You see it all the time. There are ads on TV for the latest “ultimate abs machine” that promises “a flat tummy in just minute a day”. People say, “I want to loose the belly fat”. They are serious. So, they target the area and fall in to the trap. They start at the last step instead of the first. They begin doing sit ups and crunches like crazy. Soon, they are laying on the ground or the mat looking up and wondering why it hasn’t worked yet. What went wrong?
What went wrong is that they have missed the first step in the best abs workout available. Theses abdominal exercises are great for strengthening and toning the core muscles, but if you have a layer or two or three of body fat over those tight abs, nobody’s going to notice them, including you.
The first step in the best abs workout available is to hop on the treadmill and change your diet. Nothing will help you find that six pack faster than healthy eating and an aerobic exercise.

Amen! This is so true!

I'm a victim to that! I did the toning and strengthening, but still had to poke through a couple layers of belly fat to feel them!

Well said, Gabby!

what happens if you dont have much body fat and you still cant see them? :P


The thing is..... you don't need to do any ab work at all, especially if you're a guy. As long as you have say 3% body fat you will see them because you're really thin :P


Though heres another tip, muscle burns more fat than cardio. If you have alot of muscles or start building it you will lose weight from all over. So also then you're not gaurenteed that you will lose it from the stomach first.

Lifting is a great way to increase your muscle, but including more protein can help to accelerate the process. Try adding protein to a healthy shake. It's effective and helps avoid some of the downfalls of ordinary protein sources like fat and calories.

I rely heavily on whey protein to help me get my calories and protein when I'm in a lifting cycle - it's a GREAT supplement and easy way (whey?) to add 2 'meals' a day while only adding about 400 calories.

@Stitch - If I had under 10% body fat, I don't think I would be worrying about not seeing my abs! (and I sure wouldn't be in the 35lb weight loss challenge)...

Being able to see your six-pack is another one of those cases where it comes to genetics (after you shed the fat, of course). Whether or not your abs even show up as a six-pack also depends on your genes. On some people, it will look like four. I've even seen freaks of nature who have 8-packs. Unfortunately, there are a few people that would have to go to unhealthy extremes to get the definition that comes naturally to someone else at the same body fat percentage.

Unfortunately, after carrying 100 extra lbs for so long I'm pretty sure I'll have extra skin hiding that 6-pack when I finally get to my goal

Don't give up, man! It might be possible. Some of those Biggest Loser contestants managed to get some nice definition in the abs, and they carried around more than 100 extra pounds.

i can see two of my abs on the left side when the light is directly above me. it's kinda weird... you can see the hint of them on the right side, but on the left side, the top two are fairly well-defined considering i'm still around 30lbs overweight and somewhere in the mid-to-upper 20's in bf%... and i don't do ab training for the reasons gabby mentioned above.

hey dave, do you mix your protein shake and take it with you to the gym or do you mix it at the gym? and you don't take any creatine, right? just whey protein with bcaa's?

I take a whey protein w/ bcaa's, and since I gym after work, i put the dry mix in my shaker in the morning and mix it up as soon as I'm done working out. I've started putting a little gatorade dry mix in as well to improve the protein uptake.

I'm not currently taking creatine, but when I do I will put some in this mix, as well as take some every morning. I haven't tried adding a third serving in, but might on my next cycle - right before hitting the gym (but still stay around 10g/day).

I could see my abs @ 18% if I stretched.

Dave,
I had a fitness instructor in college that told us creatine was really only beneficial if digested directly before, or during a weight routine. She was previously a body builder.

What do you think? Any truth to that? It had something to do with needing creatine only when actively straining / depleting your muscles.

(She was also telling everyone that they could eat whatever they wanted as long as they worked out really hard - easy for her to say!)

Working out regularly can help your body to over come over indulgence. It may not be the magic eraser your looking for, but it's number two on the list.

Something to think about- Some protein shakes have "active enzymes". They are the best for your body, but you've got get them in your with in 10 minutes.

It is especially beneficial if consumed both before and after the weight routine, but it is also important to keep the overall level of creatine in your body high - which is the reason for the initial loading phase. So my taking it every morning keeps my base level high, and taking it before and/or after my workout helps with muscle growth and recovery from that workout.

Creatine provides another phosphate molecule for creating ATP - which is the active straining part, and also works on volumizing your cells; allowing the muscle cells to absorb more water. This will make your muscles larger and capable of lifting more weight. The latter is also the reason for what little controversy exists about using creatine - a couple of young wrestlers have died because of a risky practice called cutting; losing weight to drop a weight class. Basically, if you're sitting in a sauna wearing a rubber suit to sweat off weight, and your cells are retaining water from creatine, your body isn't able to sweat to control your body temperature and you overheat - resulting in heart and kidney failure...

What he said. I'm gonna get some creatine tomorrow, I was on it a few months ago but you don't wanna stay on it for too long. Gonna take 4-6 scoops a day for a week for the loading phase. I hate having to drink tons of water though, but I guess the gains are well worth it.

And back ABS Boys! Here's The Abdominal Fat Cure Tip of the week! Harmful abdominal fat cells seem to be the last to go when you are dieting. In fact, researchers say that in order to loose inches around your mid section you must exercise too. Exercise increases the rate at which your body metabolizes this belly fat.
To really reap the benefit of a good abdominal workout you must be consistent- working the muscles at least every other day. Your workout won’t take long and can be done almost any where. There are a lot of great exercises out there. Here are a few that will get you started.
Abs Crunches are a staple for abs, but they may have changed since the last time you tried them. Place you feet flat on the ground; bend your knees, behind on the ground, palms flat on the ground below your hips. Raise the shoulders off the ground and crunch. Start with 30. Increase this to two sets of thirty when you are comfortable.
Bicycles have been around for ever too. So, why aren’t you doing them? Lay flat on your back and raise the legs up with bent knees near your chest. One foot reaches out at a time, just like riding a bike. Now, lift the shoulders off the ground, placing your hands loosely behind your ears. Opposite elbow goes toward opposite knee. Try to do a set of thirty. Increase to two sets when you are ready.