How to get six-pack abs as fast as possible
Is there anything more imposing than an athletic physique with a chiselled set of abs? Clearly defined abs are the showpiece of a trained body. Growing, or better said, uncovering your abs can be a lot of work. But nothing is impossible! Discipline and a balanced diet are the first steps towards success. We’ll tell you everything you need to know to get your own abs of steel.
When do abs become visible?
How long does it take to get abs? How many weeks of exercising till I see my six-pack? How many sit-ups do I have to do? They’re all commonly asked questions when it comes to getting abs. But the honest truth is that there is no single right answer to these questions.
The most important thing for when it comes to revealing a six-pack is getting to a low enough bodyfat percentage. Everybody already has abs – they’re often just hidden underneath a layer of bodyfat.
Men with a bodyfat percentage of 14-17% are considered fit. Women carry a bit more bodyfat than men do, and are considered fit at a bodyfat percentage of 21-24%. However, if getting abs is your goals you’ll need to drop your bodyfat a bit lower still.
Abs start becoming pretty pronounced at around 12% for men. You’ll have a solid six-pack at around 10% and under. Women will start seeing definition in their abs at around 18% and they’ll be very impressive at around 15%.
In general, you’re abs become more visible the lower your fat percentage gets. How long it will take to get there depends on where you start. If you’ve already have a toned physique, you should be able to see results in a couple of weeks. But don’t get discouraged if you’re still a bit above those numbers. While your road to a six-pack might be bit longer, it will also be more rewarding!
To find out what your starting point is, you can do a three-point bodyfat caliper test. Have someone else help you to get the best results. It’s also a great tool to track your progress!
What are your core muscles?
Apart from lowering your bodyfat percentage through a balanced diet, there are other tools that can help you make your abs more pronounced. A lower bodyfat will make your abs more visible, but to really have them look impressive, you need to train them as well.
This starts by training your core. The abdominal muscles are part of your core, which is made up of all the other muscles in the centre of your body, like the glutes and lower back muscles. A total of 29 different muscles make up your core. That means there are a lot of ways to train it as well.
There are exercises aimed specifically at strengthening your core, like planks and ab wheel roll outs. We’ll get back to these later. But did you know that you also train your core doing big compound lifts?
Compound exercises to work your core
Any good training schedule has big compound movements like the deadlift and the squat. Not only are they great for overall muscular development, if you do them right they’re also great tools to work on your core strength.
Compound movements require you to flex your core, and so also work out your abs. This works in reverse as well: you can count on big improvements to your compound lifts if your strengthen your core by doing exercises like planks. Strong abs aren’t just pretty, they’re useful as well!
Isolation exercises for your abs
Next to doing the big compound exercises, its wise to add a couple of isolation exercises to your workouts that specifically target the abdominals. Your abs are made up of four different muscles that contract in four different directions. That means you’re going to want to hit them from different angles as well, so make sure to add enough variation in your exercises.
For example, perform leg raises and crunches to hit the lower and upper part of the muscles running vertically in your abdomen, the rectus abdominis. To hit the obliques, the muscles running to the sides of your abdominals, you can perform lying twists, twisting crunches and side bends. Finally, planks are a great exercise to hit the innermost abdominal muscles.
It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re working out. But just drinking water can get boring. With the new Body & Fit Water Infuser you can add a twist to your workout hydration!
How many reps?
All muscles in your body are built up from three different types of muscle fibres. There are slow-twitch muscle fibres (type 1) and fast-twitch muscle fibres (type 2A and 2B). Type 1 muscles are mostly recruited with light resistance and high repetitions. However, your abs are mostly made up of type 2B muscles fibres. This type of muscle fibre is best trained with low repetitions and high resistance.
So while you’ll often hear that you should train your abs using a very high number of repetitions, this isn’t actually the case. Instead, for best results, try doing sets of 8-12 repetitions at a moderate to high resistance level, where possible.
A six-pack or an eight-pack?
We hate to be the one breaking it to you, but not everyone can get a six-pack. You might get an eight-pack! Depending on your genetics, you can have anywhere from a two, four, six or even eight-pack abs hiding underneath your bodyfat.
If you have a four-pack but want a six-pack, unfortunately there are no magic lower abs exercises you can do. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still be impressive. For example, the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger “only” had four visible abs – even at a ridiculously low bodyfat percentage.
