Hollywood Celebrity "Quick Six-Pack Abs" Secrets

Hollywood Celebrity "Quick Six-Pack Abs" Secrets When most people think of "six-pack abs," they immediately visualize themselves (or others) suffering through endless ab crunches, or worse...sit-ups. Unfortunately, you could do ab crunches or leg raises till you couldn't stand upright anymore...and it still wouldn't give you that chiseled, sexy six-pack abs that you - and everybody else - wants to show off. So, take a break from the crunches or sit-ups...and listen up...for some better - and more effective - alternatives to looking leaner and sexier around your mid-section... Show 'Em What You Got If you're standing next to a guy (or gal) who has no abdominal muscle development whatsoever, s/he will still look better than you if s/he has no fat around their waistline. Translation: If you want your mid-section to look good, the very first thing you have to do is to lean out a bit. Losing some pounds of fat will immediately make you look harder and leaner, even if you don't have any abdominal muscles worth showing, whatsoever. And...even if you do already happen to have amazing abdominal muscles, from doing years of crunches or leg raises, no one will be able to see them if there's a there's a layer of belly fat covering them. So, losing the fat around your belly should be priority number one, even above building more ab muscles. Walk a Mile In Your Shoes Most people may not realize this but, one of the most effective - and easy - ways to lose some pounds quickly is to start walking more. Not running or jogging. The reason: walking burns more fat than muscle, unlike running, jogging, or any other faster-paced activity. Faster activities tend to use up more carbohydrates and protein stores in your body as fuel, whereas slower activites use up more stored fat instead. So, get to walking. Try to walk for at least 30 minutes each day, even if you have to break up the walks into multiple 10-minute segments. You know the drill: take the stairs instead of the elevator, park a little further away from your destination (provided the environment is safe for you to walk,) go out for a 10-minute walk during your lunch break, and so on. Just start walking more. (Walking is also easier and less straining on your body, which is a plus.) Core It As mentioned earlier, working your abdominals directly - by doing crunches, leg raises, etc. is fine - provided you don't over-do it. But, if you want to get that leaner, stronger, sexier look around your midsection, you have to work your entire core, not just your ab muscles. There are stabilizer muscles all around your mid-section that help you do, well, everything. Every move you make involves your core. And, if any area of the core is weaker, the others areas will suffer, and look sloppy. For most people, their lower back muscles are the weakest. And, this tends to push their belly out even more, to make them look more bloated than they really are. Developing a stronger core will help you stand taller, move more gracefully, and yes, it will give your waistline a leaner, trimmer look...even if you don't end up losing any fat around your midsection. So, work the entire core. That means, instead of working just the core muscles in front of your body (read: the abdominals,) you have to work the muscles around your entire midsection, which includes your sides (where the love handles tend to be) as well as your lower back muscles. Plank It A simple and effective way to work your core is to do exercises like the "plank" or any other variation of it that gets your core involved. Here's one of my favorite exercises for the core... Start in the push-up position, where your entire body is straight (like a plank) while only your palms and toes (or balls of your feet) are touching the floor. From this position, take your right hand off the floor (as you shift more weight on your left hand in order to have it support all of your upper body) and extend your right hand out to the right side, without bending your elbows. Then, continue to lift and turn your right hand even higher, until it is pointing straight up, towards the ceiling. In order to do this, your head and body will have to rotate about 90 degrees. Maintain the "plank" shape with your body, i.e. do not allow any bending or sagging around your waistline, at all - in any direction. At this point, only your left palm, and your feet will be touching the floor. (It's possible that only the side of your left foot will be touching the floor, and your right foot may be resting on top of the left one.) Hold this position for 5 seconds, while your body is still straight (like a plank) without any bending or sagging in the midsection area. Next, bring your right hand back to the floor at, moderate speed, as you rotate your body back to the starting position, i.e. in the starting push-up position. Now, do the other side. Take your left palm off the floor and do the same thing, i.e. extend your left arm to your left side and then continue to move it higher, till it's pointing toward the ceiling. (Your body and head will rotate along with the move.) Hold this position for 5 seconds, and return to the starting position, at moderate speed. Repeat this entire movement 6 to 10 times (that's, 6 - to 10 times for each side.) You can start with one set of 6 to 10 repetitions, 3 to 4 times per week. The following week, do 2 sets of 6 to 10 reps. The next week, do 3 sets. And on the 4th week, do 4 sets. After the forth week, continue to do 4 sets of 6 to 10 repetitions, 3 to 4 times per week, with a day of rest in between. Do that and you'll have something to show off during your next visit to the beach - or the bedroom. And remember... while you don't necessarily need to stop hitting your abs with all those crunches, leg lift or other spot/isolation exercises - from every possible angle, be sure to walk some pounds off as well. And, of course, don't forget the rest of core, i.e. your back and side muscles. Important: As always, consult your physician before starting any exercise or fitness program.