QUESTION: Hey Kris! How's it goin? I was wondering if you had some advice for getting good abs. I have OK ones now but I wanna push it to the next level. Im just not quite sure what would work.
Last week, my nephew texted me this question, asking how he could get his six pack back for the summer. For a 21-year-old healthy male with no history of disease, obesity or hormone imbalances, the answer is pretty simple: diet, exercise and no alcohol on the weekends.
My reply was more detailed, but nonetheless the answer may be more complicated for the rest of us who are no longer 21.
Even if a six pack is not your goal, two out of every five adult Canadians are obese. Much of the additional fat is carried in the stomach or torso and even after losing weight, the abdominal muscles are the most difficult to develop.
With any weight loss or body toning program, the key to success is diet. When I say diet, I dont mean calorie counting, Weight Watchers, pre-ordered meals, fasts or fads. By diet, I mean the food you eat on a daily basis in order to live, breathe and do the things you love.
Your diet should consist of foods that are nutrient dense, full of vitamins, antioxidants, probiotics and essential fatty acids. Every bite that goes into your mouth and body should be identifiable as real food, not processed, hydrogenated or pumped full of artificial sugar and sweeteners.
Learning what foods are good for you and what foods you should avoid will require some research or the guidance of a professional like a nutritionist. But to make things simple, if you cant pronounce the ingredients, you probably shouldnt be eating it.
Once you start feeding yourself whole foods, you give your body the nutrients it needs and you free energy once used to detox your body of all those chemicals it doesnt recognize. This increased energy will help you push your body harder during exercise, which will give you the results you are looking for.
If, after changing your diet and increasing your exercise you still dont see results, then you may need to look deeper and see if there is a greater health issue. The easiest one to check is your thyroid.
The thyroid gland regulates your metabolism and can be quickly tested through blood work. If your thyroid is under-active, your metabolism will be low and this will make weight loss difficult, especially with the added side effect of low energy levels.
Other common imbalances are high hormone levels of cortisol or estrogen. These can usually be reduced by lowering or managing stress levels, exercising on a regular basis and eating specific foods.
These medical imbalances are beyond my scope of practice, and I only mention them so you are aware that losing weight can be much more involved than simply counting calories.
Back to my nephew, who I know had a six pack in the past and should have no issues getting it back again. I gave him two pieces of advice.
First of all, he needs to change his regular training activity to constantly challenge his aerobic and muscular system. Although I havent watched him workout, I can assume his body is becoming too efficient with his current routine. To continually see results, his program should change at least every four weeks at minimum.
Secondly, he needs to follow the 80/20 rule with his diet. Ff you make the right food choices 80 per cent of the time, you can still achieve your goal by cheating 20 per cent of the time. Because he is young and living with his friends for the summer, that means hell have to give up a few of those beers to get the six pack he wants.
Kristina Bangma is a coach, personal trainer and writer with a love of riding and racing. Email questions to [email protected].
