9 Rules to Follow for that 6-Pack of your dreams

Male or female, our eyes are drawn to a person's abdominals ... or gut.

1. 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. Although there are many different theories on meal frequencies, eating smaller meals more often will help the average person avoid overeating and will curb hunger.

2. 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.

3. DRINK A LOT OF WATER. If you're completely
hydrated, your fat-burning rate will be optimum. Remember: the less water you drink, the slower your metabolism will be; the more water you drink, the faster your metabolism will be.

4. MODIFY YOUR ABS 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.

5. UNDERSTAND THE TRUTHS AND MYTHS ABOUT ABDOMINALS. We all have abs. Unfortunately, some of us have to work harder than others to attain visible ones. Doing 1,000 sit-ups per day is not going to make your abs just magically pop out, but getting your body-fat levels very low will allow your abs to appear. For a male to able to be see his abs, he has to be roughly at 12 percent body-fat and lower. If you can get your body-fat to those levels, you will start to see your abs.

6. ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST. A healthy breakfast is the most important meal for a reason - it jumpstarts your metabolism for the entire day. Unless you want a muffin top, skip the muffins and opt for protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates. Emphasis on the protein.

7. 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. I would implement at least 3-or-4 different abs exercises every other day for 25-to-30 reps per set. You'll really feel the burn with this minimal rest. If not, you aren't working the exercise properly. Muscle grows when you apply shock to that body-part.

8. DON'T GET SMACKED BY SUGAR, STARCH AND SALT. Also, stay away from foods that are high in unhealthy fat and high in carbs.

9. 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.

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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.

Posted in: Exercises