6 Pack workout guide

6 Pack workout guide

3^rd Blog post

Ciao my friends, following up from my last post, I am going to give you a simple easy to follow 6 pack workout guide. It will consist of a stomach workout, cardiovascular workout and a muscle conditioning workout.

Stomach workout

First up is the Stomach workout. This will consist of 5 exercises that will be completed one after another (no rest) with 2 circuits. After you have completed the first circuit of 5 exercises rest 60 seconds then repeat the circuit again.

Sit-ups – 15-30 reps

Crunches – 30 reps

Reverse crunch – 20 reps                             

Bicycles – 30 reps

Leg raise – 20 reps  

After we have completed the 2 circuits rest 60 seconds then we will finish with sit-ups. This will be completed once all the way through with no rest (focus on crunching your abs keeping a controlled movement, support your feet if you are not able to control a sit-up with good form). On the final rep as you are coming back down from the sit-up, hold your position halfway down and contract your stomach and hold for 10 seconds.

Sit-ups – 20 reps (On 20^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

               15 reps (On 15^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

                 10 reps (On 10^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

                  5 reps (On 5^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

               Max Reps (now finish with as many as possible)

Do this stomach workout 3 Times a week at a minimum.

Cardiovascular workout

Time to hit the treadmill, not! Come on why use a treadmill when you can do it outside! If you really want a six pack then do your cardio outside. The cardio workout I am going to give you is Sprint interval training (also known as HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training). For this work out you will be sprinting for a set amount of time then going into a jog for a set amount of time then back into the sprint then back into the jog until all intervals are completed (1-5 intervals)

Warm up – 5–10 minutes slow paced jog

Dynamic Stretches – Squats 10 reps, lunges 10 reps each side, calf raise 10 reps.

Static stretches – quadriceps stretch 10 seconds hold each side, toe reach hold for 10 seconds (hamstring stretch).

Re-warm – 2 Minutes slow paced jog

Interval 1 – 10 seconds Sprinting, followed by 50 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 2 – 15 seconds sprinting, followed by 45 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 3 – 20 seconds sprinting, followed by 40 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 4 – 15 seconds sprinting, followed by 45 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 5 – 10 seconds Sprinting, followed by 50 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Cool down – Slow paced jog 5 minutes

Static stretches – Hamstring stretch hold for 15-30 seconds each side, quadriceps stretch hold for 15-30 seconds each side, Forward lunge hold for 15-30 seconds each side.

Aim to do this Interval workout 2-3 times a week. This is an intense workout so if you don’t exercise much and have never been jogging then I would suggest swapping this sprinting with jogging and the jogging with walking so you can get your body used to this type of training.

Muscle conditioning workout

This will be 10 minute non stop workout, working the full body. You will have to carry out a specific exercise for a set amount of time then move straight onto the next exercise for a set amount of time and so on until your 10 minutes of hell are over.

Stretch your full body before doing this workout.

Pre stretching – hold stretches for 10 seconds.

Press-ups for 1 minute

Tricep dips for 1 minute

Squats for 1 minute

Star jumps for 1 minute

Jogging on the spot for 1 minute

Press-ups for 1 minute

Tricep dips for 1 minute

Forward lunge for 1 minute

Jumping squats 1 minute

Wall squat hold; hold for 1 minute

Post stretching - Now stretch off, hold stretches for 15-30 seconds.

Do this conditioning workout 2 times a week.

That’s it you now have what you need to be well on your way towards getting your six pack, a healthier body and better looking physique, But remember your Diet is very important, with out a good diet your six pack will be hard to achieve.

The final thing to do is to give you is a workout diary example:

Monday – Stomach workout & Sprint interval workout

Tuesday – Muscle conditioning workout

Wednesday – Stomach workout

Thursday – Sprint interval workout

Friday – Stomach workout

Saturday – Muscle conditioning workout.

Sunday – REST

This is the way I would suggest doing these workouts, but you can set it out to fit into your schedule if needed.

Thanks for reading, hope you found my post useful, any problems just comment the post and ill be glad to help. J 

How to get a toned stomach or ‘Six-Pack’

How to get a toned stomach or ‘Six-Pack’

2^nd Post

For my second blog I have decided to write about the ‘Six Pack’ as it is commonly known. The six pack is its self just one muscle (Rectus Abdominis), it covers a large area at the front of our torso and it has walls of tissue that divide the muscle into sections forming what we call the six pack. There are other muscles that surround the rectus abdominis which are all part of sculpting a great stomach, these muscle are the Obliques (internal & external) and the Transverse abdominis, these muscles create the twisting and rotation movements.

In order to achieve a toned stomach or a six pack, there are two main rules that you should follow, Good Diet and exercise.

Good Diet

The food you eat will determine weather or not you are going to achieve a six pack, if your body fat percentage is too high then no matter how many stomach exercise you do, your will not achieve a visible six pack for the simple reason that your fat will be covering up the muscles.

Good nutrition is the key too unlocking your stomach muscles from under the fat.

• 55 - 60% Carbohydrates, 25 – 30% Fats, 15% Protein.

