# How do you get a six pack?



## vejichan (Jun 15, 2017)

i really want to get a six pack. should i just cut out carbs completely and do crunches all day?
How do i get rid of my beer belly and love handles?


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## Blytheryn (Jun 15, 2017)

Sure, do some crunches, raises, and other good ab stuff, but you won't ever see those abs until you're under 12% body fat. Find out how many calories you need to eat every day for maintenance and slash 500 off that number. I'd say start by just eating less and then adding some cardio to burn off more calories when you have gotten a bit underway


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 15, 2017)

abs are 90% diet and 10% work. Best way to get rid of a beer gut is cut fast food/alcohol/most frozen foods (excluding fruits and vegetables) if those are a staple in your diet, and then start slowly tapering your calorie count while increasing the amount of exercise. If you don't work out already, start walking a couple miles a day, join a gym, do some lifting (compound lifts like deadlift, squat and power clean are really good for weight loss if you go high rep/lower weight). You can always start with body weight versions of the squat and do burpees instead of deadlifts too.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 15, 2017)

Blytheryn said:


> Sure, do some crunches, raises, and other good ab stuff, but you won't ever see those abs until you're under 12% body fat. Find out how many calories you need to eat every day for maintenance and slash 500 off that number. I'd say start by just eating less and then adding some cardio to burn off more calories when you have gotten a bit underway


actually abs depend on your genetics. some guys can see them around 15%-20%.


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## Blytheryn (Jun 15, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> actually abs depend on your genetics. some guys can see them around 15%-20%.


Wish I did...


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## Lorcan Ward (Jun 15, 2017)

vejichan said:


> How do i get rid of my beer belly and love handles?



All you need to do is make changes to your diet. For breakfast eat porridge. Swap all drinks out for water, some milk and fruit juice is ok. Cut down heavily on alcohol and take aways. If possible try to rule out take aways completely. Snack on fruit. Cook and buy smaller portions of food. Lots of little things like this. Losing weight by dieting is very easy to do once you get into a routine. The biggest mistake people do is try to completely change up their diet and cut out everything on Day 1 so take small steps.


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## AxeHappy (Jun 15, 2017)

Crunches, and most flexion based "ab" exercises, are in general a pretty shit way to build your core muscles in general. They tend to be bracing muscles and the best way to really work them is to use them to brace. 

Nothing builds abs like heavy squats, deadlifts and standing over head presses. 

But having the strongest core in the world won't mean shit if your abs are covered by fat. There is a *ton* of misinformation about how skinny guys have to get to have abs (as mentioned it is entirely genetic) but if you've got strong developed ab muscles they will show up over 12% unless you are incredibly unlucky, 

Best to simply focus on being strong and healthy and let your body look like your body looks. 

Example of a guy with fat over 20% and pretty visible abs:


I have a friend who stores fat like this, whereas I store *all* of my fat on my waist. Fucker always looks better then me, even when my BF% is lower than his!


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## blacai (Jun 16, 2017)

> Nothing builds abs like heavy squats, deadlifts and standing over head presses.


^this. Just eat healthy and perform heavy lifting. Your core will be stronger. 
Specific abs workout is just a waste of time and will hurt your back, neck...


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## Leviathus (Jun 16, 2017)

vejichan said:


> i really want to get a six pack



Just go down to the store and buy one then...


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## Mathemagician (Jun 16, 2017)

Echoing what everyone is saying, you have to "eat right". 

As a start, realize that the average person needs ~2,000 calories per day. 

And needs about 1gram of protein, per pound they weigh. 

So, start counting the calories as well as the #of servings in EVERYTHING you ingest. Milk, soda, beef, chicken, turkey, slices of bread, soda etc. 

For example a common theme with sodas and candy bars is to show: 150 calories and elsewhere on the label "2.5 servings per package/bottle" so in reality it has 150 X 2.5 = 375 calories. 

And 375/2,000 = .1875 = nearly 20% of the total calories you should be eating in a whole DAY. It's a fucking waste. 

A whole chicken breast is like 200-250 calories. And it's meat. Mmmmmm. 

