6-pack abs are a visible sign of strong abdominal muscles. 6-pack abs and a tight waist line are aesthetically pleasing and illustrate the discipline and effort you have put into building a lean muscular body. Strong abdominal muscles are critical for a strong core and minimize the risk of lower back problems.
Considerations
Doing a lot of ab exercises will not give you 6-pack abs.The key to 6-pack abs is a low level of body fat. Abdominal muscles are built by a combination of dietary discipline and carefully structured exercise. Low levels of body fat give your abdominal muscles definition and visibility.
Diet
Do not eat excessive calories. Eliminate processed and refined foods from your diet. These include fast foods, sodas, alcohol and simple carbohydrates. These foods provide rapidly absorbed energy, which add to fat deposits on your stomach. Eat complex carbs such as whole grains, sweet potatoes and yams for sustained energy for your workouts. Eat lean protein such as lean cuts of meat, chicken, fish, beans, and legumes. Eat omega-3 fats from flax seed oil, nuts and avocados, which help your body metabolize fat.
Strength Training
Do strength training three times a week. Do whole body routines, 10 to 12 reps per exercise, with a maximum of three sets per exercise . Include exercises such as dead lifts, bench press, squats, and clean and press in your routine. These will build lean muscle mass to help keep your metabolism high.
Cardiovascular Exercises
Reduce your overall body fat levels with cardio exercise. However, beware the danger of excessive cardio, which may cause muscle loss. Muscle loss lowers metabolism and makes fat loss harder. Do 15 to 20 minutes cardio as a warm up before each strength training workout. Do high intensity interval training, or HIIT, twice a week. For example, on a treadmill, warm up with a five-minute jog. Sprint for 60 seconds, then slow down into a brisk walk for 90 seconds. Repeat the sprint, then walk sequence four times or more. HIIT can blast your metabolism into fat-burning overdrive to melt away fat on your abdominals
Ab Exercises
Do ab exercises with your strength training routine. Exercises should include crunches and hanging knee raises. When doing crunches, ensure your lower back retains contact with the floor. Exhale forcibly and tense your ab muscles.as you raise your trunk up. To do hanging leg raises, hang from a pull-up bar, cross your ankles and lift your knees towards your chin. Exhale as you lift and tense your ab muscles. Do maximum reps for each exercise. For added intensity, do not rest between the two exercises.
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