Upcoming “Getting a 6-Pack” Experiment
17 Mar
Does this blog need more pictures of my half-naked body on it?
YES. Definitely.
Before you stop reading in disgust, I’d like to ask your opinion on an upcoming experiment for the month of April 2010 where I’m attempting to get a REALLY ripped 6-pack stomach.
QUICK EXPLANATION:
Even though I was satisfied the way my body looked in that “How I Lost Weight” Experiment, I still didn’t have a PROPER 6-pack set of abs.
There was still a decent sized layer of fat between my abdominal muscles and the real world.
From everything I’ve learned, this experiment will be primarily about controlling what I eat very carefully. Before, I didn’t have the self-control to do this, but over the last year I’ve become pretty good about controlling what I eat….so the time has come.
THE EXPERIMENT:
I want to see how hard it is to get a true 6-pack, and if it can be done within about a month (for someone like me who’s already in decent shape and physically active).
…so over the course of the experiment I will be training and eating properly for it….and documenting the steps of course.
Will this 6-Pack be sustainable? I doubt it.
So why try? One of my friends called me out on this and said, “You just want to get a picture of yourself with a 6-pack so you can show off later.”
He was absolutely right. In case I have the urge to brag to my future kids about “how cool dad was back in the day”…at least I’ll be able to pull up the photo and say, “Check THIS out” as they roll their eyes and accuse me of Photoshopping the picture.
THE CURRENT SITUATION:
Unflexed, my abs look like:
When flexed, my ab region currently looks something like:
It’s not bad….but it’s not lean enough for a true 6-pack either. If I pinch the fat on my stomach, you can tell there’s a definite barrier between those sweet abs and the adoring world:
By the way…I took that fat-pinch picture while writing this in the library, and one of the librarians saw me lift up my shirt, pinch myself and take several pictures! She just whispered a comment to the librarian next to her…Hahah, I wonder what they’re thinking!
Anyways, I’m curious if anyone out there has actually done this successfully…and maybe share some of that advice? I’m not a fitness guru by any means, just some guy who wants to shove it in his future-kids face that dad had a 6-pack!
Why the gay did you bleach your hair?
Anyway, crunches will build your abs, but to lose stomach fat you need a full body workout. Fat burning isn’t site specific, so when you do a ton of crunches it’s not just burning stomach fat it’s burning fat over your total body. Hence why you never see a guy with really fat arms, legs, neck and 6-pack abs.
Probably something you already knew, but many people are ignorant to this fact
If i were going to attempt this i would change my diet to all fruit, utilize interval training and do lots and lots of pushups, core exercise and cardio work.
I would try P90x. Especially the AB Ripper. I’m not in good enough shape to complete that program yet so I’m doing the South Beach Diet. The first two weeks (induction) claims you’re going to lose 8-13 lbs and mostly around the middle. If I were to do this experiment for a month I would stay on induction for the entire month and add p90x. BTW, I’m 5’8″ 180lbs and just finished two weeks… one induction, then on to phase two where you reintroduce carbs and I’ve lost 8lbs. And inch off my waist and my hips.
Kimberly,
Thanks for the info….I’ve actually seen several of my friends lose A LOT of weight quick with P90X.
I did see the Tim Ferris post a while ago (interesting fact: I just met him a few days ago at SXSW here in Austin!) but haven’t looked at it since. It seems he’s pretty much done exactly what I want to do!! So I will re-read this very carefully.
I will also be having Adam Gilbert from MyBodyTutor.com help me out on this, so I’ll be getting professional advice which should greatly help!
Also, I wanted to include a page from Tim Ferriss’s site where he went from “geek to freak”. I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of him by now. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/
There’s a saying in the fitness industry that goes, “Abs are made in the kitchen; not in the gym.” Best of luck.
I’ve heard that, and I think it’s ABsolutely true (pun intended).
You will have to run like a mofo.
I was somewhat in shape throughout high school but never had a six pack. Until I started playing soccer in college, where I had to run twice a day, every day, and lift weights twice a week, that’s when I got a six pack. It took me about nine months of this to get a flat stomach and six pack.
I used to run EVERYDAY no matter what in college…and it got me in shape, but looking back…I’d literally EAT all that progress away.
I might burn 1,000 calories after a super intense and long running session, but if I eat 3,000 for dinner, it doesn’t matter.
Good luck with this! Let us know if it works. If it does, I’ll force my husband to do it. :)
I hope the younger, more impressionable ones don’t take this too far, though. It’s no secret that eating disorders are all over these days, and usually the person doesn’t even understand why they do the behavior themselves. This article http://sn.im/uxpm0 might be good to read before you go into any diet.
Really good experiement. I can see lots of websites to teach how to get a six pack within a month, or within a week etc… but nobody is giving a realtime experience/experiment about how to start and whether it can be done for a common man etc…
Your initiative is highly appreciating. if you can achieve the six pack, then you can make a blog including all these posts ( from the very first day..) and it would be helpful for thousands…
Wish you good luck!
While muscles are made in the gym (actually on rest days), abs are made in the kitchen.
It’s all about diet and self-discipline. It’s easy to put on muscle but it’s really hard, mentally, to cut down.
Doing careful food selection helps, though, and what I believe is best for fat loss is eating a low-carb diet or possibly some form of carb cycling.
Someone recommended an all-fruit diet in the comments section above. That is something I would NOT do, unless someone pointed a gun to my head.
haha..the pics.
thank for this post good owner of this blog is to be taken