Abs in 80 days?
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FloridaSmoothie
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Have to agree. Over the last few years have lost 20-25 pounds. Belly is flat, ribs are slightly visible, and there is some ab definition. Have been doing a few yoga poses to help strengthen the lower back, but they also seem to be helping the abs. Changing your diet is the hardest part. While you're at it, might as well make sure what you're eating has the least (or no) added elements. Eat natural like our ancestors ate. Grains are not your friends. Grrrrrrrrr!
Harold_Hill
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It depends on how much body fat you have to lose, but if you are in half way decent shape already, 80 days is enough time to get your abs in shape for the beach. Hit the gym, (preferably with a trainer), and start working out. It's going to be a lot of hard work, and a lot of sore muscles, but you can do it in 80 days. When you are working out with a trainer that knows what he is doing, muscle tissue grows quickly. However, one thought to keep in mind, if you do it in 80 days, you will come to understand what the phrase "no pain, no gain" means. Muscle tissue doesn't increase/grow unless it is overtaxed.
Hypoxia
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Diet vastly affects weight, not form. I dropped 35% of my body weight in just over a year merely by eating much much less. I prioritize: much protein, little fat, almost no carbs (except potatoes, veggies, fruits), and buckets of sugarless teas and coffees.
That got the weight off but didn't get me fit. Fitness takes work, not just discipline. Ah, work! I exercise more. There's no gym nearby; I merely walk the mountain miles, staying alert for pumas and bears.
Could I go from a slight paunch to noticeable abs in 80 days? Yes, I think so. Lots and lots of sit-ups and crunches, oy.
That got the weight off but didn't get me fit. Fitness takes work, not just discipline. Ah, work! I exercise more. There's no gym nearby; I merely walk the mountain miles, staying alert for pumas and bears.
Could I go from a slight paunch to noticeable abs in 80 days? Yes, I think so. Lots and lots of sit-ups and crunches, oy.WonderPonder
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Your food intake is key. My birthday in May of last year I weighed 235 lbs....today I weigh 180lbs with my goal being in the low 170's.
I'm pretty fit and happy with where I am except I still have a little flap around my lower stomach right from under my belly button to each side.
Eat healthier better foods, drink a ton of water, lots of cardio plus do ab work. I'm not big on supplements but I will say that MuscleTech Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite works (use as directed). That and protein powder are the only products I've ever used.
I'm pretty fit and happy with where I am except I still have a little flap around my lower stomach right from under my belly button to each side.
Eat healthier better foods, drink a ton of water, lots of cardio plus do ab work. I'm not big on supplements but I will say that MuscleTech Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite works (use as directed). That and protein powder are the only products I've ever used.
may_I_please
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Abs are made in the kitchen so you need to eat less to drop body fat
Lift progressively heavier while you do it to maintain your existing muscle, or as much as you can as you drop weight
Lift progressively heavier while you do it to maintain your existing muscle, or as much as you can as you drop weight
WonderPonder
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Dianthus
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Plank pose daily.
You might want to try a 30 day plank pose challenge...google will show you several fitness sites with instructions.
fire_breeze
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Please do not take any offence, but most fat-burning supplements, including Hydroxycut, can be phenomenally dangerous to the health and can cause irreparable liver damage (often requiring liver transplants), seizures, cardiovascular disorders and kidney failures - even death. Additionally, there has been two separate class action suits filed against Hydroxycut, among many other personal suits, for various other health injuries. These damages were done to healthy individuals who took it as directed. I shudder to think what would have happened if someone has an undiagnosed thyroid condition or heart problems.
Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite is banned in Singapore and in many European countries precisely because the medicinal ingredients causes so much health problems. The FDA issued a warning against this. It elevates your resting heart-rate to that of a work-out rate which is remarkably unhealthy. Plus, the company claims that studies (as this watchdog group pointed out) has been done but doesn't list them. In addition, it contains Yohimbe, which should only be used under the supervision of a doctor.
Again, I do not want to start anything, but I did have to point out the huge potential danger of taking this - or any other supplements. My close friend has severe liver issues because she took these supplements (as directed and had no prior health conditions) and I know she isn't the only one. I wouldn't want anyone to go through what she is going through.
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Harold_Hill
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Thank you for bringing this up. Some of these highly advertised health supplements are really dangerous.
