There’s no magic number of workouts per week to guarantee rock-hard abs – a six-pack is undeniably a combination of fat-burning workouts, good quality nutrition and abdominal exercises. From a personal perspective, I try and incorporate two ab-focused workouts into my routine each week and I ensure that the rest of my workouts are as functional as possible.
Make sure you work your abs in these 4 ways
Flex the trunk, raise the legs, twist the torso and hold the torso stable against a resistance. To make sure you hit your upper, lower, side and deep abdominals, you should incorporate the above four types of exercises into your routine.
Add in HIIT training
High-intensity interval-training has a great metabolic effect and will keep your body burning fat well after your workout finishes. HIIT is great for removing excess fat off those stubborn areas so get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Decrease your carb intake
Carbs are not the enemy – you still need to eat the right ones in moderation. If you really want abs you need to have an especially good diet with a particular focus on reducing your intake of processed carbs and refined sugars.
Focus on an 8:16 window
This is where you try to consume 3 quality, real-food meals per day within an 8-hour window while fasting for the remaining 16 hours of the day. This is a great way to avoid mindless snacking, particularly late night snacking, which is the enemy of the six-pack.
Rest & Recovery
Not allowing the body to rest, recover and de-stress properly will wreak havoc on your hormones and make it extremely difficult for your body to burn fat as efficiently as it can. Have at least one rest day per week, warm up and cool down before and after every workout, manage stress, prioritise sleep and you will be setting yourself up for success.
A strong core means more than just a washboard stomach to flaunt on the beach (though it’s certainly a good motivator). Having good core strength brings with it a number of benefits: improved posture and balance and a reduced likelihood of lower-back pain and related injuries. Don’t waste your time doing sit-up after sit-up – remember that you have to shed overall body fat to reveal your abs underneath.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health.
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