If you are working out to develop six pack abs then you need to be aware of the three biggest mistakes described in this article and avoid them at all cost!
First, you need to understand the difference between getting six pack abs and simply losing body fat. Getting six pack abs is a all about having extremely low levels of body fat. For men this is around 8% and for women around 15%. Training and eating to get body fat levels this low is much different than someone who just starts a diet and wants to lose 20-30lbs.
If you are just trying to lose a lot of weight, then making small changes to your diet will help you make a lot of progress very fast. For example, if you were to only drink water, unsweetened iced tea, and green tea, then you will not be consuming any calories from beverages. For someone who just wants to lose weight, a small modification such as this can make a big difference.
For someone who wants to get six pack abs, the process is much more detailed. Here are 4 mistakes that most people make when they try to develop six pack abs.
1: Fat burning pills only work until your body becomes used to them and they are dangerous. Anytime you use something to synthetically increase your heart rate and your metabolism, you're asking for trouble. These so called fat burning pills work for awhile, but the minute you stop taking them the weight melts back onto your stomach. When you use a chemical to enhance your body, your pushing it past it's natural ability. Why would you want to take something that is unapproved by the FDA and keeps your heart racing? No one really knows the lingering affects anyways, so stick with natural weight loss.
2: They try to do too many crunches and ab exercises.
While crunches and other ab exercises will help to build a stronger core, they will not help you get down to a low level of body fat. Trying to use endless reps of ab exercises simply does not build enough muscle or work your body hard enough to burn significant calories.
The myth of "spot" reduction is where a lot of people get caught up. The concept of spot reduction basically states that if you want to lose fat in a certain part of the body you should work the muscle underneath it. Our bodies do not store fat in one specific place, therefore you cannot lose fat in one specific place either.
I guarantee you will never see someone who has six pack abs in the front and is flabby around the rest of their midsection. If spot reduction actually worked this is what would happen. In the real world however, you need to focus on losing body fat all over in order to developing six pack abs.
3: Trying to use infomercial ab gimmicks
When you see an advertisement for an "miracle" piece of ab equipment, the people who are using them usually have great bodies, low body fat, and a great six pack. However I can guarantee you one thing, and that is they did not get that way to using one single piece of abdominal exercise equipment.
Like we just talked about with why lots of crunches do not help you get six pack abs, the same holds true for any ab crunch machine or anything else you see on an advertisement.
This all goes back to the false concept that working the abs with lots of exercises will directly lead to a six pack. All the people who have the best abs got them by exercising their whole body and by adhering to a very strict diet. Not by using some ab crunch gimmick for "two easy payments of $29.95." Six Pack Abs Mistake #3: Eating too many calories.
4: Read the labels on the foods you prepare. Many times the healthy foods we eat are actually disguised junk. Look for high sodium content and high fructose corn syrup. They can make you pack on pound ultra fast. Anything that ends with the three letters ose is sugar in some shape or form.
Avoiding these 4 mistakes will help you burn fat faster and preserve your health for your journey through life. Flattening your stomach and shrinking your waistline is possible, but you should always choose the natural methods for weight reduction.