ABSolution

A great set of abs requires a more of a focused effort than simply hitting the gym regularly. A solid training program allows you to develop all the grooves and details of your midsection, but you must also rigorously follow a quality nutrition program to help you shed fat in order to show off the details you’ve carved into your abs without sacrificing muscle mass from the rest of your body. Here’s a few strategies will help you get focused and achieve some ripped abs.

STRATEGY 1: Cut the crap
The first step to shedding bodyfat is cleaning up your diet. First, cut out all fast-food if you consume it on a regular basis. Next, make sure you’ve eliminated all sources of trans fats. Additionally, you’ll need to cut the bad carbs: Avoid fast-digesting carbs that are likely to be stored as bodyfat.

STRATEGY 2: Go high protein
If you want great abs, you have to follow a very high protein diet. Protein is a critical factor for bringing out your abs and making your whole physique look good. First, protein provides your body with amino acids that prevent muscle breakdown while you’re in a calorie deficit, thus sparing your other muscles, which can otherwise be tapped for energy when you burn more calories than you consume. Second, protein drives up your metabolic rate, helping you burn more bodyfat. And last, protein provides low-calorie satiety to deter you from cheating so you succeed on your diet.

STRATEGY 3: Create a deficit
You don’t want to have a deficit with your personal finances, but creating one with your energy intake versus expenditure is critical to burn bodyfat instead of adding unwanted weight. You’ve got to burn more energy than you take in. Performing both weight training and cardio exercise will expend more energy; you must, however, also decrease your caloric intake by cutting simple carbs and unnecessary fats (as stated above). Again, by upping your protein intake you further boost metabolic rate and rev up fat burning.

STRATEGY 4: Tighten your belt
Abs training doesn’t end in the gym. The way in which you carry yourself the rest of the day really affects how your midsection looks. Wear a belt several hours a day when. Learn to suck in your gut and stand more erect. Doing so helps you present a more streamlined physique, and forces your abs to work harder more of the time.

STRATEGY 5: Learn to burn
Perform 30-45 minutes of moderate-paced cardio on an empty stomach when you get up. This approach to cardio is great for energy balance management — you burn calories and your body must turn to internal energy because it has no stores to tap into from food in your system. However, if your body seems to utilize muscle mass more than bodyfat, you may want to adopt another strategy. Try performing cardio later in the day, using intensity cycles (sometimes called interval training), where you go easy for one minute and then work at a challenging rate for one minute. Alternate for 20 minutes, building up to 30–40 minutes; just be sure to consume about 20 grams of whey protein before this session. Having the protein in your system will allow your body to spare muscle tissue while preferentially burning bodyfat.

STRATEGY 6: Watch the salt
When you’re trying to get your abs in shape you want to reduce your sodium intake. That’ll help reveal those splits and cross striations in your abs and other muscle groups. Excess salt intake makes your body retain water, which can sit on your abs, making you look like you’re holding more bodyfat than you really are.