Why Your Abs Aren’t Making a Grand Entrance

By Gym Staff | February 16, 2017

When it comes to building muscle, the abdominal area is the most challenging, especially when you started with a big belly in the first place. You may be spending hours in your fancy gym performing ab-related exercises with little to no results. You’re becoming frustrated, especially with the representation that six-pack abs are equivalent to masculinity.

But instead of becoming frustrated, you have to take matters into your own hands! You should take a step back and determine the flaws in your exercise program. You will be surprised that you may be doing two or more of the following mistakes behind your abs shying away from the spotlight.

#1 Reliance on Crunches

Unfortunately, fat loss in a specific part of the body will not melt away by training it more often. Even if you perform a thousand crunches a day, your abs will not rise to the fore, so to speak. You will likely just get sore muscles in the abdominal area but your six-pack abs are still nowhere in sight.

Why? We have so little control about where our bodies will burn fat. Plus, abdominal fat is usually the first fat to appear with an unhealthy lifestyle and the last fat to disappear with healthy habits. Such tenacity makes six-pack training a frustrating aspect of the bodybuilding process.

The best way – nay, the only way – for effective fat loss is by way of cardiovascular and resistance training coupled with proper nutrition. You have to be patient and persevere for several months before your six-pack abs become more evident.  You should also say goodbye to your hundred crunches a day and say hello to cardio and resistance training.

#2 Focus On Exercises

Low body fat is the most important factor in impressive six-pack abs – it isn’t strong and stable abs. For this reason, high subcutaneous body fat around your abdominal area will prevent your six-pack abs from showing up.  You can spend hours on leg raises and crunches without seeing them.

Why? You’re focusing too much on exercise and too little on diet. You have to adopt a smart meal plan that will reduce your body fat percentage and, thus, allow your abs to take the spotlight.

These diet-related tips are effective in getting your abs to the fore:

• Eat five or six meals but keep them small. You can stabilize your blood sugar levels, reduce hunger-induced cravings for sweet and fatty food, and ensure sufficient nutrients.
• Avoid letting hunger become your guide. You should eat before hunger strikes so that you don’t overeat and, thus, sabotage your six-pack plans.
• Determine your ideal protein intake based on your ideal weight. For example, if your goal is 170 pounds, just multiply it by 0.8 grams to arrive at your daily protein intake – 136 grams per day, which means 27 grams per meal assuming a five-meals-a-day plan. You should also add protein sources, such as chicken, beef, turkey, cottage cheese, and egg whites, in every meal.

The last tip is a must because protein is the primary building block of muscle. Plus, the more muscle you have on your body, the more efficiently your body’s fat-burning processes can be.

You should also diversify your carb sources. This will keep your body guessing, so to speak, which will be good for keeping it in top shape. Just be sure to stick to healthy carb sources, such as brown rice, pasta, vegetables, and brown rice, not candy bars and Fruit Loops.

#3 Same Old Exercises

Keep in mind that your six-pack abs aren’t just the rectus abdominus. You also have the internal and external obliques running along the sides of your six-pack abs, as well as the transverse abdominus under the internal oblique. You may even want to add the serratus anterior but only if you want to become a bodybuilder.

But why are these muscles still aren’t showing up? The answer may lie in your same old exercises for the abdominal muscles.  You’re concentrating too much on the rectus abdominus and, thus, neglecting the obliques and transverse abdominus.

You have to exercise these sections, too. You have to add suitcase deadlifts, planks and dead bugs to your routine, as well as vary the reps and sets for your old exercises. You want to keep your body guessing so that it doesn’t fall into a rut.

And if you’re changing your exercises, you should also think about changing the frequency of your abs-related workouts. You may want to work on your six-pack abs every day but this isn’t effective. Your muscles attain optimum growth during the recovery period, thus, the need for rest.

For best results, you can perform abdominal training for 2 to 3 times per week. You can shorten the workout duration when your abs become stronger, such as every other day.

And always be patient with these tips. You will not get immediate results within a few days since six-pack training demands perseverance and passion to pursue your goals.