Monday, July 28, 2008

Six Pack Secrets from Bill Hartmann

Check out the link below to a good common sense article on reavealing your coveted "six pack abs" by Indianapolis based Physical Therapist and Trainer Bill Hartmann:

BILL HARTMANN ON REVEALING YOUR SIX PACK

The cool thing about this article is that Bill never mentions doing crunches or any other "core" exercise. Why? Well, most people who want to bring out there "six pack" need to focus much more on reducing their overall level of body fat than trying to develop and "sculpt" the mid-section through a myraid of different crunching, twisting, and sit-up type exercises (all of which are potentially harmful to your lower back BTW). What's the best way to bring down the body fat?

  1. Eating a diet which provides between 10 and 12 calories per pound of body weight
  2. Eating those calories from nutritious sources: lean protein, healthy fats, slow digesting carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Consuming the majority of your calories from these sources, besides providing a great deal of high quality fuel for your body, also allows you to burn more calories through a high thermic effect of feeeding (TEF)...your body will use a large number of calories just to digest and absorb these foods.
  3. Engaging in 3-4 strength training and metabolic resistance training sessions weekly
  4. Engaging in 2 high intensity interval training sessions each week
  5. Engaging in 1-2 longer and lower intensity cardiovascular sessions each week

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post.

Another thing to add, I think, is to spread out the calories throughout the day.

I know people who eat probably 8-12 cals/ lb a day, but eat 70% of them after 5pm - then they get really discouraged and start the same thing the next day.

Revive Fitness Systems said...

Thanks for chiming in Avin, and yes, I think there is something to be said for spreading them out throughout the day...keeps the metabolic fire a little hotter.