- Squat (we suggest the front squat – it minimizes injuries and works on the core)
- Deadlift
- Bench Press
When you combine those three exercises with proper nutrition, your body will begin to transform rapidly. Those exercises will initiate muscle growth while burning the most calories. Now that you have the top 3 exercises, it’s time to hit up the nutrition side of getting a six pack.
The truth about six pack abs
Abs are made in the kitchen and not in the gym.
The most important aspect of getting a six pack is the nutrition. And when it comes to nutrition for getting a ripped six pack, RippedBody and Leangains are the way to go. A word of caution though, Leangains is not for everyone, it works the best for athletes who are already in decent shape.
If you’re not an athlete we strongly recommend that you READ THIS BOOK. It will get you to the neccassary stage before Leangains becomes more effective. We’ll give you a summary of both the Primal Blueprint and Leangains below but we strongly recommend the following reading material:
FREE reading material: Leangains, RippedBody & Marks Daily Apple
Recommended Books: Primal Blueprint
Abs Diet Summary
Primal Blueprint
- 0.82g of protein/lbs of body weight
- For steady fat loss eat sub 100g of carbs/day
- For rapid fat loss eat under 50g of carbs (do not eat <50g carbs for longer than 3-4 weeks unless obese)
- Spend between 7-30 minutes at the gym 3xWeek
- Eat clean, unprocessed foods
- Stay away from sugars, honey or maple syrup
- Stay away from grains: corn, beans & legumes
- Essentially eat gluten & dairy free
- Once a week have a 16-24h fasting period
- Once a week HIIT training
- 2-3 times a week low pace cardio (walking)
- Boost carbs intake to 250-300g on heavy exercise days
PB is great for getting you to a certain level, but long periods of Ketogenesis (<50g carbs/day) will cause head rushes and other blood sugar level side effects. [/zilla_one_half] [zilla_one_half_last]
Leangains
- Calculate your macros
- 75/25 & 25/75 carb/fat split
- 16/8 fasting/feeding window for men & 14/10 fasting/feeding window for women
- Eat whatever you want as long as you hit your macros
- No cardio needed
- 3 45-60min workout sessions/week
- Lift challenging & heavy weights without risking injury
- One a week cheat day
Calculating Macros for Leangains:
For this example we’ll use a subject that’s 5’11 @180 lbs. We’ll enter the following stats into this calculator: 5’11”, 180lbs, 24 years old, sedentary (activity level).
BMR = 2,198 (amount of calories to maintain your body weight)
For the sake of getting a six pack, we’ll give our subject a -30%/0% cut. In order to lose body fat you’ll have to go on a slight caloric deficit. The reason you don’t need to calculate a deficit on Primal Blueprint is because your carbohydrates will come from salad alone; there’s your deficit.
[/zilla_one_half_last]
Calculating Macros for Leangains cont’d.
The days our subject works out (3 days a week) he will eat 2,198kcal. The days our subject rests (3 days) he will consume a 30% deficit (the 1 remaining day is your ‘cheat day’ eat whatever you want):
0.30 * 2,198 = 659.4kcal
2,198 – 659 = 1,538kcal
Workout day (rounded): 2,200kcal
Rest day (rounded): 1,540kcal
Now we just have to figure out the macro-nutrition for each day. Protein intake should remain the same: 1g of protein for pound of body-weight; which is 180g of protein in our example. As for the carbohydrates and fats, that’s a 75%/25% split. We know that 1g of carbs/protein = 4kcal and we know that 1g of fat = 9kcal. Let’s crunch those numbers below:
2,200kcal
Protein: 180g * 4 = 720kcal
Carbs: 75% (0.75) of 1,480 (2,200 – 720) = 1,110kcal ==> 1,110/4 = 280g (rounded)
Fats: 25% (0.25) of 1,4800 = 370kcal ==> 370/9 = 40g (rounded)
So our subjects macro breakdowns will look like this:
Workout day: 2,200 calories: 180g protein, 280g carbs, 40g fats
Rest day: 1,540 calories: 180g protein, 50g carbs, 70g fats
All you have to do is track your daily intakes. Use this free calorie counter to calculate your daily intakes and buy a digital food scale to make life easier. You will be able to get some serious results with this method of eating. We strongly recommend that you read the links shown above for details that will maximize your fat burning and muscle building abilities, while answering other questions you may have.
5 month bodyweight exercise transformation (no weights)
Final words
Don’t believe the media, you don’t need to do thousands of crunches and you certainly don’t need to spend hours on the treadmill to get your desired six pack. It’s all about the diet. There’s a science to the macro-nutrition and it’s a lot easier than you think.
Follow the simple calculations above and you’ll be on your way to that shredded six pack. Stop making excuses and go out there and get that beach body already!
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