Six Essential Tips for an Amazing Six Pack
There?s one fitness target that all men universally strive towards, regardless of their other health goals: a perfect six pack. An ideally ripped set of core muscles is the best way for you to signify a marvelous body, stellar health, and smoldering sex appeal.
Sometimes, just the promise, and distant dream of an incredible midsection is all the motivation you?re going to need to shove yourself into that hardcore workout or chew your way through another bland, high-protein packed meal. However, statistics have shown that almost 50% of all men have suggested that oblique?s, abs, and six packs are the areas where they tend to slack off the most. There are so many magnificent excuses to choose from when it comes to sculpting a six pack, from too much work, to genetics or a weekly get-together with the lads involving burgers and beer.
The truth is ? all of those excuses are worthless. Stop coming up with excuses to avoid working out, and arm yourself with some simple steps towards a killer body.
Step 1: Eat when You?re Hungry
Sounds simple enough, doesn?t it? Some people suggest that if you want to lose fat, you need to have a lot of little meals throughout the day, instead of three large meals. The rationale behind this is that your digestion requires energy, so if you spread your food throughout the day, your metabolism stays active, and you won?t feel as hungry (or tempted to snack).
The issue is, however, that it?s not so much how frequently you eat that matters, so much as what you eat, when it comes to burning calories. If you take in 2000 calories a day, your calorie burning will stay pretty much the same. Give yourself a week of writing down which times during the day you feel most hungry, then adjust your eating patterns to match. If you can, pack the meals that you do eat with foods that are going to give your metabolism the best boost.
Step 2:
Although the number of meals you choose to eat throughout the day doesn?t matter, how many snacks you consume does. Since the 70s, the average amount of calories in a snack has risen from 360 calories to 580. If you snack twice a day, then you?re looking at a lot of extra calories in your diet, and of the course of a week, this can lead to around a pound of extra fat.
A good rule of thumb to follow, is that if your snack doesn?t fit into the palm of your hand, say a handful of fruit or nuts?then your portion is probably too large. Try to stick to around 200 or 300 calories per serving and don?t consume more than 20 grams of carbs and protein with each snack.
Step 3:
If you have a treadmill at home, then the calorie tracker could seem like the perfect thing to monitor your weight loss ? but be careful. The more time you spending running, the more efficient you will become in the sport, meaning that you?ll end up burning less calories. Furthermore, if you spend too much time on the treadmill, you might end up getting bored pretty quickly.
Boredom is the worst possible thing you can experience when you?re exercising ? because it often leads to giving up. Try three days of resistance training a week, using weights, and you could acquire the metabolic boost you need to work out your core muscles.
Step 4:
This is a tip that anyone will appreciate. One of the most beneficial things that you can do for your body is spend more time in the comfort of your bed. It sounds like fake science, but Harvard researchers found that people who slept five hours a night or less were more likely to become obese than people who slept seven hours. A single night of poor sleep can be enough to increase the activity in the reward center of your brain ? the place that convinces you to search out an extra bar of chocolate.
People who sleep for shorter amount of times take in more calories in an attempt to boost their energy levels, especially in the form of sugar and saturated fats. If you have trouble getting enough sleep, turn off your TV and lock yourself down into the bed until you?ve gotten at least seven hours of sleep.
Step 5:
Some researchers suggest that each time you ditch protein in your meals, you?re effectively telling your body to hold onto those excess calories. Protein helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer, reduces hunger pangs, controls your blood sugar and burns more calories during the process of digestion. As a result, you can stay lean, and still eat all of your favorite foods. Remember, ?carbohydrate? isn?t a dirty word, but when you eat carbs by themselves, you?ll get an insulin boost that causes you to crave more food. For your meals, try to stick to lean meats such as beef, chicken, or fish, and when you?re snacking through the day, try a handful of nuts or a Greek yoghurt.
About Benjamin Roussey Benjamin is from Sacramento, CA. He has two master’s degrees and served four years in the US Navy. He enjoys sports, movies, reading, and current events when he is not working online.