I have received many, many, many questions about how to get a six-pack after I succeeded to not get but develop them. As my friend asked last week for specific instructions, a I also figured out post about this topic would probably be very much in demand during the spring.

The first big news about a six pack, meaning visible abs: You already have them! Though, for most of the people, they are just covered by fat at the moment.

Secondly, a disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nutritionist or an athlete. I actually have not the slightest intention to take any real responsibility about the instructions I am next giving – they are  something I have heard or read about, maybe applied myself, and may or may not work for you. For some female persons, aiming for visible six pack might end up to too low body fat percentage and cause hormonal disfunctionality which is far from healthy. Some training tips I give later on might be rather hard and demand some sporty background and strong core already before starting the training. So, always listen to your body, not just to the stubborn voice in your brain! So please, more fitness for life, no life for fitness. Or, whatever makes you happy, but you know my opinion now.

The basics of developing a visible six pack

The foundations are nutrition and sports. Yes, definitely in this order. The aim and the requirement for a visible 6-pack is to decrease the body fat-% to a level where the abs are visible.

The basics regarding your nutrition are:

• Eat less calories than you consume
• Pay attention to the quality of the food you eat
• Recognize, how your nutrition affects your hormon levels, especially cortisol
• Recognize how timing of the nutrition affects your capability to  burn fat and on your (physical and mental) performance
• Understand your individual needs and to what kind of extremes you have to (and especially don’t have to) go

The basics regarding your training are:

• Understand the differences of HIIT vs. long time low intensity training
• Understand how whole body -weight training affects your body composition and develops the abs
• Recognize what kind of abs excercises you need (and trust me, this has nothing to do with 500 crunches per day)

Got it? If from the above instructions, then… Why are you reading? I totally don’t assume anyone new to the topic understanding yet what cortisol or something called HIIT has to do with developing a six pack. That’s why during the following days you are welcome to read a whole serie about not just how to get a six pack or how I rather would like to say it, how to train, eat and live so, that your body funcions at its best and if wanted, you can reduce your body fat-% to the level where the six pack is visible. So sorry, no quick fixes but a whole base.