How Often Should You Exercise Your Abs To Get A Six-Pack?”

Supplied

There's no magic number of workouts per week to guarantee rock-hard abs - a six-pack is undeniably a combination of fat-burning workouts, good quality nutrition and abdominal exercises. From a personal perspective, I try and incorporate two ab-focused workouts into my routine each week and I ensure that the rest of my workouts are as functional as possible.

If you truly want a six-pack and don’t know how to get there, these are my top 5 tips:

Make sure you work your abs in these 4 ways

Flex the trunk, raise the legs, twist the torso and hold the torso stable against a resistance. To make sure you hit your upper, lower, side and deep abdominals, you should incorporate the above four types of exercises into your routine.

Add in HIIT training

High-intensity interval-training has a great metabolic effect and will keep your body burning fat well after your workout finishes. HIIT is great for removing excess fat off those stubborn areas so get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I started training, not to lose weight but to gain it. When I tell people I used to be incredibly skinny and it was something I was really conscious of I don't think they understand or believe me. Since discovering training I have gained confidence, I have a belief and first hand understanding of what is possible when you put your mind to it and discovered that when you take care of your body, it usually takes care of you. But most importantly it was the first step for me in my calling, my personal transformation was the catalyst for me to get in this industry and help people. Never did I believe I would have worked with nearly 200,000 people spanning over a 17 year career but this skinny kid is just getting started 💪🏽

Decrease your carb intake

Carbs are not the enemy - you still need to eat the right ones in moderation. If you really want abs you need to have an especially good diet with a particular focus on reducing your intake of processed carbs and refined sugars.

Focus on an 8:16 window

This is where you try to consume 3 quality, real-food meals per day within an 8 hour window while fasting for the remaining 16 hours of the day. This is a great way to avoid mindless snacking, particularly late night snacking, which is the enemy of the six pack.

Rest & Recovery

Not allowing the body to rest, recover and de-stress properly will wreak havoc on your hormones and make it extremely difficult for your body to burn fat as efficiently as it can. Have at least one rest day per week, warm up and cool down before and after every workout, manage stress, prioritise sleep and you will be setting yourself up for success.

A strong core means more than just a washboard stomach to flaunt on the beach (though it’s certainly a good motivator). Having good core strength brings with it a number of benefits: improved posture and balance and a reduced likelihood of lower-back pain and related injuries. Don’t waste your time doing sit-up after sit-up - remember that you have to shed overall body fat to reveal your abs underneath.

Sam Wood

Father and Fitness Guy. Sam is the founder of the famous Woodshed gym in Melbourne and the 28 by Sam Wood fitness program.