The Flat stommach, The sixpack, etc. What to do. (muscles, lose fat, lift)

[Niceguy89]

Why post this?
I see alot of one-sided posts, people will recomend either the infamous "plank", some wierd ab machine, situps or some cardio, maybie nutritional adaptions in our every day meals etc. There seems to be alot of confusion and myths around the subject, most of which were once created by people selling (mostly worthless) workout equipment. So I decided to make this thread a bit more thorough than a usual reply instead of replying the same thing on tons of threads...

No matter if you're a guy trying to get a sixpack or if you are a woman wanting a flat stommach, you need to combine most of these to achieve your goal. The largest secret, is what everyone really knows deep down, but always want to avoid. That secret is that what you need is dicipline, hard work and time. It will take time no matter how efficient you do this, and all "shortcuts" I have ever seen have done nothing but prolong the process, unless the user gave up, failing it in its total.

So let's get on with it, beginningwith the common goals:
A "flat stommach" as many women are looking for is not without muscle, and low on fat. A "sixpack" as many guys strive for does not come from having particularly large abdominal muscles(even if this is important in the context), but rather from not hiding them behind bodyfat.

1. Cardio
To get thin you do cardio.(running, aerobics, swiming, whatever keeps you heartrate up for a minimum of 40 minutes) This will make you lose fat, but only if you eat food containing less energy than you spend. (Energy in food is measure in calories or joules, make sure you always look at the same one)
Think of it this way: if you have a car with a neverending gastank and fill it with more gas than you use every day, there will only be more and more gas in the tank and it will get heavier and heavier. Fat is nothing but one of 3 fuels the body can burn to keep being alive, you need to makeyour body think that it's time to take from the reserves in order to lose fat.


2. Static Core Exercises and Dynamic Core Exercises
The human abdominal muscels are constructed in 2 main "layers". What most people call "core execises" such as "the plank" with all of its variations is the group I call Static Core Exercises (SCE) while situps, leg lifts etc are Dynamic Core Exercises (DCE). SCEs will help your bodys natural posture to pull your stommach inwards and create a generally healthier look on an already thin person. DCEs will help build and shape the "sixpack muscles".
But remember your body will not build any muscle while you are burning fat, and this is where the difference occurs for the guys who want sixpacks. You will need to go up in weight while getting bigger muscles and then go down slowly again to keep the muscles while burning the fat.
However those that seek the flat stommach should do these anyway, even if emphasis does not need to be as big on these as it would be for the "6pack hunter".
With other words SCEs work out your inner layer of muscles while DCEs works the outer ones. both are needed no matter what goals you have surrounding your abdominal muscles.

3. Nutrition
To be honest here this is an area where there are better sources for information, this is also what most people consider "the hard part". However I'll give you want I know and you can work your way from there. I'll begin with some data.
Energy:
1 gram of Carbohydrates=4kcal
1 gram of Fat=9kcal
1 gram of Protein =4 kcal
Most foods will declare how much of each they contain, and then you can calculate how much calories you are eating. Vegetables and fruits etc can be checked up on various internet sites, and there are even sites that will let you do entire weekly calculations, all meals included.(sorry but I don't know any in english, I have only used swedish ones...)
Most people will find that they consume somewhere between 2000-3000 kcal/day. To go down in weight in general is mathematicly fairl simple; you simply cut down on the calories eaten little by little until you find yourself losing weight, it can be a bit harder in reality, mostly because we forget counting or underestimate how much we've consumed. It my take that you become one if these "calorie counting freaks" in the beginning, and then after a while you form sort of an "nutritional intuition" and cease the need of counting.
How much calories you'll need to eat (or skip) is something I cannot tell you nor calculate. This depends on your personal metabolism, and how active your average day is. Remember that weightloss is not an overnight goal and that your weight may fluctuate up and down as much as 5 lbs each way. This is mainly because of how much you have eating, how calorie dense the food was, when you went to the loo last time etc. to measure your weight as efficiently as possible at home, always measure yourself in the morning after having completed your needs, but before eating breakfast.