An entire BAG of broccoli or other veggies, will have like 110 calories TOTAL, and you'll be so damn stuffed you won't want to eat again for hours. Combine this with a chicken breast and bam ~400 calorie meal that leaves you full and has a ton of good stuff for your body to use. 

Cheap protein is obviously tuna, and any decent whey protein isolate. Mix t with milk and yogurt and some fresh fruit slices and blend. Boom, easy drinkable ~300-500 calories breakfast every day that will leave you stuffed. 

Your body uses carbs first to create energy, then sugars (which carbs have inherently) THEN burns fat to create energy. 

So you need to be taking in less carbs over all and increase your lean protein, vegetable, and complex carb intake (rice and whole grains). 

As an easy aside, giving up fast food and sodas, and just making the exact same thing at home is a good way to "steal recipes" you like and still save a ton of calories because it will be healthier when you make a burger with a little bit of PAM olive oil than using butter/grease like the restaurant does. 

I hope you're committed, because getting fit is actually pretty straight forward. It's just "boring" to some people. But like, any meathead can do it, so why can't a smart hard working person do it? They choose to not pay attention to what they eat. 

Also, maybe go to the gym 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes. Early on it really doesn't mater what you do, just sweat and don't cave and stuff your face when you feel hungry after the first few works outs, you'll adjust. 

Benefit: you can eat a TON of food when you make it yourself, because the calorie count is so much lower than eating out. Mexican food with grilled chicken is a weekly thing at my house. 

Sorry for the long lost, hope some of this was helpful.


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## Kaff (Jun 16, 2017)

I'm trying to do the same thing. For me, an app called Lifesum is a HUGE help with calorie counting. It calculates the calories you can eat based on your measurements and goals and also monitores other apps if you track your excercises and adjusts the calorie intake accordingly. Last year I went from 91kg to 79kg with it in 6 months. I slipped a bit and am now back at 83kg but am determined to get a sixpack this time!


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## MikeH (Jun 18, 2017)

Up until this deployment, I have never done direct ab work in my programming, aside from when I have a PT test coming up....in which case I still don't do it and end up maxing out sit-ups anyway. The only reason I'm doing it now is because I've seen a direct correlation to my ability to brace harder for deadlifts and squats, plus hanging leg raises and GHRs have done wonders for my back pain after a heavy deadlift or squat session. And even after all that, I've had visible abs for the past few years. Nothing outrageous, but you know they're there. As stated above, focusing more on your performance and health will yield more positive results. I've never cut more than 8 lbs of body weight, and the only times I've done that were for competition, which ended up hindering my performance. Now I eat a shitload, take in about .8g/lb of protein, about .5g/lb of fats, and as many carbs as I can shove down my gullet. (rough estimates, as I don't track macros because I don't care) Carbs will increase your energy stores, and since I'm now doing both powerlifting and endurance training, increasing my carb intake has helped tremendously. So really, get on a basic program for strength, such as Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, or better yet 5/3/1, do some light cardio twice a week, and you will see a definite change in your body composition.


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## Drew (Jun 19, 2017)

Leviathus said:


> Just go down to the store and buy one then...


I've had frequent success with this approach, as well. 

I'm a cyclist. I ride mostly just to, well, these days to be faster than my buddies, but previously just to stay fit. A (muscle) six pack isn't really a priority to me, and as I understand cardio alone can get you most of the way there (and, all of the way there if you're an extreme endurance athlete, when all it takes is a couple crunches to make them show on your 0.2% body fat or whatever a world class marathon or cyclist has), but for most people on non-insane cardio regimes, it's also going to take some pretty significant dietary changes. Seeing as I ride because I like burgers and beer, I'm out.


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## vejichan (Jun 19, 2017)

I have decided to just drink water and chicken salad for a month. If i don't see any difference after .. its back to beer and burgers.


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## Blytheryn (Jun 19, 2017)

vejichan said:


> I have decided to just drink water and chicken salad for a month. If i don't see any difference after .. its back to beer and burgers.



No offense, but that's just discarding most of what us have just told you...


