AITank: Fitness Explained

A lot of people are under the impression that doing crunches will get them a six-pack. In reality, this is not true. We recently received a question from Greg of Akron, OH regarding this topic. Greg writes, “I am trying to find the fastest way to get back my 6 pack before summer comes and swim team arrives! Do you know anything that would help?”

Well, sculpting a six-pack pack is all about body fat, regardless of how much cardio or how many crunches you do. Cardio just aids in getting there because it burns calories, and weight loss is when calories burned is greater than calories eaten (we covered this in more detail in a previous post). However, diet is by far the most important aspect of getting your abs to show. Crunches will help to define them and make them stronger, but if you have a bunch of flab over them they’ll never show anyway.

If you need some diet suggestions, we talked about various ideas in this post. Another important thing to point out is the “spot reduction myth.” It is impossible to actively target a specific area, such as the stomach, for fat loss. You cannot simply choose what area you want to lose fat in and work out that area.

Hope this helps, and if you have any further questions don’t hesitate to ask.

With spring break and summer fast approaching, the number one question that will start to circulate is how do I tone up to get a swim suit body or get that mythic six pack so I can show the world. It starts with knowing how to plan a lean diet. Rule number one: never skip meals. Dropping the number of meals you take in per day lowers your metabolic rate and increases the level of nutrient oxidation. This means you will feel lethargic and what fat you have, your body will fight to keep as long as possible based on a primal survival instinct. Rule number two: eat 5 to 6 meals per day. This will kick start your metabolism leading to a higher basal metabolic rate, or BMR, and will stabilize your level of nutrient oxidation making your body more efficient at utilizing food you put in it.

With the basics out of the way lets talk details now. The goal for a leaning or cutting diet is to be high in protein, low in fat and have a decent amount of carbohydrates. If you wanted to talk ratios it would be approximately 42% carbs, 38% protein, 20% fat with the fats being primarily healthy sources such as olive oil, flax oil, fish, peanuts, fruits and veggies like avocado. Look for good carbs to come from items such as, oatmeal, whole grains, yams, beans, and pasta. For good clean protein look to chicken, turkey, egg whites, seafood like tuna, low fat or fat free yogurt, soy products and 2% and lower milk.