” Abs are made in the kitchen and defined in the gym.”   

The thing about abs is that they’re a lot easier to attain than you may think. The key to showing off a svelte six pack is all in your diet. Always remember, “abs are made in the kitchen and defined in the gym.” You can do 1,000 crunches a day but that will mean nothing if you don’t eat healthy. Lowering your body fat percentage is essential. Sticking to your diet is EVERYTHING for a six pack. Here are 7 secrets to achieve six pack abs: 

*You should always consult your physician or other health care professional before starting this or any other diet or fitness program.*

  • Stick to a diet- by lowering your body fat percentage it will make it easier for your ab muscles to pop. Stick to fruits and veggies and fill up on proteins. Eating clean is crucial. 
  • De-bloat- it’s impossible to see abs if you’re always bloated. Stay away from foods that will cause you to retain water. Too much salt, processed foods and fried foods are not your friend! 
  • Hydrate- drink water! Constantly. All day. The average person does not drink the recommended amount of water a day. If you’re unsure of the amount of water you should be drinking check out this water calculator: https://www.gigacalculator.com/calculators/water-intake-calculator.php 
  • Exercise- HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and Resistance Training is great for your body but also for your abdominal muscles. HIIT exercises such as mountain climbing is great with keeping the heart rate up, building cardio endurance and strengthening your core. Mountain climbing is a killer exercise that also helps fire up nearly every muscle group in the body—deltoids, biceps, triceps, chest, obliques, abdominals, quads, hamstrings and hip abductors. HIIT exercises are great on cardio machines as well, running on a treadmill is great for strengthening your core, an example of HIIT on a treadmill would be sprinting for 1 minute and then walking 1 minute, and repeating that segment for even just 15 minutes will be a killer workout, depending on your endurance and how in shape you are. Multi-functional exercises especially squats and dead lifts work multiple muscle groups as well, but also your abs because they are consistently engaged during each rep. These types of exercises are vital in building a strong core. 
  • Do Planks- Crunches and sit ups are great, but they don’t work your entire core. Planks keep your core tight and once a regular plank becomes too easy there are a ton of different plank variations to challenge your body to strengthen the abs. When doing abdominal exercises you want to make sure you target the entire core and not just the upper abs.  
  • Don’t over do it- People think they can do crunches every single day and gain a six pack. Abs are just like every other muscle in the body, they too need a rest day. If you’re doing crunches everyday and not feeling sore the next day, you need to give it a rest and then start up with a new ab exercise. Challenge your body, but don’t injure yourself in the process. 
  • Don’t spend more than 15 minutes doing abs- Just doing 2-3 different core exercises with 2-3 sets is enough to gain a six pack. By keeping your core tight and engaged while at the gym doing other muscle group exercises and then spending 8-10 minutes on abs is enough to make an impact.  

If interested in seeing some AB-solutely amazing core exercises, leave a comment and I’ll share my favorites!