The 15-minutes six-pack abs workout
Now you’ve got the ins and outs of what it takes to get your abs of steel. Start with the basis: a balanced, varied diet in which you stay in a caloric deficit. That means eat less than you need to stay at your current weight, so you start dropping the pounds.
Adjust your training and make sure you include plenty of compound lifts like the deadlift and squats. With a lot of compound exercises you’ll be using your abs a lot as well, because these exercises help stabilise the body. To dot your i’s and cross your t’s, add in some isolation exercises targeting the different abdominal muscles.
To help you out, we’ve put together a 15-minute workout you can stick on to your regular trainings. Perform the 5 exercises in a circuit at home or at the gym and start chipping away at those abs!
You’ll be performing quite a few exercises on the floor when you’re training your abs, so make sure you roll out your Fitness & Yoga mat before you get to work.
When do abs become visible?
How long does it take to get abs? How many weeks of exercising till I see my six-pack? How many sit-ups do I have to do? They’re all commonly asked questions when it comes to getting abs. But the honest truth is that there is no single right answer to these questions.
The most important thing for when it comes to revealing a six-pack is getting to a low enough bodyfat percentage. Everybody already has abs – they’re often just hidden underneath a layer of bodyfat.
Men with a bodyfat percentage of 14-17% are considered fit. Women carry a bit more bodyfat than men do, and are considered fit at a bodyfat percentage of 21-24%. However, if getting abs is your goals you’ll need to drop your bodyfat a bit lower still.
Abs start becoming pretty pronounced at around 12% for men. You’ll have a solid six-pack at around 10% and under. Women will start seeing definition in their abs at around 18% and they’ll be very impressive at around 15%.
In general, you’re abs become more visible the lower your fat percentage gets. How long it will take to get there depends on where you start. If you’ve already have a toned physique, you should be able to see results in a couple of weeks. But don’t get discouraged if you’re still a bit above those numbers. While your road to a six-pack might be bit longer, it will also be more rewarding!
To find out what your starting point is, you can do a three-point bodyfat caliper test. Have someone else help you to get the best results. It’s also a great tool to track your progress!
What are your core muscles?
Apart from lowering your bodyfat percentage through a balanced diet, there are other tools that can help you make your abs more pronounced. A lower bodyfat will make your abs more visible, but to really have them look impressive, you need to train them as well.
This starts by training your core. The abdominal muscles are part of your core, which is made up of all the other muscles in the centre of your body, like the glutes and lower back muscles. A total of 29 different muscles make up your core. That means there are a lot of ways to train it as well.
There are exercises aimed specifically at strengthening your core, like planks and ab wheel roll outs. We’ll get back to these later. But did you know that you also train your core doing big compound lifts?
Compound exercises to work your core
Any good training schedule has big compound movements like the deadlift and the squat. Not only are they great for overall muscular development, if you do them right they’re also great tools to work on your core strength.
Compound movements require you to flex your core, and so also work out your abs. This works in reverse as well: you can count on big improvements to your compound lifts if your strengthen your core by doing exercises like planks. Strong abs aren’t just pretty, they’re useful as well!
Isolation exercises for your abs
Next to doing the big compound exercises, its wise to add a couple of isolation exercises to your workouts that specifically target the abdominals. Your abs are made up of four different muscles that contract in four different directions. That means you’re going to want to hit them from different angles as well, so make sure to add enough variation in your exercises.
For example, perform leg raises and crunches to hit the lower and upper part of the muscles running vertically in your abdomen, the rectus abdominis. To hit the obliques, the muscles running to the sides of your abdominals, you can perform lying twists, twisting crunches and side bends. Finally, planks are a great exercise to hit the innermost abdominal muscles.
It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re working out. But just drinking water can get boring. With the new Body & Fit Water Infuser you can add a twist to your workout hydration!
How many reps?
All muscles in your body are built up from three different types of muscle fibres. There are slow-twitch muscle fibres (type 1) and fast-twitch muscle fibres (type 2A and 2B). Type 1 muscles are mostly recruited with light resistance and high repetitions. However, your abs are mostly made up of type 2B muscles fibres. This type of muscle fibre is best trained with low repetitions and high resistance.
So while you’ll often hear that you should train your abs using a very high number of repetitions, this isn’t actually the case. Instead, for best results, try doing sets of 8-12 repetitions at a moderate to high resistance level, where possible.
A six-pack or an eight-pack?
We hate to be the one breaking it to you, but not everyone can get a six-pack. You might get an eight-pack! Depending on your genetics, you can have anywhere from a two, four, six or even eight-pack abs hiding underneath your bodyfat.
