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5 Key Mistakes To Avoid In The Gym While Building 6-Pack Abs Like Fitness Models
Six pack abs somehow have become the ultimate symbol of ‘peak physical conditioning’. While it’s not essential that a person with 6 pack abs is fitter than another person without it, for aesthetic reasons and the difficulty associated with achieving 6 pack abs, it has reached the level where every fitness minded individual, especially men, desires it dearly and will go to any extent to achieve it.
However, it’s easier said than done. Building six pack abs is not easy, especially if one is not clear with the basics. Misinformation will make sure you never achieve six pack abs in your life, irrespective of how hard you may be exercising every single day. But that’s the thing, right? Some ‘fitness enthusiasts’ keep trying and trying in vain, while there are some who seem to just nail it effortlessly.
If you’re new to the gym (or even experienced with lifting), and have been trying to build six pack abs for a while but haven’t yet succeeded, chances are you might be committing these mistakes. Let’s talk about it, shall we? Here are 5 mistakes to avoid in the gym while building 6 pack abs.
1. Ignoring fat loss through quantified diet
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I’m sorry to break this to you, but if 6 pack abs is the goal, you NEED to measure your food. Caloric balance is the only way to ascertain fat loss, and there is no way around it. We all have abs, at least the basic muscles, covered with a layer of fat. If you don’t ensure fat loss by consuming fewer calories than you’re spending every single day, you will NEVER be able to see 6 pack abs on yourself, irrespective of how hard you’re working, because that layer of fat will always keep covering your abs.
2. Doing endless crunches
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I’m not against crunches, really. However, if your trainer has said something on the lines of ‘100-200 crunches daily for six pack abs’, please change your trainer because they don’t know what they are talking about. Crunches will only ensure you’re building your ab muscles, but what about the fat on top of it? Crunches do nothing for fat loss, because spot reduction is a myth. So what you’re essentially doing by indulging in endless crunches, is wasting your time.
3. Doing excessive cardio
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Stop running on the treadmill for half an hour everyday! That does nothing for your abs. If your trainer has asked you to do cardio every single day for a particular period of time because that will ‘help you in fat loss’, fire them. Cardio has its benefits, and it does burn calories, but it will not help you if your goal is building 6 pack abs. It will only tire you out and prevent you from lifting heavy, which is way more helpful in the process of fat loss and muscle gain – and ultimately achieving 6 pack abs.
4. Doing side bends with heavy dumbbells/plates
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How many times have you walked into a gym and seen at least 3 people with body fat percent > 20, doing this exercise? You might as well sit down and gossip or be on your phone, if you have to waste time. In other words, STOP doing this useless exercise when your body fat percentage is nowhere close to single digit. No, this won’t ‘melt’ fat or get rid of your love handles.
5. Ignoring the golden rule: quantified nutrition + resistance training
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The golden rule is to eat fewer calories than your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, get enough protein in your system, and lift heavy with proper form. Also, not ignoring training the ab muscles with targeted hypertrophy, as abs are, at the end of the day, muscles, and do require training like any other body part in order to grow and be visible.
To sum up, lose the fat on your abs through quantified nutrition, and simultaneously work on the ab muscles (along with other muscles) so that they can be properly developed, and visible once the fat has been shed. Good luck!