The Secret to Six Pack Abs: 7 Myths that are Causing You to

Fail

Quick Story – As I was growing up, I played a lot of different sports and remained incredibly active. In Middle School, I was introduced to weight training (which completely changed my life forever).

In High School, while the other kids were jamming Skittles down their throat and having pizza parties, I began monitoring my nutrition closely.

Despite my best efforts however, I could never get that defined, chiseled six pack abs until much later in life.

Of course I had a friend that rarely ever left his couch except to heat up another hit pocket in the microwave, yet had an immaculate, ripped six pack abs. I think we all have that one friend that is seemingly genetically predisposed to look like they just got back from a casting call for the movie 300.

Along with cursing his name under my breath, it made me realize that oddities like my friend that are either genetically gifted or descendants of the Greek Gods, make it incredibly difficult to offer steadfast rules for gaining a ripped six pack of abs because there are always exceptions.

There are countless factors that need to be accounted for when trying to reduce bodyfat and improve body composition such as, stress, hormonal imbalances, and training background.  It can become incredibly confusing at times.

So, instead of providing a direct rule-set for how to build six pack abs, today, we’re going to discuss 7 of the most disastrous myths that are likely holding you back from achieving your goals of obtaining a lean midsection.

Believe me, at some time or another, I too trusted the ridiculous information that some of the so called “gurus” passed as fact. Little did I know, I was simultaneously sabotaging my efforts by adhering to these myths.

Whether you are a bon-a-fide workout ninja or simply looking to score some additional advice on abdominal training, the following information should be beneficial to you…

Myth #1 You Can Out Crunch Your Poor Nutritional Habits

Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. If you think that you can gorge on an unknown amount of calories derived from food that was manufactured in some laboratory by the shills of some multibillion dollar food corporation, and still gain a set of ripped six pack abs, then you have another thing coming.

If you eat garbage, you will look like garbage, no matter how many abdominal exercises you do at the gym.

What the heck is a cheese puff even made of?

Even if your nutritional program is comprised of healthy foods like meats and vegetables, it’s still essential to maintain the proper portion sizes.

Though there are countless factors that play a significant role in fat loss and body composition, the one constant is, that if you eat more than your body burns, the excess calories will be stored away for future use (most likely as fat).

So, the first thing you need to do is drop the gym bag and pick up a nutritional guide because if you don’t have a clue of what you’re stuffing down your gullet, then you will likely be in it for the long haul.

Myth #2 Carbohydrates are Six Pack Killers

Though I am a strong proponent of eating a lower carbohydrate diet, it’s important to understand that carbohydrates play a vital role in any nutritional program and shouldn’t be completely excluded.

Often times, people view a certain trend in the health and fitness industry and simply take it to extremes. When it comes to carbohydrates, there is no white or black area, but rather a gray.

Does the average person consume far too many carbohydrates? Yes! Should we completely vilify them and ignore the substantial benefits simply because some people consume far too many carbohydrates? NO!

Carbohydrates break down into glucose. It is then absorbed by the cells to be used as energy in the form of glycogen. Without glycogen, it becomes rather difficult to fuel high intensity workouts like the HIIT program I described in an earlier post.

Of course, when glucose is released into the bloodstream, the body also secretes insulin in order to deal with it. When this occurs, the body ceases to burn fat and will generally subside solely on the glucose that is being absorbed, which is ultimately bad for your goals of burning fat for a more visible six pack.

However, by eating minimal amounts of carbohydrates, we can receive the best of both worlds. You will have enough energy to fuel your workouts while also having the ability to burn a substantial amount of body fat.  It’s a win-win situation!

Myth #3 Your Abs Need Crunches Crunches may be the single most popular

exercise for building the rectus abdominis, but they are far from the most effective.

Through electromyography (EMG), researchers can measure the amount of electrical activity within a muscle during activity and is a direct indication of how “intensely” a specific muscle group is being worked.

The results of testing the EMG of numerous abdominal exercises can be seen below. The higher the number, the more effective that exercise is at causing tension within the muscle.

As you can see, the EMG readings for the traditional crunch scored incredibly low, showing that it is slightly more effective than the ab rocker (which is crap).

There are far more effective exercises than wasting your time cranking out endless sets of abdominal crunches. Do yourself a favor and lose the crunches.

Myth #4 Supplements Will Pick Up Your Slack

Supplementation can be extremely beneficial in aiding you in becoming both healthier and more fit. However, they are simply there to SUPPLEMENT your pre existing training and nutritional regimens, not to make up for poor habits.

Here is a very real scenario that many can relate to. Sally wanted to lose the last 5 pounds of belly fat covering her six pack abs. Sally turned to fat burners in order to reach her goals more efficiently.

Within 2 weeks time, Sally had reached her goal of burning those additional pounds of body fat.  However, like any sane human being, Sally decided to eventually discontinue using that particular fat burner and those 5 pounds immediately reappeared.

Why you may ask? It is because Sally hadn’t made the proper adjustments to her nutrition and exercise programs. The real issue was that she was not eating or training properly to warrant the loss of those 5 pounds and packed them right back on as soon as the fat burners were out of her system.

The fat burners were only a temporary fix and could not fully make up for Sally’s bad habits.

Myth #5 Slow Reps are Better Suited for Building Abs

Researchers at the Miguel Hernandez University tested the EMG muscle activity of the abs, obliques (both internal and external), and the erector muscle (lower back) under 4 rep speed variations.

What the researchers found was that the faster the rep was performed, the higher the activation in all of the muscle groups. At slower speeds, the external obliques hardly even registered.

The moral of this story is that speed variations in abdominal exercises can help increase muscle activation. From time to time it may be beneficial to speed up the repetitions for additional gains, but ensure that you do it safely as well.

Myth #6 You Can Train the Abs Every Day

The abdominals are muscles. Just like every other muscle, when they get broken down, they require time to repair. Unlike other muscles, the abs CAN endure more frequent training.

However, training the abdominals without sufficient rest is a recipe for severe muscular imbalances in your abdomen, lower back, and quite possibly your hips. If overtraining continues, the possibility of muscle tears and the potential for a hernia could arise.

So, train your abs hard, but err on the side of caution and allow your abs adequate rest.

Myth #7 Isolation Exercises Will Help Burn Additional Abdominal Fat

Here’s another very real scenario for you. Sally wants a ripped six pack of abs, so she spends 30 minutes every workout performing every abdominal exercise known to man, many of which she may have even made up herself.

After 6 months of following this rigorous workout routine, Sally STILL has no definition in her abs. Why?

Because no matter how many abdominal exercises Sally does each and every day, there is still a layer of body fat that is preventing her six pack from showing.

Little does Sally know, that abdominal exercises;

Don’t burn a substantial amount of calories.

Don’t cause a large enough thermogenic response to significantly increase the metabolism so that the body burns more calories throughout the day.

Instead, Sally should have focused her efforts on exercises that do burn sufficient calories and do cause a thermogenic response in order to relinquish the fat covering her precious six pack of abs.

Many believe that working a specific area ultimately equates to more fat being burned in that specific area.  This is entirely FALSE.

The body does not discriminate. When your body burns fat it doesn’t pick and choose where the fat will come from. Instead, it will burn fat all over.

Of course it may seem as if certain areas of the body lose more fat than others, but that’s simply because there is more fat stored in that specific area.

What this all boils down to is the fact that you can gain a ripped body and six pack abs without doing many abdominal exercises at all as long as you effectively burn the fat preventing your abs from showing.

If you’ve enjoyed this post feel free to subscribe to this blog below to receive updates and other cool stuff. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comment area below as well.

www.smartsixpacks.com