If you have a four-pack but want a six-pack, unfortunately there are no magic lower abs exercises you can do. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still be impressive. For example, the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger “only” had four visible abs – even at a ridiculously low bodyfat percentage.
The 15-minutes six-pack abs workout
Now you’ve got the ins and outs of what it takes to get your abs of steel. Start with the basis: a balanced, varied diet in which you stay in a caloric deficit. That means eat less than you need to stay at your current weight, so you start dropping the pounds.
Adjust your training and make sure you include plenty of compound lifts like the deadlift and squats. With a lot of compound exercises you’ll be using your abs a lot as well, because these exercises help stabilise the body. To dot your i’s and cross your t’s, add in some isolation exercises targeting the different abdominal muscles.
To help you out, we’ve put together a 15-minute workout you can stick on to your regular trainings. Perform the 5 exercises in a circuit at home or at the gym and start chipping away at those abs!
You’ll be performing quite a few exercises on the floor when you’re training your abs, so make sure you roll out your Fitness & Yoga mat before you get to work.
| EXERCISE 1: Ab wheel roll out (± 3 minutes) |
| Training with the Body & Fit exercise wheel works practically all your abdominal and back muscles. Because you can easily adjust the resistance, this exercise is suitable for both beginners and advanced atheletes. |
| How: kneel down with the exercise wheel in your hand, slightly leaning on the ground. Flex your abdominal and back muscles to keep your body straight throughout the movement. Roll the exercise wheel out in front of you in a controlled manner, as far as you can go. If you can, try to almost tap your nose to the ground at full extension. Then slowly roll back up by using your core muscles. This completes one repetition. Make sure to keep tension on your core throughout the movement and keep your back straight. |
| Frequency: Aim for 8 to 10 reps per set. Do 3 sets with 30 seconds of rest in between. |
| EXERCISE 2: Crunch (± 3 minutes) |
| The crunch is one of the most famous abs exercises. Especially the rectus abdominis is trained with this exercise. Do make sure you perform this exercise correctly to prevent injuries. |
| How: Lie on your back with your feet planted firmly on the ground and your knees bent. You can place your hands at your temples or crossed in front of your chest. Then, using your core, curl up your shoulders off of the floor and towards your knees. To prevent injuries, make sure that you don’t pull on your head or neck when you do so! When you can’t come up any further, move back down to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner. This completes one repetition. |
| Frequency: Aim for 8 to 10 reps per set. Do 3 sets with 30 seconds of rest in between. |
| EXERCISE 3: Twisting crunch (± 3 minutes) |
| In this variant of the crunch we are aiming to hit the oblique muscles of your core. As with the conventional crunch, make sure to perform the exercise correctly to prevent injuries. |
| How: Assume the same starting position as with the regular crunch, with your hands at your temples. Move your shoulders off the floor again, but while doing so twist diagonally towards your knee. Again, make sure you don’t pull on your neck or head while doing so! Tap your left knee with your right elbow (or vice versa) and then move back down to the starting position in a slow and controlled fashion. This completes one repetition. |
| Frequency: Aim for 8 to 10 reps per set. Do 2 sets per side with 30 seconds of rest in between. |
| EXERCISE 4: Leg raise (± 3 minutes) |
| This exercise is especially good for the lower part of your abdominal muscles. Prepare to set your abs on fire! |
| How: Lie down on your back with your hands underneath your lower back, to help you balance during the exercise. Flex your abs and lift up your straight legs off the ground until they hit about a 45 degree angle. Hold this position for a second, then move the legs back down to the starting position. This completes one repetition. When performing this exercise make sure you don’t rest your legs on the ground to keep the tension on you core muscles. |
| Frequency: Aim for 8 to 10 reps per set. Do 3 sets with 30 seconds of rest in between. |
| EXERCISE 5: Plank (± 4 minutes) |
| To finish off the circuit we’ll do two sets of planks. Planking is, next to stimulating the abdominals, also a good exercise to promote your hip mobility. |
| How: Lean on your elbows and toes, with your body in a straight line. Place your elbows at shoulder height. Try to push your elbows into the ground and your body off of the ground. It’s very important that you keep the tension on your core muscles, just like when doing the ab wheel roll out. If you find you can keep this position easily for a long time, you’re probably not doing it right. |
| Frequency: Aim to hold the plank for at least 30 seconds. Do 3 sets with 30 seconds of rest in between. |