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Joseph Hunt’s Six Facts To A Six Pack

The following is fellow personal trainer Joseph Hunt's Six Facts To A Six Pack:

So, although it may not feel like it, summer is here.  Most of us are gonna be visiting somewhere nice and want our bodies to look “DOPE”!!!! Lol! So I put together SixFacts to impact your SixPack!!! They are sure fire ways of turning your sour dough belly into some real eye candy!

My first fact is: Moderate to high level of intensity! One way to increase intensity is reduce your rest! Now, your rest should be based on how many reps it takes to fatigue (that “burning” sensation) your muscles. If you fatigue early like, before 10 reps, then your rest can be longer like 30-60 secs. Anything up to 15 reps or more, you should have little to no rest. Your abs are made up of a special type of muscle fiber that can create a great amount of strength but also have high levels of endurance, which means they recover really fast!!! So don’t be lazy, stop daydreaming between sets; don’t send a quick text message, or change the song on your iPod…stay focused! And keep the intensity high.

Quick note - Intensity can also be increased by additional weights and instability, which I will further go into.

The second fact to a six pack: Resistance! Resistance can mean using your body weight to fatigue a muscle, or simply placing your body in a position that makes an exercise more challenging. The simplest way is usually by just adding weights.  Now, adding resistance causes an aesthetic change. This means to visually see definition, an increase in force is needed.  If you are not looking for an aesthetic change and muscular endurance is what you’d rather achieve, then higher reps would be your goal.  But don’t expect muscle strength to increase after a few weeks of this type of routine because it’s not very demanding on the body, which, leads into my next fact: Variety!!!

Variety is simple - don’t rely on just a few core moves to workout your midsection.  You must focus on all muscles that involve your six pack: the erectus abdominus (six pack), transverse abdominus (the body natural belt), and the external and internal obliques (hour glass). It’s best to try and do compound moves that hit all areas at once!!!  This maybe a little challenging especially if your surrounding muscles aren’t strong enough.

The fourth fact is (if you were paying attention): Develop Surrounding Muscles! One of the most important muscles to develop are hip flexors (the connecting muscles between your legs and lower abs).  I strongly suggest this because when you use your legs to work your abs, not only are you working the hardest part to develop - which is the lower abs - but you’re actually working the whole/entire six pack.  In other words, work from the bottom up!

Fifth fact: Instability will get you skinny! lol Well kinda…

So you remember the whole craze behind Bosu balls (the blue half ball) or an exercise ball? These create instability and therefore utilize more muscle fibers than using a secure surface like a bench.  Furthermore, the ball will also help develop muscles in the hips, glutes (boomboom) and back! And all those surrounding muscles I was discussing before.

Lastly, but definitely not least: Stay in control of all movements! Your abs must have an adequate time under tension to make an impact.  So don’t try to pump out a lot of reps as fast as you can by using momentum.  It’s not about quantity but quality.  You should feel a constant contract in your abs when before a crunch, sit up or a plank!! Not in your back or anywhere else.  Try to keep your spine as flat as possible! The more arching you’re doing the less effective it is for developing your ab muscles!!!

It’s not impossible to get killer abs but it is hard work.  Not only do you need to follow these exercise tips but cardio and a dedicated and consistent diet is also needed.  Once you accept that something in life is hard, it becomes easy! Just think about it: the biggest part of the battle is realizing that there is no easy way to fame, riches, knowledge and health. Do your due diligents for everything and you will get that goal you desire.

I hope these Six Facts DO impact your SIXPACK!!! If you need more help don’t be afraid to contact me:  Jhunt.tobefit@gmail.com