Follow a healthy eating plan to get awesome abdominal definition.Without a doubt a healthy eating plan is the single most important requirement for those who want washboard abs and muscular definition that resembles the perfect form of a Greek God. In fact most experts agree that the diet you follow makes up 70 to 80 % of a successful six pack program. Although a good training routine and adequate rest are important, it is what, when and how much you eat that will decide if you end up resembling a well conditioned athlete or a member of a sumo wrestling camp. The fact that gaining awesome definition is as simple as following a healthy eating plan can be a disappointment to anyone who likes to follow the latest exercise program or buy the new machine that promises to turn you into a walking anatomy encyclopedia but the truth of it is, there are no miracle exercises, machines or tablets that can do what they say on the tin. As the saying goes, good abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym. However, the good news is once you know that a healthy eating plan is the key to success it is very easy to use this knowledge to your advantage. Why? Because unlike building the huge muscles of Arnie schwarzenegger or the strength of those who compete in the world’s strongest man, great abdominal definition can be achieved by anybody regardless of genetics, age or the weight they are now. If you follow the right healthy eating plan and training program for long enough the six pack look will be the end result. So now you know the secret of getting ripped, the next consideration is what healthy eating plan should you follow? The answer is what ever is right for you and by that I don’t mean break out the hobnobs (unfortunately) I mean as long as you consume less calories than your body needs nothing else is cast in stone. How do you know how many calories you need? The standard advice for people wanting to lose fat and have great muscle tone is easy to follow. For a rough guide, all you have to do is a simple calculation of how many pounds you weigh and times it by 12. So for example, if you weigh 200 pound you would consume 2,400 calories as the starting point for the calories you should eat. The goal for most people should be to lose no more than one pound of fat a week. Therefore, once you start your healthy eating plan, take all your measurements, weigh yourself once a week and observe your body in the mirror to see if you are making steady fat reducing progress. If you are happy with what is happening you simply need to continue with what is working. If on the other hand you are not seeing the fat reduction you want or are losing weight to quickly you can adjust the number of calories until you find the right balace. However, please remember the recommendation of most experts is that you consume 500 calories per day less than what is needed to maintain your present bodyweight. If you manage that it should equate to the one pound of fat lose per week aim. Protein People following a healthy eating plan to get ripped need a diet that contains all the right nutrients to stay healthy but to make sure you keep muscle mass whilst dieting you must also pay particular attention to your protein intake. The exact amount of protein needed varies from person to person but for a rough guide 1 gram of protein for each pound that you weigh is the minimum amount of protein you should consume if you want to keep your muscle whilst the fat leaves the building. The rest of the diet equation. As well as how many calories and grams of protein you need each day. You also have to consider the rest of the equation such as what percentage of your healthy eating plan should consist of carbohydrates and what percentage should consist of fat? The answer as mentioned earlier is not cast in stone so up to a point you can tailor the protein, carbohydrate and fat percentages to suit what works best for you. However, as I am sure you noticed I only said up to a point and that is because although you can play around with the exact percentages, most experts would say that to lose fat whilst retaining muscle you should follow a diet that consists of 30 to 40% protein, 30 to 40% carbohydrates and 20 to 30% fat and you don’t want to stray to much from those guidelines. When to eat. The worst thing you can do if you want to build great abdominal definition is have your total daily allowance of calories in one meal. The best thing you can do is spread the calories over as many small meals as possible. Why? Because if you only have 1 or 2 meals per day your body uses only a small percentage of the calories and stores the rest as fat, however, when you spread your calories out over smaller meals throughout the day you have a far better chance of burning calories instead of storing them as fat and you are also less likely to feel hungry. So the best advice for your healthy eating plan is to have 5 or 6 small meals per day and finish eating a couple of hours before bedtime to give your body a chance to burn the calories of your last meal.
Exercise. Because of the marketing designed to get people to buy fitness products people might be surprised but exercise plays only a small part in a program needed to get ripped. Whilst training is certainly needed to develop really good definition most types of exercise will produce results if your diet is right and you stay on it long enough. That being said, you should exercise so let’s look at the best way to do it. If you want to look good as you get more defined you need to retain as much muscle as possible. Why? Well as I said you will look good (he says jokingly) but also the more muscle you have, the more calories your body uses, which helps to burn the fat, which helps to show the muscle. So remember to include muscle building exercises. As well as muscle building exercises you also need to include some good cardio work in your routine to burn even more calories enabling you to lose fat without going hungry. However, keep in mind you do not have to be a slave to any type of training to get as ripped as last weeks newspaper. By all means mix your routine up and include the type of training you enjoy best as this will help you stick to your program. My personnel training recommendation for getting ripped is a four days per week training cycle that has 2 days of muscle building that includes 6 to 8 compound bodybuilding exercises such as press ups , pull ups and dips if you use bodyweight exercises Or Exercises such as squats, dead lifts and bench press if you use weights. Do 2 to 3 sets and 8 to 10 reps for each exercise. Also include 2 days of bodyweight or light weights circuit training Such as 2 to 3 circuits of 8 to 10 exercises with 60 seconds rest at the end of each circuit. If you follow this and also manage to include a couple of 20 to 30 minute sessions of traditional cardio each week, you will have one of the very best programs for definition that there is. Note, for the best results do one day of muscle building and then one day of circuit followed by one days rest and then repeat the two days training followed by two days rest. Conclusion Great abdominal definition and overall muscle tone is a goal that is obtainable by anyone although it obviously takes longer for some depending on age, genetics and present fat levels. However, I can’t stress enough that your diet is the key, if you get that right and stick to it long enough then success will be yours. Remember, follow a healthy eating plan, make sure you get enough protein and try to maintain a calorie intake that is 500 less per day than you need and you’ve cracked it. As for exercise, you should defiantly keep to a good program that includes exercises to build muscle and ones to burn fat but don’t get hung up about it or think that there is only one particular routine that will bring results. Why? Because as you now know the right healthy eating plan is what will bring success not money spent on machines, tablets or the latest exercise routine. Finally, Your body is the most amazing creation on the planet that adapts to what ever is asked of it. Therefore, when your progress begins to slow down on your current diet and exercise program as is the case for most of us. Change things around and make your body adapt further. Good Luck.
See the healthy heart guide to compliment your healthy eating plan
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