Your body will need some key komponents to work properly:
Vitamins: A, all kinds of B, C, D, E
Fatty acids: Omega 3(preferably from fish, but lineseed oil is ok if you want to go cheap)
Minerals: Magnesium, Zink, Iron, Copper, Selenium, Potassium, Calcium, Chrome, Manganese. Basicly everything in the periodic table that you can find in foods.

4. Supplements
To begin with; there are no miracle pills, and any supplement may have sideffects, especially the few that actually have an effect. Almost all supplements will promise alot, almost none will keep it's promises. My advice is to never use the fatburning supplements until you get in to that very final stage where you have maybie 5-8 lbs/2-3,5kg left to reach your goal, since it gets exponentially harder the closer you get to the goal. By the time you get in this area the "6pack hunters" are already hinting their sixpacks and those who want flat stommachs look like they have already reached their goal if wearing a top/t-shirt.
To put some estimated numbers on the effects of supplements a good 30 dollar supplement that lasts a month will have the same effect as 20 minutes of extra cardio/day if it's lucky.

If you are at building part towards a sixpack however; it is important that you body has access to simple carbs("fast carbs") to get back to the anabolic phase of musclebuilding. While working out or losing weight, the body is set in a catabolic state, trying to survive by burning up its resources. So take a gainer or bring a sandwich.

5. The combination
So all in all; you have to do cardio, this is the most important step towards a flat stommach, you CAN NOT, NEVER under ANY CIRCUMBSTANCES burn fat only on your stommach or behind or wherever you may want to lose it. You will lose it in the order your body decides to.
Secondly do your SCEs and DCEs there are plenty of videos on youtube with variations on both.
Thirdly: it's nu just how much you eat, it's not just "how healthy" you eat its the total of assesing the ammount of healthy food that will bring you closer to your goal.
And last but not least; While supplements may help that last little way to the finishline or motivate you "now that you've already spent money anyway", never rely on them, most are more or less frauds anyway. and sadly this includes the larger brands aswell.

6. Some tips and tricks in burning fat
* To burn off fat more efficient do your cardio before breakfast
* Do not eat 3-4 hour prior to going to bed you have little use for the nergy while sleeping
* Some things like chili, green tea etc speed up your metabolism, meaning you burn more if you soncume them.
* Some vegetables like celeriac takes more energy for the body to break down than it will gain from it, meaning that eating these is actually a burning activity.
* Avoid simple carbs like sugar and white flour. these makes you body store new energy in form of bodyfat faster (fill up the tanks more), relative to complex carbs like wholegrain pasta. This is why McDonalds food is worse than your moms baked potato.
* Start of working out 2 times/week and slowly accelerate to every second day or so. For some people it's beneficial to do even more than that. However brisk walks can be done everyday without problem. Brisk walks should take a minimum of 60 minutes to have a good effect. Also remember to keep it brisk, which may be easier if listening to music that motivates you.
* Do not give up and remember results may take time.

I would also like to shoot a few holes through a few myths:
* Building muscle while burning fat. Not possible, you can combine weekly periods of building with periods of cutting, but you can't do both at the same time.
* Turning fat into muscle Not possible, even the basic building blocks differ from eachother it's like trying to build a "100% wooden horse" out of only steel.
* Burning specific fat on for example the belly...Again no, basicly it's like if you have a jug of water, if you are still on earth with the water being pulled by gravity, it doesn't matter from where in the jug you take th water, if you drill a hole in the bottom or suck the water out with a straw the waterlevel will still sink the same direction, down.
* The new fantasic, revolutionary patenteted~...whatever they call it, it's basicly always crap.
* Supplements that "cuased this or that fitness model to gain 10 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks". Yes he probably took that supplement...and steroids. watch "Bigger, Faster, Stronger* the side effects of being american" and you'll see what I mean.
* Genetics("my family have always been on the heavy side")...How many times haven't we heard this one? does half the population have bad genetics? donät think so. the times when bad genetics play a parthas to do with some very rare syndromes, and may account for less than a percent of overweight people. This is nothing but a cry excuse for not getting of the behind and doing something about the prblem.
*Anti depresants: here is the only valid one. Antidepressants have all sorts of side effects, and can make weightloss alot harder. With this in mind however; they do not make anything impossible, which is important to remember! Don't let it become an excuse because you know it has a negative effect! In that case you are the bigger hinder than your medication.


Any questions?