Hypoxia
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And, as recent reports revealed, many or most 'herbals' are totally bogus. I think the number was 80% of samples from Walmart, Walgreens, GNC, Target etc that had NO trace of the label ingredients. With unregulated supplements, your choice is basically between bogus crap and dangerous crap. Yow. How to ensure your herbs are pure? Grow and pick them yourself.
may_I_please
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Plank pose daily.
You might want to try a 30 day plank pose challenge...google will show you several fitness sites with instructions.
If you can hold a plank for 60 seconds there is no additional physiological benefit in holding it longer. If you follow a plank challenge as part of your routine make sure you look for those with dynamic adjustments ...I've never done a static plank in my life, they are to me a waste of time when I can be doing push up variations instead
WonderPonder
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Great point you brought up. I looked into Yohimbe and it is banned here in Canada. Hydroxycut here doesn't contain it in the Canadian version which is made here in Ontario. It doesn't surprise me since Canada is one of the toughest, leading countries in the world for strict drug control.
It's quite possible the Canadian version of Hydroxycut has lower doses or even missing certain ingredients that the US has. There're so many products at GNC (location example) here with lower doses or not including ingredients the US has. Also many products you just can't get here like I could if I crossed the border.
Another thing is caffeine content which gives some people the jitters or increased heart rate. I never felt any side effects (raised heart rate, more sweating, jitters, anxiety) which if I did, I wouldn't take. I can drink an XL coffee and fall asleep right after.
But I'm glad you brought this up because it's a serious issue.
Harold_Hill
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As far as the OP's question
If you want to look good in swimwear, there is no drug, herb or supplement that will give you a hard body. Even steroids don't help unless you have a complete workout routine to go with it. If the OP just does sit ups and crunches, he would have great looking abs with flabby arms and thighs, and possibly a sagging butt to go with it. That would look ridiculous. If you want to look good on the beach, it takes hard work. There are no short cuts.
If you want to look good in swimwear, there is no drug, herb or supplement that will give you a hard body. Even steroids don't help unless you have a complete workout routine to go with it. If the OP just does sit ups and crunches, he would have great looking abs with flabby arms and thighs, and possibly a sagging butt to go with it. That would look ridiculous. If you want to look good on the beach, it takes hard work. There are no short cuts.
The other way is to get them from German sources, being smarter than the us, supplement makers have to prove that what they are selling contains what they claim, and it is regulated. The problem with the US is it is always about greed. The supplements act that kept things like vitamins and herbal supplements from being regulated did so because big pharma wanted to make those supplements prescription drugs, and they could sell something cheap to make for ridiculous prices, pure and simple. They also pushed that herbal supplements would need to undergo the same double blind trials that they use for new medicines, and that statistical studies showing the benefits of supplements not be allowed, again because of greed. So as a result, the law was written that there be no regulation, other than if a compound is found to be dangerous after the fact (Ephedra, for example). They could have written a law saying that supplements could not make health claims without proof of effectiveness, but that supplement makers had to prove that what they were selling had the required ingredients and allowed the government to regulate them that they in fact did, but the supplement people working with Orin Hatch (Utah is home to a lot of these companies) made sure they didn't do that.
For supplements, there is a site called consumerlabs.com that analyzes supplements, I think it costs like 30 bucks to join. I buy my supplements from whole foods, from what I can tell based on this website, the stuff I buy there has the required ingredients, and there are other manufacturers that come out okay. GNC is a disaster area, they should be pt out of business, a lot of their body building products were found to contain illegal steroidal substances, and often pose threats to the liver and kidneys.
may_I_please
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You cannot take supplements to get abs
You have to drop body fat (calorie defecit) and lift heavy shit
You have to drop body fat (calorie defecit) and lift heavy shit
badjanus
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may_I_please
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The answer is it depends on where you are starting. If you are fit but want muscle definition, it might be possible in 80 days to get some ab definition, though you won't get a six pack, despite what all those ab roller products and such claim, it is bs. Muscle builds up, but it takes time, and even with a lot of time in the gym, 80 days for most people will produce some definition, but won't do miracles.
If you have put on some flab this winter, if your body fat is up, then you need to focus on that first.
