Best way to get that six-pack?

[xanis]

I've been going to the gym 3 times per week since September. I've been doing pretty well in regards to leg and upper-body strength (I've put on ~10lbs of muscle + I can definitely see an improvement). The only thing I've been having a problem with is getting that six-pack and well-defined stomach, which was one of my primary goals when I started working out.

I've cut out most all soda (save for once or twice a week or so), I've been drinking A LOT more water, I've switched to whole-wheat bread, I buy and eat leaner meats, I eat more veggies, the whole shebang. Granted, I haven't done much cardio up until about a month ago, so I'm guessing that's where part of my problem lies.

The thing I'm interested in learning is how to get that muscular and well-defined stomach. I'm tired of taking my shirt of and being embarrassed at my little gut.

 

[brikis98]

Seeing your six pack is 99.9% about lowering your body fat percentage. Therefore, start with the fat loss sticky.

 

[PricklyPete]

Diet, diet, diet. I have a six pack again after 10 years of not having one (I've always been thin...just not well defined abdominal muscles since I was 21ish). The way I've gotten them now has been regulating my diet closely along with lots of cardio. I do some minor, minor weight lifting and pushups/pullups/chinups/situps...but I've always done these...the regulating the diet is what has made the difference.

 

[Jinru]

Abs are made in the kitchen , once you can properly control your diet it shouldn't be too hard from there.

 

[xanis]

Alright, so it seems like diet is paramount here. Any suggestions on things to eat?

 

[Lamont Burns]

Eat the fat loss sticky

 

[KingGheedora]

fatlosssticky

 

[polarmystery]

Originally posted by: Jinru
Abs are made in the kitchen , once you can properly control your diet it shouldn't be too hard from there.

beat me to it.

 

[Koing]

diet diet diet you really have to keep it in check to get a lean 6 pack mate

upping your cv will also help but you you need to be eating moderately/ very clean to achieve a 6 pack.

Koing

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Xanis
I've been going to the gym 3 times per week since September. I've been doing pretty well in regards to leg and upper-body strength (I've put on ~10lbs of muscle + I can definitely see an improvement).

First of all, it's highly unlikely you gained 10 lbs. of pure muscle in less than 2 months. Generous estimates on the amount of pure muscle tissue a non drug using male can build are about 0.25 lbs./week. Most likely you gained 10 lbs of muscle, water, and probably some fat. However, if you can see the progress then that's always good.

I would recommend anyone who is trying to build muscle read this article:

link

particularly this section:

Plus, as I mentioned earlier, there's a certain range of fatness where the body doesn't look visually different when it comes to definition and muscularity. When going from 13 to 16% body fat, you'll basically look to be at the same degree of fatness. In fact, some people who store body fat evenly might even look just as lean at 18% as 13%. So if someone goes from 220 pounds at 13% to 230 pounds at 16%, he'll basically have the same amount of muscle and ten pounds more fat, but he'll actually look bigger and more muscular because his degree of leanness will appear to be the same (while he occupies more space.)

So we could say if you aren't lean, adding body fat, up to a point, will make you look more muscular even if you aren't gaining muscle mass. This can make people underestimate the amount of fat they carry and put them in a situation where, over time, they can accumulate a lot of excess fat.

I fell victim to that illusion myself when I first started "bulking".

To answer your question about abs, it ultimately comes down to burning more calories than you consume, which is best accomplished through controlling your diet. Instead of vague advice such as "cut out soda", "don't eat junk food", etc., I would recommend a more methodical approach.

1. Track what you eat each day on Fitday and try to eat about the same number of calories each day
2. Weigh yourself first thing each morning
3. If your average weight has not gone down over the last week or 2, make a small reduction to your daily caloric intake (say 100 calories) and eat that number of calories for the next week or 2
4. Keep tracking your weight and reducing your calories until you are losing weight no more than 1 lb./week on average

See other threads for advice on what you should be eating. Also keep in mind that to build muscle you must consume more calories than you burn, but to lose fat you must burn more calories than you consume. These two conditions are mutually exclusive, which is why most people cannot both build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Some beginners can pull it off for awhile; since you just started training, you might be able to do it in the beginning.

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: Xanis
I've been going to the gym 3 times per week since September. I've been doing pretty well in regards to leg and upper-body strength (I've put on ~10lbs of muscle + I can definitely see an improvement).

First of all, it's highly unlikely you gained 10 lbs. of pure muscle in less than 2 months. Generous estimates on the amount of pure muscle tissue a non drug using male can build are about 0.25 lbs./week. Most likely you gained 10 lbs of muscle, water, and probably some fat. However, if you can see the progress then that's always good.

