FOLLOW A HIGH-PROTEIN, LOWER-CARB DIET
Your diet is essential in building a lean physique. It is important to consume 4- to-6 small meals per day; this helps to speed up your metabolism at an incredibly rapid rate. Eating smaller meals more often will help you avoid overeating and will curb hunger. Along with eating frequent, smaller meals, you should consume your carbohydrates first thing in the morning to give you energy through the day.
FOLLOW A CONSISTENT WEIGHT-TRAINING AND CARDIO REGIMEN
This will allow you to burn fat through the day. Weight training helps you to burn calories after the workout and throughout the day while cardio burns calories during the workout. A combination of cardio and weight training will give you the optimal fat burning rate you need to stay lean.
DRINK A LOT OF WATER
If you’re completely hydrated, your fat-burning rate will be optimum. To speed up your metabolism, drink at least 8 large glasses of water per day. Remember the less water you drink, the slower your metabolism will be; the more water you drink, the faster your metabolism will be.
MODIFY YOUR AB ROUTINE
There isn’t a specific abs routine that will work better than all others, but changing your abs routine will maximize the results. Some of the common ab moves like crunches, old-fashioned sit-ups, hanging leg raises, broom twists and sprinting, are great for building abdominal muscle. It’s important to remember that your abs will show the most development through change and confusion as opposed to stagnation.
EAT BREAKFAST
A healthy breakfast is the most important meal for a reason – it jump starts your metabolism for the entire day. Not just any breakfast, though. Unless you want a muffin top, skip the muffins and opt for protein, healthy fats, and complex
carbohydrates. Emphasis on the protein. You can’t go wrong with eggs.
BE COGNIZANT OF THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR ABS TRAINING
It is important to train your abs at least three times per week for a beginner and intermediate fitness enthusiast. For the advanced gym guru, train your abs about every other day to build them properly.
DON’T GET SMACKED BY SUGAR, STARCH, AND SALT
Also, stay away from foods that are high in unhealthy fat and high in carbs. All of these things can
contribute to a high amount of fat gain and prevent your abs from coming out of hibernation. It is okay to consume sugar, salt or starch – just make sure it’s within moderation.
IMPLEMENT A VARIETY OF CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISES
Cardio helps you lose fat. There is a variety of different cardiovascular exercises you can implement. Long distance running, sprinting, swimming, climbing stairs, cycling, elliptical, treadmill, etc. Bonus: They all work your abs to varying degrees and will, therefore, help you get definition.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
If you believe you can do it, you will do everything necessary in your power to attain that goal. Your mind will help guide your fitness goals and if that goal is to attain great abs, then, provided you do the necessary work, it will happen for you.
CHOOSE VARIETY OVER REPS
Mix up your ab-toning moves each workout, and change your routine every three to four weeks. Alternating your workout is more important than cranking out 1000 crunches every day. Perform 15 to 20 reps of each exercise, then move one. Implement at least 3-or-4 different abs exercises every other day. Your rest for each set should be about 30-to-45 seconds. You’ll really feel the burn with this minimal rest. If not, you aren’t working the exercise properly. Muscle grows when you apply a shock to that body-part. The only way to do that is to push through the temporary burn of that particular exercise.
FORGET THE LOWER VS UPPER ABS IDEA
It’s all one sheath of muscle: the rectus abdomen us. If you feel the upper abs working, it doesn’t mean the lower abs aren’t engaged, where you feel it depends on the move’s anchor point. For example, leg lifts engage more of the lower section since your upper body is against the floor. To truly tone, try a mix of ab-sculpting moves that vary positions.
ENGAGE YOUR PELVIC FLOOR
To target your abs more effectively, strengthen your pelvic-floor muscles. These muscles assist your deepest abs in doing exercises correctly. Actively engage them by gently pulling your belly button toward your back. Place one hand on your abdomen; if you feel your stomach pushing out while you do sit-ups, you’re pushing the pelvis down rather than pulling muscles up and in, cheating your abs of the full workout. Keep muscles contracted when working abs.