What others are saying is true, that nutrition is the first step. If you are eating diets heavy in carbs, especially sugar (soda and diet soda being disaster areas), I don't care how much you go to the gym, you are not going to develop the kind of body you want. 80% of fitness is in nutrition, pure and simple, and many trainers know this (a lot don't, they will tell you what you eat doesn't matter, etc, and it means they haven't really had much training).
You don't need to go to extremes, the way to look at it is to throw out the USDA recommendations (which are basically aimed at the farm belt and promoting grains) and rethinks some conventional wisdom.
-The whole 'low fat' diet stuff is crap. That doesn't mean you should eat tons of meat and dairy and oils and such, but the whole grain based, low fat diet stuff is a disaster. Among other things, it promotes the idea that fat is evil, and sugars are okay, which is a disaster, sugars among other things cause inflammation which leads to heart disease and other problems.
-In terms of how to eat, one site I love (precision nutrition) describes it practically.The biggest percent of your diet should be vegetables, in effect green vegetables and yellow vegetables are low in calories, and you can in effect eat as much as you want (be careful, that doesn't mean eat starches like potatoes in bulk, talking green vegetables, salad, peppers, cucumbers, etc).
-Next is lean protein, this can be lean meat, chicken, fish (just not farm raised!), beans. You would want to eat maybe a palmful or two of this. Eggs are not bad for you, even whole eggs, and they can be part of the diet, too.
-In lesser amounts, grains, specifically whole grains. Some grains are better for you, like quinoa, but you want to limit these, like maybe a palmful.
-Healthy fats and oils. Your body needs fats, so things like nuts and olive oil are healthy, despite what moron doctors are still promoting. The amount is roughly a thumbful, as a snack or added to a meal.
-You can have dairy, there is nothing wrong with eating cheese in moderation. a small amount of cheese on a salad, like feta cheese, is healthy.
-Fruit eaten as whole fruit is good for you, but try to limit it. Even with the fiber it contains, fruit has sugar, and you don't want too much of that. yeah, I have seen the idiots who say an orange has as much sugar as a can of coke, but an orange has fiber, it has natural sugar, while coke is HFC and has no nutritional benefit.
The above are general guidelines, every person is different. There are people who find they do better in a diet rich in grains (like the mediterranean diets), others who do better with a high protein diet, so that comes into play, but the ultimate thing is to eat things in moderation. The one thing to avoid is excess sugar, drop the soda, drop the fruit juice, drop diet soda. If you need to use a sweetener in tea or coffee, use Stevia, it is the least harmful.
It is true you won't build up muscle definition by diet alone, but without health diet you won't do it either. You can do ab exercises until the cows come home, but if you have excess body fat you will build up muscle under the fat, which will look like shit, you need to lose the body fat, and a lot of that is diet.
As far as how to do it, I would avoid crunches and situps, they seem to be the answer, but they aren't, they don't do an effective job and they also cause back problems. Planks in their various forms (pushup position, on arm position, side plans with and without legs raised), squats with or without weights, mountain climbers, burpees, pushups (standard, grasshopper, spiderman), romanian deadlifts (don't have to use heavy weights), inverted rows, all help build core strength that will turn into abs. If you want to develop a six pack then heavier weights may work better. Another key factor is to switch off exercises, don't do the same exercises all the time, rotate them on days.
It is also important to take a rest day, and have days of what is known as 'light recovery', where maybe you do some aerobics or intervals on those days, to give your muscles a chance to repair themselves. I agree with others, you are better off not necessarily targeting the abs, but rather doing exercises for the whole body. For one thing, doing weight training for the whole body lowers your body fat percentage, which helps you to get those defined muscles, plus a lot of exercises might concentrate on the arms, but also help build up other areas, too.
If you have put on some flab this winter, if your body fat is up, then you need to focus on that first.
What others are saying is true, that nutrition is the first step. If you are eating diets heavy in carbs, especially sugar (soda and diet soda being disaster areas), I don't care how much you go to the gym, you are not going to develop the kind of body you want. 80% of fitness is in nutrition, pure and simple, and many trainers know this (a lot don't, they will tell you what you eat doesn't matter, etc, and it means they haven't really had much training).
You don't need to go to extremes, the way to look at it is to throw out the USDA recommendations (which are basically aimed at the farm belt and promoting grains) and rethinks some conventional wisdom.