I would recommend anyone who is trying to build muscle read this article:

link

particularly this section:

Plus, as I mentioned earlier, there's a certain range of fatness where the body doesn't look visually different when it comes to definition and muscularity. When going from 13 to 16% body fat, you'll basically look to be at the same degree of fatness. In fact, some people who store body fat evenly might even look just as lean at 18% as 13%. So if someone goes from 220 pounds at 13% to 230 pounds at 16%, he'll basically have the same amount of muscle and ten pounds more fat, but he'll actually look bigger and more muscular because his degree of leanness will appear to be the same (while he occupies more space.)

So we could say if you aren't lean, adding body fat, up to a point, will make you look more muscular even if you aren't gaining muscle mass. This can make people underestimate the amount of fat they carry and put them in a situation where, over time, they can accumulate a lot of excess fat.

I fell victim to that illusion myself when I first started "bulking".

To answer your question about abs, it ultimately comes down to burning more calories than you consume, which is best accomplished through controlling your diet. Instead of vague advice such as "cut out soda", "don't eat junk food", etc., I would recommend a more methodical approach.

1. Track what you eat each day on Fitday and try to eat about the same number of calories each day
2. Weigh yourself first thing each morning
3. If your average weight has not gone down over the last week or 2, make a small reduction to your daily caloric intake (say 100 calories) and eat that number of calories for the next week or 2
4. Keep tracking your weight and reducing your calories until you are losing weight no more than 1 lb./week on average

See other threads for advice on what you should be eating. Also keep in mind that to build muscle you must consume more calories than you burn, but to lose fat you must burn more calories than you consume. These two conditions are mutually exclusive, which is why most people cannot both build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Some beginners can pull it off for awhile; since you just started training, you might be able to do it in the beginning.

I dunno about .25 lbs per week. I started working out in march I was 166 and by mid june/early july I was 183 and peaking at 187 (full stomach etc). I looked leaner too. My caliper measurements were the same (5 point) and my waist was the same.

I'm not gonna claim it was all muscle or anything but it had to be more than 10 pounds of muscle. These were pure beginner gains.

 

[MrMatt]

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: Jinru
Abs are made in the kitchen , once you can properly control your diet it shouldn't be too hard from there.

beat me to it.

Dorian Yates beat you both

 

[MrMatt]

Originally posted by: mchammer187

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: Xanis
I've been going to the gym 3 times per week since September. I've been doing pretty well in regards to leg and upper-body strength (I've put on ~10lbs of muscle + I can definitely see an improvement).

First of all, it's highly unlikely you gained 10 lbs. of pure muscle in less than 2 months. Generous estimates on the amount of pure muscle tissue a non drug using male can build are about 0.25 lbs./week. Most likely you gained 10 lbs of muscle, water, and probably some fat. However, if you can see the progress then that's always good.

I would recommend anyone who is trying to build muscle read this article:

link

particularly this section:

Plus, as I mentioned earlier, there's a certain range of fatness where the body doesn't look visually different when it comes to definition and muscularity. When going from 13 to 16% body fat, you'll basically look to be at the same degree of fatness. In fact, some people who store body fat evenly might even look just as lean at 18% as 13%. So if someone goes from 220 pounds at 13% to 230 pounds at 16%, he'll basically have the same amount of muscle and ten pounds more fat, but he'll actually look bigger and more muscular because his degree of leanness will appear to be the same (while he occupies more space.)

So we could say if you aren't lean, adding body fat, up to a point, will make you look more muscular even if you aren't gaining muscle mass. This can make people underestimate the amount of fat they carry and put them in a situation where, over time, they can accumulate a lot of excess fat.

I fell victim to that illusion myself when I first started "bulking".

To answer your question about abs, it ultimately comes down to burning more calories than you consume, which is best accomplished through controlling your diet. Instead of vague advice such as "cut out soda", "don't eat junk food", etc., I would recommend a more methodical approach.

1. Track what you eat each day on Fitday and try to eat about the same number of calories each day
2. Weigh yourself first thing each morning
3. If your average weight has not gone down over the last week or 2, make a small reduction to your daily caloric intake (say 100 calories) and eat that number of calories for the next week or 2
4. Keep tracking your weight and reducing your calories until you are losing weight no more than 1 lb./week on average

See other threads for advice on what you should be eating. Also keep in mind that to build muscle you must consume more calories than you burn, but to lose fat you must burn more calories than you consume. These two conditions are mutually exclusive, which is why most people cannot both build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Some beginners can pull it off for awhile; since you just started training, you might be able to do it in the beginning.

I dunno about .25 lbs per week. I started working out in march I was 166 and by mid june/early july I was 183 and peaking at 187 (full stomach etc). I looked leaner too. My caliper measurements were the same (5 point) and my waist was the same.

I'm not gonna claim it was all muscle or anything but it had to be more than 10 pounds of muscle. These were pure beginner gains.

Yeah it's definitely possible to gain more than .25/lbs per week in plenty of situations.

 

[jcmuse]

all you need to know is here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/6packabs.htm