For kids, getting six-pack abs is significantly easier than it is for their adult counterparts. This is because kids have faster metabolisms, which means that their bodies burn calories and fat faster, allowing their abdominal muscles to show through. If you're looking to develop a six pack, follow a simple program of diet, cardiovascular exercise and direct abdominal work.
Step 1
Decrease the number of calories in your daily diet. Use an online basal metabolic rate calculator to determine your personalized basal metabolic rate. Depending on your age, gender, height and weight, this will provide you with a number that represents the approximate number of calories that your body needs each day to maintain your weight. Using the nutritional information on your favorite foods, compare this to your current calorie intake. Trim your diet so that it contains approximately 500 fewer calories than your basal metabolic rate. Since 3,500 calories is equivalent to 1 lb. of fat, this will allow your to lose 1 lb. of fat per week.
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Step 2
Do cardiovascular exercise at least three times per week. This will burn fat on your stomach directly and keep your metabolism elevated so that you don't lose this youthful advantage. Pick any activity that you enjoy, as long as it gets your heart pumping fast and can keep it pumping fast over an extended period of time. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests either three weekly sessions of 20 minutes of highly intense activity, or five weekly sessions of 30 minutes of moderately intense activity.
Step 3
Complete an abdominal exercise routine between two and three times per week. Instead of peeling off fat, this portion of the program will develop the size and shape of your abdominal muscles themselves, allowing them to show through the skin and fat on your stomach. At each session, pick five abdominal exercises. According to a study published in the American College of Sports Medicine's Health and Fitness Journal, the most effective abdominal exercises are the bicycle movement, the captain's chair, the exercise ball crunch, the reverse crunch and the vertical leg crunch. For each exercise, complete two sets of as many repetitions as you can complete before your unable to do a single extra repetition. Rest for two minutes between sets.
Things You'll Need
Cardiovascular exercise facilities
Padded exercise mat
Tip
Since you're growing, it's more important than ever that you maintain a healthy diet. Don't cut your diet down any further than recommended, which could lead to malnutrition.
Warning
Never begin an unfamiliar program of diet or exercise without first speaking to your parents or doctor.