7 Tips for Abs

Everyone wants abs. Whether it’s just some lines or the full six pack. It’s a very common goal in our society.

I understand.

It’s a visible achievement of commitment to fitness and nutrition. If you don’t commit to a certain lifestyle it is very hard to have abs.

So here are my top tips for having abs!

1. Never skip breakfast:

You’d be surprised (or not) how many people I meet that skip breakfast. This is death for the metabolism. By simply eating a healthy balanced breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up, you can actually increase your metabolism by roughly 20-30%! What a difference!

2. Small frequent meals:

Eating small, frequent meals with adequate carbs, protein and fats will speed up your metabolism and will allow your body to burn excess body fat. Metabolism slows down dramatically 3 hours after a meal so plan to eat once every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. A faster metabolism means you’ll burn more calories and less fat covering your abs.

3. Train abs heavy:

You need to build some size on the abs so that they will press against the skin, which will help with achieving a “ripped” abs look. To do the latter you need to do intense training with heavy resistance. pick 3-4 exercises within the 8-12 reps range and perform 4-5 sets. I tend to start my workouts with an intense abs circuit and then proceed to the workout of the day.

4. Drinks loads of water:

Our bodies are 75% water. Every cell in the body need water to function properly. Water also helps the body regulate itself by serving as pH and temperature buffer. Drink water!

5. Don’t forget cardio:

Most of the energy burned during cardio is fat (70-90%). fat can only be burned through aerobic (when oxygen is available) processes. The body will want to preserve your muscle tissue and will prefer to burn off fat as energy instead. It’s also much more effective in the morning.

6. Focus on your whole body’s composition:

It is important to build muscle mass on the rest of the body. More overall muscles means a higher BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which means more calories are burned. BMR is the amount of calories the body burns while you just sit around. The more mass a person has the higher their BMR is because their body needs more calories to maintain the extra mass.

7. Good sleep:

If you are sleep deprived the body releases a stress hormone: cortisol (link to cortisol article). Cortisol promotes fat storage and will kill any efforts to get ripped abs. Get enough sleep to allow the body to function optimally will result in a faster metabolism and greater muscle gains. 7-8 hours of sleep should be your aim.