• Eat little and often, 4–6 times a day.

• Eat every 2-3 hours (small portions).

• Drink plenty of water.

• Don’t rush your food.

• Don’t skip meals, especially Breakfast!

• Cut any visible fat from foods.

• Avoid fatty food such as sausage and bacon.

• Try to avoid butter and margarine.

• Cut down on sugary foods.

• Don’t drink alcohol.

• Eat wholemeal and wholegrain food

• 5 A day – 2 fruit, 3 vegetables.

Exercise

Doing stomach exercises will help create a firm stomach. Although it is good to do stomach exercises, it will not burn the fat directly from your stomach, as spot fat reduction is not possible, your body will burn fat from where ever it wants too, generally the first place fat gets stored is the stomach and the last place fat is taken from is the stomach. Getting a six pack takes time and dedication. Obviously the less fat your have the easier it will be to achieve a six pack.

Cardiovascular exercise is important in order to start burning fat; my personal favourite type of cardio to do in order to burn fat is sprint interval training:

20 seconds sprinting, then straight into a medium paced jog for 40 seconds. This is 1 interval. Do 3 intervals per session to start off, add an interval on every 1-2 weeks, there is no rest In this work out. I will talk about this type of training more in another post.

Good stomach exercises too start of with are the plank, sit-ups, bicycles, crunches and twisting crunches/sit-ups. Perform stomach exercise every day if possible, resting maybe on Sundays.

Try to do cardio at least 3 times a week. Try to keep active as much as possible every day.

Weight training is import, the more muscle you have the more calories your body will burn while exercising and resting. Cardiovascular exercises will burn muscle as well as fat so it is important to do some kind of weight training weather or not its, full body workouts or a split routine. Aim for 3 weight training workouts a week.

Try this basic stomach workout:

Sit-ups – 15 – 30 reps

Crunch – 20 – 30 reps                   = 1 Circuit

Bicycles – 30 reps

Complete each exercise straight after each other (NO REST), after you have completed all 3 exercises without rest  repeat them again two more times with out rest. So that’s 3 exercise’s no rest, x 3 circuits. Try to do this workout every day, resting on Sundays.

I will post a more advanced stomach workout at a later date.

Ciao!!!!!

Why water is more important than you think!

Why water is more important than you think.

Water is a nutrient that can be easily overlooked, but is arguably one of the most important nutrients our body needs in order to survive. Without water our body would only be able to survive a few days, this is because out body is around 60% water.

Vital functions of water:

·        All the chemical reactions that occur in our body take place in the medium of water. The water in every individual cell and the whole body must be kept constant so that all our body functions and our metabolism, remains efficient.

·        Water helps keep our body temperature regulated. It distributes heat around the body from the place where it is produced. Water can evaporate from the skin to try to cool down the body, this is known as sweating.

·        Water is the transportation system of the body. It moves everything around the body to the places it is needed and also takes waste products to excretory organs.

How much water should you drink?

Water output

Water is continuously lost throughout the day from sweating, excretion of waste and breathing. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, your body’s water output will be around 2.5 litres a day; this loss is through, urine, faeces, skin evaporation and respiration.

Water input

It is very difficult to accurately estimate how much water we should consume on a daily basis. Some of our water will come from the food we eat through out the day; for example, vegetables and fruit contain high amounts of water. Through a healthy and well balanced diet it has been estimated that we will consume around 1-1.5 litres of water. This still leaves our body needing more water; this is why you should drink around 2 litres of water throughout the day.

If you are exercising you will need to increase the amount of water you drink, even walking. An hour of exercise could lead to a further water loss of around 1-2 litres.

Water is the best fluid you can drink. Water is free and almost as good as any sports drink for hydration. All you need is a bottle to fill up with water and you’re good to go. You can buy bottled water, but there is not much difference between bottled and tap water, both will hydrate your body exactly the same.

The consequences of lack of water (Dehydration)

Lack of water can very serious. Loss of water is measured as a percentage of our body weight. 1 litre of water weighs approximately 1Kg.

·        A loss of 3% body fluids will reduce your blood flow and blood volume, inefficient kidney function and will cause dry mouth and headache.

·        A 4% loss will result in the capacity for hard muscle work to reduce by around 20-30%.

·        At 5% fluid loss heat exhaustion will occur, leading to medical attention.

·        A 7% loss will cause an individual to start hallucinating.

·        A 10% loss with lead to heat stroke, cause you to collapse and even death.

How can you assess your hydration levels?

Thirst is not a way of analysing your water needs, thirst is a response to dehydration. By the time you feel thirsty it is already too late, you are already dehydrated. This can be sufficient enough to effect performance.

A good way to know if you are hydrated enough is through the colour of your urine:

Clear                                 Hydrated

Very pale yellow              Hydrated

Pale yellow                       Hydrated

Yellow                              Mild dehydration

Dark Yellow                     Dehydration

Water is clearly important in our day to day life, simple changes such as drinking more water throughout the day will keep you feeling refreshed, hydrated and energised.

Next time you go out, remember to take a bottle of water with you, stay hydrated, feel the difference.