-The whole 'low fat' diet stuff is crap. That doesn't mean you should eat tons of meat and dairy and oils and such, but the whole grain based, low fat diet stuff is a disaster. Among other things, it promotes the idea that fat is evil, and sugars are okay, which is a disaster, sugars among other things cause inflammation which leads to heart disease and other problems.
-In terms of how to eat, one site I love (precision nutrition) describes it practically.The biggest percent of your diet should be vegetables, in effect green vegetables and yellow vegetables are low in calories, and you can in effect eat as much as you want (be careful, that doesn't mean eat starches like potatoes in bulk, talking green vegetables, salad, peppers, cucumbers, etc).
-Next is lean protein, this can be lean meat, chicken, fish (just not farm raised!), beans. You would want to eat maybe a palmful or two of this. Eggs are not bad for you, even whole eggs, and they can be part of the diet, too.
-In lesser amounts, grains, specifically whole grains. Some grains are better for you, like quinoa, but you want to limit these, like maybe a palmful.
-Healthy fats and oils. Your body needs fats, so things like nuts and olive oil are healthy, despite what moron doctors are still promoting. The amount is roughly a thumbful, as a snack or added to a meal.
-You can have dairy, there is nothing wrong with eating cheese in moderation. a small amount of cheese on a salad, like feta cheese, is healthy.
-Fruit eaten as whole fruit is good for you, but try to limit it. Even with the fiber it contains, fruit has sugar, and you don't want too much of that. yeah, I have seen the idiots who say an orange has as much sugar as a can of coke, but an orange has fiber, it has natural sugar, while coke is HFC and has no nutritional benefit.
The above are general guidelines, every person is different. There are people who find they do better in a diet rich in grains (like the mediterranean diets), others who do better with a high protein diet, so that comes into play, but the ultimate thing is to eat things in moderation. The one thing to avoid is excess sugar, drop the soda, drop the fruit juice, drop diet soda. If you need to use a sweetener in tea or coffee, use Stevia, it is the least harmful.
It is true you won't build up muscle definition by diet alone, but without health diet you won't do it either. You can do ab exercises until the cows come home, but if you have excess body fat you will build up muscle under the fat, which will look like shit, you need to lose the body fat, and a lot of that is diet.
As far as how to do it, I would avoid crunches and situps, they seem to be the answer, but they aren't, they don't do an effective job and they also cause back problems. Planks in their various forms (pushup position, on arm position, side plans with and without legs raised), squats with or without weights, mountain climbers, burpees, pushups (standard, grasshopper, spiderman), romanian deadlifts (don't have to use heavy weights), inverted rows, all help build core strength that will turn into abs. If you want to develop a six pack then heavier weights may work better. Another key factor is to switch off exercises, don't do the same exercises all the time, rotate them on days.
It is also important to take a rest day, and have days of what is known as 'light recovery', where maybe you do some aerobics or intervals on those days, to give your muscles a chance to repair themselves. I agree with others, you are better off not necessarily targeting the abs, but rather doing exercises for the whole body. For one thing, doing weight training for the whole body lowers your body fat percentage, which helps you to get those defined muscles, plus a lot of exercises might concentrate on the arms, but also help build up other areas, too.
badjanus
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Just an excuse. Anyone can have abs. Put the Oreos down. Cut your carbs, hit the cardio hard, and work those abs. Don't let these fatties discourage you. 80 day's without carbs is more than enough time to get abs unless you are a fat pig.
fire_breeze
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I was referring to the genetics part. Besides the 5% of people with thyroid issues and type 1 diabetes, the rest of the people are more than capable of achieving a six pack. 95% of the fat pigs out there are like that because they eat too much garbage, and don't exercise enough. Just because your mommy and daddy are pigs, that doesn't mean that you are genetically predispositioned to be a pig. All that it means is that you had terrible parents with no willpower, and lack of knowledge and teaching skills to show their children how to eat correctly.
fire_breeze
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Actually, genetics do play a role in one's body's size and more importantly, body shape (articles here and here - my browser would not let me link the actual journals). Not everyone can have washboard abs or a body like X celebrity. While yes, we should never blame genetics for our lifestyle, what is healthy and fit for one individual may not be healthy and fit for another.
