This week’s Q&A comes from friend of the site Iattacku.  He asked how you can build your abs and get the coveted six pack going on.

WB Fitness:

This is probably the most asked question in the book. Unfortunately, the reason it is asked so often is because the answer is not what people want to hear. At the end of the day the answer is very simple: you already have abs. What you want to do is show them off and the only way to do that is to reduce the amount of subcutaneous fat around them to the point where they pop out of your skin. There are a few ways to achieve this.

The first way to get visible abs is a steady diet of cocaine. Yes, you can see Steve O’s abs. Wonderful. The thing is, the muscles are there for everyone. He is just so skinny that they happen to show. There is not an ounce of strength in Steve O. This is not a physique which is admirable. In fact, this is a physique that is just as unhealthy as a grossly overweight one.

So that leaves us with the other option. Increase the mass and density of the abs as best you can while reducing the fat around them through a steady course of diet and cardiovascular exercise.  As a general rule of thumb your abs will not start showing until you are under 10% body fat. Keep in mind, you will likely be making some sacrifices in terms of chest, arm and leg strength for this.

The exercises I would recommend for abs are a circuit of

Cable Wood Choppers

Hanging Leg Raise

Cable Crunch

Side Oblique Crunch

Laying Leg Raises

Bicycle Crunches

Mountain Climbers

Weighted Decline Sit-ups

Plank

Ab Wheel

You would do this circuit as follows. Do an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) set for 45 seconds and then rest for 15 seconds and move to the next. when you complete all 10 start over again. Do the full circuit 3 times. With the rest period it should take you 10 minutes to complete the circuit once making this a 30 minute workout.

However, without the right diet this workout will do all of nothing to help with ab development. If you are serious about getting that 6 pack to go full 3D and you are (hopefully) unwilling to go the route of Bolivian Marching Powder you are going to want to go into full keto diet for 8  straight weeks while performing the above workout 3 times a week and doing a minimum of 1 hour of intense cardio (think sweat jumping out of your eyeballs) 7 days a week. You will also want to do a 3 day split with the weights covering 1) Arms / Shoulders 2) Back / Chest 3) Legs.

The keto diet will be simple in theory but difficult in execution. You want to be in massive caloric deficit. Figuring out your exact caloric needs is your first step. After that I would recommend knocking 500 calories off of it.  The food you eat will be all protein and fat and your carb intake will be <20g net carbs daily (to give you an idea on how few carbs this is, you will need to be careful with green vegetables). Add to this diet and workout a full two gallons of water a day and, assuming an average body type starting point, you should start seeing those coveted abs in about 2 months.

Keep in mind what I said earlier though, you will suffer gains. If you want your arms to be near the 20″ mark or your chest to close in on 45″ this is going to be incredibly difficult while in caloric deficit. This is why professional bodybuilders are just so impressive. To be able to shred down to 4-6% body fat while growing and maintaining huge amounts of dense muscle is the pro level.

Hope this helps and if you want further help with exact details for a diet plan and workout geared toward your current body type and access to equipment let us know.

Lou Skunt: 

Hey Iattaku, great question. As long as you have no back issues, ab training (with crunches) should not be bad for your back. As a matter of fact, the stronger your abdominal wall becomes, the better it is at supporting your lower back.

The key with ab work is to perform the exercises properly, and to never place unnecessary stress on the back and neck… Never put your hands behind your head when performing crunches. People have a tendency to pull/wrench their neck and this can lead to injury. Don’t put your hands anywhere near your head.

If you don’t know where to start, here’s a safe and effective way to perform crunches: (fingers to toes)… lay flat on the floor, put your butt against the wall and raise your legs up on the wall. Now, reach all the way back with your arms to touch the floor with your fingers, take a deep breath, now come up and attempt to touch your fingers to your toes, exhale, then back down and repeat. This movement keeps your lower back flat against the floor, but adds more resistance with your arms extended and helps keep your neck in a neutral position. It’s an intense movement, but safe.
One of my favorite abdominal routines is: rope crunches, hanging leg raises and scissor kicks – in a triple set, 30-seconds rest between sets, 4 sets total.
Remember, and this is the most important thing: you train the abs to develop them, but to unveil all your hard work and actually see those abs – DIET, DIET, DIET.

J. Nyx: Low body fat is key to abs (DIET as Lou stresses.)  One thing to remember is that abs take time and consistency.   I’m still working on removing the last of my gut fat to reveal them but I’m making progress.  You gotta ask yourself if that piece of pizza means more to you than your six pack.   Remember the first place you put on fat is typically the last place you lose it.