The rate you develop six-pack abs will depend on your mental strength as much as anything else. You will need to tone the muscle of self-discipline if you are to achieve success in this part of your life. Six-packs are not just a product of thousands of ab crunches. Those that achieve ripped abs have also put a lot of work into their cardio sessions and diet.
Eating Right
It goes without saying, junk food is off the menu. Replace these sugary and high fat treats with nutritious foods, which are going to help you build muscle without also putting on excess fat stores. Make sensible and healthy choices when eating out. Replace high calorie drinks like soda and latte with plenty of water. The Institute of Medicine notes that 3.7 and 2.7 liters a day should be consumed by men and women, respectively.
Meal Planning
Meal planning is essential. Make sure you eat little and often in order to keep a constant supply of energy and to quicken the metabolism. You should aim for between five and six meals a day. The number of calories you will need to consume per day will be dependent on your size and whether you need to gain or lose weight.
Cardio
You don't need a gym membership to perform an effective cardio routine. Road running and cycling are excellent fat burners. Apply interval training, sometimes called HIIT, to your cardio workout, as cited by MayoClinic.com. This involves running or cycling at maximum work rate for a short period, say 30 seconds, and then returning to moderate work for 1 minute. Repeat throughout the session.
Crunches
You can make up a crunch routine that doesn't require gym equipment. The Full Fitness website has a detailed list of ab exercises. Be sure to do at least one exercise that targets the upper abs, one for the lower abs and one for the obliques. Examples would be sit-ups, reverse crunch and crunch twists. As you become stronger these exercises will become easier, and so you will need to add resistance weights to maintain intensity.
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