The Secret to Getting Abs!

Tell me if this sounds familiar...

You wake up, do a stretch or two (in bed of course... let's get real), maybe if you're listening to the advice in my posts you drink some water too, then head for the bathroom. You know who's there to greet you when you get into the bathroom and look in the mirror? I'll give you a hint, it's not a 6 or 8 pack of abs! It is your ever so loving stomach that just loves you so much it refuses to leave you no matter how many times you've tried to break up with him or her!

Getting rid of excessive stomach fat or "love handles" is an issue that all of us deal with. Unfortunately there are a lot, a lot, a lot of misconceptions going around about how to actually get rid of this extra love and cushion on our bodies. As well as a lot of lies about how to actually get abs.

Lie #1

If you do crunches every single day, you will get abs... Yes and no. It is extremely important to do core exercises such as crunches, leg raises, etc. but not because it is going to give you a visible 6 pack, no. Doing these exercises strengthens your core which helps prevent injuries. Your core is extremely important in every exercise you do, especially for your back! And when you take the advice I give you and put it into action you'll be thanking yourself that you did do SOME crunches!

Truth #1

So again crunches and core exercises are extremely important to strengthen your core, not get you chiseled abs! It will not get rid of all your excess stomach cushion, it will help, but it won't do the entire job! Although when you do loose the weight because you did these exercises and strengthened your core, you will have something to show that you will be extremely proud of! Everybody has abs, some people just have more fat on top of them! So loosing the excessive weight is what is going to give you visible abs. The people that have ripped stomachs are at such a low body fat percentage which is why their abs are that visible. For example, the photo attached is a picture of my abs the night before my 1st bikini competition. My body fat percentage was so low it was basically non-existent. I did abs maybe 2 days a week only the last month or two of training. It was the weight that I had lost that made them so visible. Also that is an unrealistic weight to maintain, do not compare yourself to pictures like this!! It is a temporary body state that IS NOT maintainable. I do not currently look like this, but I do still have visible abs. So keep this in mind on your journey please!

Lie #2

You can spot reduce fat. Stop, no, whoever tells you that just smile, nod and politely disregard anything they ever say to you again... No not really! Please don't do that, but you. can. not. spot. reduce. What spot reducing is if you aren't familiar with the term is basically a belief that you can target one area and just loose weight in that specific area and no where else. For example, you can loose weight in your core by only focusing on your core and loosing weight in your core. In reality, it is all or nothing. Have you heard that saying before? Well it also applies to fitness.

Truth #2

It is all or nothing. You need to focus on weight loss or tone in general for your entire body. This is where it gets tricky though... You can focus on growing muscles individually. For example, doing bicep curls will grow solely your biceps. Believe it or not your butt will not grow from doing bicep curls... If you figure out how to do that, please let me know your secret! So we can grow our muscles individually but we can not spot reduce weight or fat loss. So if your goal is to loose weight focus on loosing weight of your entire body and using resistance training (weight training) to shape each muscle to the desired look or size! In my opinion that is the best way to go! In a post coming up I will explain the best way to loose weight based on certain goals and why I think HIIT cardio (High Intensity Interval Training) is the best way to go!

Lie #3

Maybe you went out and drank last night, had a really greasy or salty meal, didn't drink a lot of water, or if you're a female maybe you're about to start your "lady time." The next morning you wake up and you feel 5 lbs heavier than yesterday. Your stomach is extended and bloated. You gained weight basically over night! One bad day or night just made you fat!

Truth #3

NO! You can't gain weight that fast. Just like you can't eat one healthy meal and become skinny. You can't eat one bad meal and become fat either! That one night of drinking, that one day you had a greasy burger, or salty fries isn't going to destroy your body and make you gain weight. It doesn't work that fast. Yes if you do it every day or a good majority of days... It eventually will! In reality, you're probably just bloated or holding water retention!

The bloating will go away over time your body is just trying its hardest to process what you put into it. Plus, if it's unfamiliar food, there's a good chance this might happen. You might also be bloated due to water retention! When you don't drink the necessary amount of water your body needs, it retains water! So oddly enough, if you drink more water it will get rid of the excess water it is holding! Doesn't make sense at face value I know, but trust me here! Especially if you went out drinking or ate a salty meal, this actually dehydrates you, so you want to make sure you are actually drinking more water than normal!

So what do you do from here!

• Do core exercises (crunches) to strengthen your core

• Focus on entire body weight loss! Not spot reduction!

• If you want to loose weight, as you do cardio you will loose weight, but try to incorporate resistance (weight) training as well

• Cardio helps burn body fat which will help reveal abs!

• Resistance training helps maintain it LONGER! Also gives you muscle & desirable shape!

• Drink lots of water!!!

• Watch the foods you eat!