Could somebody please give me some advice on how I can develop chiseled abs?

[phantom]

I would like to acquire a nice six pack of abs, not beer. Could somebody please give me some advice on how I can go about doing this? Thank you for any advice that you could give me concerning this.

[Mr. Nemo]

Generally chiseled anything is the result of good body composition. If you lose body fat, the muscle you have will show better.

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[ShaolinTiger00]

Mr Nemo speaks the truth.
You can have rock hard abs and do 1000 crunches a day but if you have a gut, no one will ever know but you...

You must lose body fat to see your abs. For a man that means that his body fat must be very low (below 10%) because nature has decided that men store most of their fat in the abdomen area.

so keep doing the sit-ups and stop eating sugar and enriched flour products!

Good luck!

A strong man controls others. A man who controls himself is truly powerful. -Lao Tzu

[Godzilla]

To loose weight (fat) you must change your diet and exercise.

Losing the flab on your belly will take time, so figure out a workout plan and eat properly. May I suggest eating fruit and yogurt for breakfast and more vegetables for lunch and dinner.

Enjoy the next few months. In the beginning you may not see great results, but as you slowly get closer, the results come faster and faster.

Good luck,

Godzilla

[Kumkuat]

You know there is no spot reduction so you have to drop your body fat %. Shaolin tiger has the right idea on diet. Reduce your sugar and simple carb intake. But you can't do it with diet alone. Combine strength training routine with ****lek aerobic routines. Strength training for muscle build (to increase metabolism) and the ****lek aerobic routines for helping out the muscles in the fat-loss. Do not do only situps (when I mean situps I mean cruches) work out your whole body. Keep it up for a year and never give up.

[phantom]

KumKuat,could you please tell me what aerobic routines are considered ****lek?

[Kumkuat]

****lek is interval training. It can be done with any aerobic working such as running, stairs, bikes, rowing machines, etc., The basic technique is to combine period of low intensity with high intensity when you do your aerobic excersies.

Go here for more information.

[nospam]

Exactly what everyone else has said. If you want a 6pac then lose the weight. I decided late last year I wanted a 6pac for summer, in October I weighed in at just under 200lbs standing 5'11". I have been working out (weight lifting) for years and knew the 6pac was there, just needed to drop the body fat. I moderated my diet and stopped working out for 2 months (weightlifting)...I dropped 10lbs per month until I hit 160lbs.

I'm back in the gym and am the proud owner of a very lean, muscular physique. The first 2 weeks of moderating (having changed my eating habits majorly) my diet wasn't comfortable as my stomach was use to a certain amount of digestive activity and thus was constantly on the growl :-)

After the 2 week 'man I'm hungry' struggle with maintaining discipline smack in the face of the holiday season, it was a piece of ca..asparagus.

Drink way too much water, eat an assortment of fruit throughout the day, no more than once a week of red meat, and a lot of rice and non-greasy foods (although peanutbutter was a constant for me as it is an alternative protein source, plus I am a nutfanatic). Eat a lot of veggies, greener the better, and always snack on either fruit, nuts or those great sweet baby carrots. Do not eat after 7pm.

I maintained my health but realised I had a target weight, so once that was achieved (it was 165lbs) I hit the gym again and the appetite naturally came back as my body demanded more sustenance. Although once I hit 165, I still continued to lose weight and continued to drop to 160. I continued to do gung fu on a reduced schedule and did very lightweight, at home, half hour workouts.

Anywho, you can easily achieve your goals just like I did. But you have to sacrifice and have mental discipline to over-ride the first 2-3 weeks before the body starts to utilize its own internal fat stores.

[phantom]

I really appreciate it. I really appreciate everyone else's reply to this topic, also. Peace. :D

[Taomonkey]

Personally I say let them go. The nature of muscle should be flexibility combined with stregnth, not hard and stiff as most training methods will give you. search out a copy of teh magazine Yoga Journal for last month it has a great article about the myth of the perfect abs.

[Wu Wei]

I want abs as well. I already have them, and my layer of fat is very small, but it is really stubborn. I have had very different levels of fitness through my life but i am usually not too out of shape.
Just for reference, I am a tall person with a good metabolism. But there is always that same small layer on my belly.
Any suggestions that pretain more to my body type or is it just the same?

Thanks for any info!
(BTW if i dont respond to anyone who answers me its because im away... sorry) ;)

Success is a label made by the insecure.

[Hep Hwa]

Phantom, i agree w/ everyone, you need to eat properly and drop body fat. But you need to build the muscles in your stomach big enough to see them. To do this you may need to use weights when doing sit-ups and leg raises. I take a 25 lb plate and do sit-ups with it on my chest and put iron rings on my feet when I do leg raises. this makes the muscles larger so you can see them better. For me, sit-ups just make the muscles tighter and not more visible.

[nospam]

Wu Wei, spot reduction cream on the Shopping Channel will get you your results! And this month it's half-price for a year's supply. Only 3 payments of $39.99.

Just kidding. if you have a stubborn spot, usually around the belly and/or the thighs, then you are battling against genetics. You said you are tall with a high metabolism. How tall is tall and how much do you weigh in at?

Generally, you must be prepared to decrease your food intake. This will direct your body to start using its reserves (fat cells) as it is not getting what it needs from your daily food intake. If you want a decent pac, then you have to be prepared to drastically moderate your eating habits while exercising to push your body into getting what it needs from whats already there.

You also didn't comment on your eating habits. Do you eat moderately? average portions? Do you eat frequently during the day or many means (6) during the course of the day? How much red meat do you consume?

There is a great difference between 'wanting' to lose weight and acting upon and doing it. It's not an easy task to drop one's food intake by 50%, especially when you factor in the added smarts and effort to maintain one's health by eating nutritionally, which is even more important when you drastically change your eating habits.

[Wu Wei]

Im not overly concerned, since it is just a thin layer of fat. Im simply being picky about 'seeing' my abs. I suppose i should wait until i work a little more at it before getting this picky.

Just for your amusement, here's the info that i didnt give the firs time.
height: 6'3"
weight: 165lbs
and I sometimes eat a great deal. but it also varies. sometimes i almost forget to eat all day.
yeah i know, its strange.
Another problem, is since, im thin, I also want to bulk up a bit, and to my knowledge, that is a conflict of interest with me wanting a 6 pack

Feel it burn!! :mad:

Success is a label made by the insecure.

[nospam]

Yeah. I would agree that its a contradiction. Although if you weightlift you can add a great deal of tone, and depending on your genetics, some muscle growth. Talk is cheap.