The Journey From Flab to Fab!!!

My thoughts of fat loss and muscle building... Personal experiences, facts that I know about, programs that I promote... basically to help increase knowledge of fat loss (and muscle building)

Saturday, October 29, 2005

How To Get Six Pack Abs Naturally

Six pack abs... Ahhhh...

Who wouldn't want a set of those...

But how many people actually know HOW to get a rock hard chiseled mid-section?

How To Lose Fat and Get Ripped, Fast

As you might notice in the title above, I mentioned the word 'naturally'. Well, that's actually the only safe way to get nice abs! No liposuction, no diet pills, no starvation and also no patches.

The best reference available on how to lose the fat in the mid section is to ask bodybuilders. Natural bodybuilders to be precise. You can go and ask the pros, but they would use un-natural fat loss supplements, which would beat the purpose of this blog post :P

Natural bodybuilders (and pros alike) have been using fat loss techniques to achieve ripped figures. Ripped here means, the muscles are CEALRLY visible below the skin layer. Very-very-very little fat is present. And usually, the level of fat left on their bodies are measured in Body Fat Level (BFL). For a bodybuilder to compete successfully in a bodybuilding competition, his BFL must be in the low single digits,... 3% to 4% :)

Do you need to be a bodybuilder to achieve body fat levels as such? HECK NO!
Just follow their techniques, and just wait for the fat to melt away!

How Bodybuilders get Ripped Fast and Display Those Rock Hard Abs

If you really-really want to lose fat and get ripped, I cannot repeat this enough. Follow what bodybuilders do. They lose fat at an astonishing rate! You don't have to be a bodybuilder, but use their methods and techniques, and it's hard to go wrong.

How they do it?

1. Frequent Meals - Can anyone and everyone really tell me that they are losing fat through 3 meals per day? Or less? I don't think so.

Bodybuilders have been eating 5, or 6, and in extreme cases 8 times per day! But still, they are ripped to the bone. But for the average guy or gal whose just starting out, 5 for women and 6 for men would be a good optimal.

The reason for such meal frequency? If you eat less food (like 3 meals per day...sound familliar?), your body will think that you are in a state of famine... starvation! Yes, the body does have a mind f its own. Scary aye?

So, when this happens, it just tries to conserve energy due to the little supply of nourishment you are feeding it. As a result, metabolism is slowed down. Which also causes the tendency to store more fat and burn everything else. BUT! If you eat 5 to 6 meals per day, in the proper quantity with the proper nutritional values, the body would come to realize that you are actually having a constant supply of food. So it basically believes that it can work at it's best and also at full throttle!

"NO NEED TO CONSERVE ENERGY, CUZ I'VE ENOUGH CONSTANT FUEL INFLOW TO KEEP ON REVVING, FOREVER!!!"

Not the body's exact words, but something like that... As a result, metabolism is increased and stabilized! Since metabolism determines how many calories (thus fat) is burnt, eating more often is simply the most logical course of action anyone who wants to lose fat can take!

2. Include MORE FAT in your diet - What??? To lose fat you must eat fat? Yes sir! That's quite true :) The fat I'm talking about here is unsaturated fats. Specifically, Essential Fatty Acids (EFA).

These fats are NOT produced in our bodies, and thus, we have to obtain them through our diet. They are very beneficial and necessary for many biological functions in our bodies. One of them is to decrease the chances of heart disease. Since EFAs increase the bodies Good Cholesterols, and this s simply good for the heart.

As for fat loss, one of EFAs contributions is to aid in the production of Testosterone. This hormone aids muscle growth,.. and when you've got more muscle, that means more FAT BURN!

3. Eat Correct Amounts of Calories (Food) - Food intake should not be constant in order to lose fat and get the rock hard abs!

If you're fat (or skinny fat), you would firstly need to eat lesser calories. To get fast results, you need to supplement it with weights and exercise (more on this later). Once you start with a slight caloric deficit, combined with weights and exercise, your body will try to adapt to this change, and will burn more fat (due to increased metabolism).

Eventually, the body will achieve a level where it starts to feel comfortable, and change is no longer necessary. Since the body adapts, and will at one point feel comfortable, it will feel that the amount of food received is not enough anymore. Since metabolism has increased, the body wants more source of energy!!! By maintaining the lower calries, starvation will kick in. And you know what happens if the body realizes that it is in possible famine... Yes, it slows metabolism down to conserve energy. And also starts to store more fat.

Back to square one. NOT what a person seeking chiseled abs would desire.

So, basically what you need to do is eat more after that phase is reached. And after that, adapt your food intake to the bodily changes. In short, eat the correct amounts of food, depending on the situation. You wouldn't need to do MAJOR changes, just slight adjustments. And sticking to it for a couple of weeks or months would yield astronomical results!!! NICER ABS!!!

4. Exercise and Train with Weights - Yes. To get the best results, you will need to do this. It is optional, but it would take TWICE as long to lose the fat if you don't add it to the equation.

Exercise here means doing cardiovascular activities. These activities should be ones that bring your intensity levels up to a certain point, where you heart rate start to beat at the optimal fat burning zone :) Activities such as running (out doors or treadmill), swimming, skipping rope, cycling (including the stationary bicycle), dancing... or anything else that can rev up your heart rate.

Weight Training serves to maintain or build muscles. More muscle means less fat. Less fat means VISIBLE ABS! So, basically that's why you need to do weights. Not only must you concentrate on the abdominal area (because SPOT REDUCTION is actually IMPOSSIBLE) you must do the WHOLE BODY! That's the way to go.

5. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS... BE CONSISTENT!!!! - The last point, but the most least important. Point 1 though 4 won't yield any results if consistency is not added into the fray.

Have a fat loss GOAL. For instance, "I want to see my ABS this DECEMBER!!!".
(assuming that we made the resolution in AUGUST let's say?)

And work towards this goal. I realize that without the proper knowledge, it is almost impossible to do this. If you don't already have the know how, some programs that are available online and off line can help you not only get started, but propel you towards success. For suggestions that have worked for so many people, I have them outlined in this post.


Well, basically that's it. There are more specific details that you need to follow, but it's beyond the scope of this blog. Plus, I'd have to write a book! Which would not fit into this Blog. Ok. GO GET RIPPED! Get those ROCK HARD ABS SHOWING! (I'm more saying this to myself than to my fellow readers. LOL!)

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