, turkey, and fish should be eaten along with a healthy dose of vegetables. Eating at least 5-7 times will help to speed up your metabolism and burn away that excess fat. Another thing to remember is that you should minimize sodium in your diet as they make your body retain water and will prevent you from seeing the results you want to see

If you have any more questions hit me up at jimgetsliminfo@gmail.com and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.