Time to Reduce Abs Fat
Getting a six pack is definitely one of the biggest fitness challenges out there, and no matter how many articles I write on this topic people always want more. At the end of the day, it really comes down to reducing fat in your abdominal and core area.
The funny thing is most people don’t struggle with building their abs but most just don’t see the results because their layer of abdominal fat covers the muscles themselves.
Generally I recommend a dedicated abdominal workout 2 to 3 days a week for optimal results with an additional 3-4 days of cardio to help with fat reduction.
One thing to keep in mind though is that you shouldn’t ignore the rest of your body. Working out all of your major muscle groups will improve your ab success tenfold. In addition to keeping your body in proportion, most other muscle groups implicate your abs and core in some way, strengthening and conditioning them even further.
Total body fitness also helps you burn more fat, and that’s the real trick of getting six pack abs. No matter how much you’ve built and refined your abdominal muscles, you’ll never see them unless you burn enough fat around your waistline, and this circles back to my mention of cardio 3-4 times per week.
Let’s take this further and look at 2 highly effective tips for effectively reducing abs fat and getting killer six pack results:
1. Add Variety to Your Workout Program
First, you need to adopt a workout program that has a lot of variety. Fundamentally speaking, this means you should be engaging in both weight training and cardiovascular exercise on a regular basis. Weight training will improve lean muscle mass to burn more fat, while cardio will give your metabolism a boost for the day.
Cardio is where variety really counts, simply because your options for cardio tend to be limited. To help you avoid plateauing and keep burning fat, here are 5 cardio routines to spice things up:
- 20 Minute Cardio Workout – This workout routine is packed full of different exercises to get your heart rate up and your abs fat melting off!
- Jillian Michaels Treadmill Workout – This routine is pretty intense, but trust me, it really produces results. If you’re looking for a new treadmill routine this is the one for you!
- Cardio Kickboxing Routine – This is a great routine for burning a ton of calories and fat while also having a little fun.
- 15 Minute Treadmill Workout – Interval training is another great way to boost your fat-burning results and avoid plateauing. And you can burn twice the calories in half the time!
- Tabata Interval Training Routine – Tabata interval training is a form of interval training that can be applied to any cardio workout. Trust me, it’s intense!
Now that you’ve got your workouts under control, let’s take a look at another approach to reducing abs fat…
2. Adopt a Muscle Building Diet
The second thing you need to do is increase your daily protein intake. Alongside your cardio routine, you should also be lifting weights as part of your workout program. Lifting weights builds lean muscle mass, and lean muscle mass boosts your metabolism over the long term, even when your body is resting!
Eating a protein rich diet is an important step in the process. Without a sufficient intake of protein, you won’t be seeing the results that are possible. Protein not only contains the building blocks of muscle tissue, but it also boosts your metabolism and keeps you feeling full longer. As your body is breaking down the protein you are eating it is also burning calories and in the situation where you have lots of lean muscle mass the protein will help feed those muscles.
If you haven’t already implemented a protein smoothie, I recommend investing in a high quality protein supplement like Optimum 100% Natural Whey. Use it in a morning protein shake, or have a scoop after a hard workout. Whey protein is probably the most essential workout supplement you can take and this brand mixes really well and doesn’t have that gross chalky texture that the cheap varieties you can get in most grocery/drug stores.
Have any questions or feedback about abs fat reduction? Please leave a comment below…