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## MikeH (Jun 19, 2017)

vejichan said:


> I have decided to just drink water and chicken salad for a month. If i don't see any difference after .. its back to beer and burgers.


Or you could do that and deplete yourself of energy while going catabolic. Your call.


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## Drew (Jun 20, 2017)

Blytheryn said:


> No offense, but that's just discarding most of what us have just told you...



 If this is the same member I'm thinking of, that's been most of the gear and recording conversations I've had, too.


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## AxeHappy (Jun 20, 2017)

MikeH said:


> . So really, get on a basic program for strength, such as Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, or better yet 5/3/1, do some light cardio twice a week, and you will see a definite change in your body composition.



Super solid advice. I also really like (prefer them to Starting Strength and StrongLifts) the programs in Eric Helms' Training Pyramid, and get his Nutrition Pyramid book too. Also, buy Greg Nuckols books, The Art and The Science of lifting. These 4 books will give you a wonderfully solid foundation on one's fitness, strength and health goals. Instead of just giving you a program to work on they will empower you to make your own decisions and explain why. 


I really just love everything by Helms and Nuckols. Wonderful guys doing serious research on lifting and nutrition.


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## blacai (Jun 20, 2017)

-"How can I get a sixpack?"
-people: "Eat healthy and do some sport"
-I have decided to just drink water and chicken salad for a month

-> About SL, SS, 531 ... really good advice


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## TedEH (Jun 20, 2017)

This has been a quite literal attempt to feed a troll.


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## Mathemagician (Jun 20, 2017)

What a fucking waste of time and energy. This is why "fit" people don't bother fucking answering when someone who wants to "just lose some weight" asks for help. 

That or it's a troll post. Which on a guitar forum I don't even see why. 

Chicken salad is mostly mayo, look up what that is calorically and see if t makes any fucking sense to make that the base of a dietary change. 

OP- Go ahead and "fail" like you want to and stay fat. 

For anyone else reading his thread, hopefully you've noticed a pattern "eat right, and count your calories. Then exercise as you see fit". It's mostly food, and playing soccer wth your kids in the yard can count as your exercise. 



vejichan said:


> I have decided to just drink water and chicken salad for a month. If i don't see any difference after .. its back to beer and burgers.


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## lhzxx (Jun 26, 2017)

Only know how to do one pack properly........ burgers and coke everyday~


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## Kodee_Kaos (Jun 27, 2017)

Structure carbohydrate intake around physical activity. No booze, sugar, chips, etc. Interval training is good.


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## Matthias Hornstein (Aug 7, 2017)

vejichan said:


> i really want to get a six pack. should i just cut out carbs completely and do crunches all day?
> How do i get rid of my beer belly and love handles?



Well the quote "a sixpack is made in the kitchen" is actually just half-true.
You "simply" need to burn more calories then you are eating.
How can you achieve this?
1. Reduce the calories
2. Raise your burning rate of calories (through sport, walking instead of driving by car, etc.)

Without wanting to sound like a smartass: Basically everyone has a sixpack. You just can't see it because its covered by fat.
So make sure to eat healthy on a consistant basis, eat a lof of small meals insted of 3 big ones and try to do sport on a consistant basis as well.
It takes time but you will get your sixpack!


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## gordon_mlz (Jun 4, 2018)

Interesting thread. I've been a member here for years and never noticed this.

Anyways, I'm a NASM certified personal trainer, online coach and overall fitness/weightlifting enthusiast. I'm 33 yrs old, and used to be obese in my early 20's. 

A few of the people posting here have the original question on the head: the fastest way I've ever been able to see someone (myself included) go from flabby/out of shape to having a real six pack is through compound lifts and <20% body fat. It's definitely not easy at first, but the process IS incredibly simple. I've been training now for almost 11 years, and only about 3 years ago did I really figure it all out. I chose NOT to get a solid coach or trainer, so I had to figure everything out myself. Even with YouTube videos and free guides, there's a lot of little questions about exercises, macros, etc that came up but I had no one to ask. If you (whoever is reading this) is serious, look for a reputable coach or trainer, even online, to help guide you and hold you accountable.


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