If you are trying to get better abs, you are definitely in the right place. Most of us serving in the military want to look and feel good. In essence, we have to stay in shape to keep our job!
I will be the first to admit that I have struggled for years to have a flat stomach. I exercise a lot, but I also like to eat. Even worse, my wife is a great cook. Maybe some of you can relate to that.
I’ve made a new commitment to get in shape, have a flatter stomach and get better abs. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to share a few helpful tips so you can get better abs. I’m not a doctor by any means. This is just helpful information that I found online and enjoyed, so I wanted to share these tips with you. These tips are paraphrased in my own words.
1. Mix Up Your Routine: Many of us (including myself) get stuck doing the same routine. We go to the gym or exercise on the same days of the week, at the same time, doing the same routines. When we do that, our body gets in a routine and normally plateaus. When you exercise, mix things up. Do different exercises and different intervals whenever possible.
2. Control Your Diet: I love to eat. If you are in a similar situation, you need to get a grip on your diet too. To get better abs you must eat healthy and exercise. Doing just one of those things won’t get you the results you want. Consider visiting a dietitian or developing your own meal plan.
3. Don’t Just do Crunches and Sit-ups: This goes hand in hand with number one. Don’t just do crunches and sit ups. Mix things up and do different ab exercises. If needed purchase a couple different books with different ab workouts, or go online and search for some example workouts.
4. Focus on Whole Body Exercise: Focus on exercising your whole body, not just your abs. You can do squats, lunges, planks and a variety of exercises that work the core abs and other muscles at the same time.
5. Develop a Game Plan and Stick With It: If you want to achieve something, you should set a goal and write it down. Write down what you want to accomplish and what steps you are willing to do to get there. Also, you must have realistic expectations and be persistent and consistent.
6. Hire a Trainer: If you haven’t gotten the results you want in the past, you might consider hiring a trainer to help you get better abs. Depending upon where you live you can hire a trainer for somewhere between $20 and $75 per hour. Most gyms have trainers for hire. You can also hire a freelance trainer outside of the gym. If you are on a tight budget, you could have a buddy help you. Look for someone who is in shape and is qualified to give you advice.
In summary, these are some of my best tips on how to get better abs. What are your thoughts?
Recommended Products & Resources
After doing some research online about how to get better abs, here are a couple products/training programs I recommend you check out:
The Truth About Abs
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
On a side note, if you are in great shape and have six pack abs, I would love to hear from you. What do you recommend to our viewers to get better abs? Or, if you have any questions, we are willing to answer them. Just leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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Agree with number one. If you do the same thing everyday, you will be stuck in a never ending loop to boredom. Learning how to mix it up and be innovative when it comes to exercises is fun!
I agree with Daniel, I too struggled for a long time to get a flat stomach. Countless morning crunches and awful amounts of oblique-work left me irritated and discouraged when I still had a bit of a bulge after all my hard work. The thing that did the trick? A combination of my previous ab workouts and kickboxing. The kickboxing gave me the cardio and force needed to finally get that muffin top to drop off.
The flabby stomach is something everyone seems to struggle with, from the military elite to the bored housewife. Fitness is definitely something that has to be constantly on the mind of the military though, not just because it’s part of the job but because it could someday be a matter of life or death. Thanks for sharing!
Good for you, Katelyn. I’ve never tired kickboxing, but I might just have to check it out if it’s so good at helping someone get better abs. I don’t enjoy doing crunches very much. The only thing that’s worked real well for me for flattening my stomach is the Insanity workout.
Thanks for the comment.
Chuck
I would have to add that inasmuch as you do abdominal exercises, remember to build your back muscles equally. You don’t want to end up with great abs that can’t do anything for you. Or worse, pull your body into a hunched position. Also, abdominal exercises can be hard on your spine, so building you back up will help to stabilize you. Otherwise, love your tips!
Good points about working your back muscles along with your abdominal exercises.
I wish I had six pack abs! Unfortunately I can relate a little too much to what you said about exercising a lot, but also loving to eat. This is good advice for me, because I tend to focus on doing sit-ups and crunches to get a flat stomach, whereas the whole body exercises might be better.
Getting your diet under control might be the most important step when it comes to getting six packs abs. You can exercise until the cows come home, but if you don’t eat right you are really only wasting your time.
Keep in mind that you can do sit-ups, crunches, flutter kicks, and a long list of other abdominal exercises, but if you don’t lose weight, those well-developed muscles will be hidden beneath a layer of fat. There is no such thing as “targeted” fat loss, despite what so many TV ads imply (or say). Make sure you combine your abdominal and other workouts with aerobic and anaerobic exercises that burn calories. In other words, you’re probably going to have to run, too.
Exercise alone will only get you so far. Ultimately, you have to eat health too. You can do sit-ups and crunches until the cows come home, but if you aren’t losing weight and burning fat, you won’t get very good results.
Well, I cannot really say that I want to have abs like this guy, but I don’t mind looking at them. So great advice! I think that I might forward this article to my husband and see where that gets me. Thanks for sharing!
Funny comment, Lisa. I’m glad the picture makes you happy! Thanks for visiting my website.
Chuck
I mostly do crunches and I have a six pack. I try to work out my abs three days a week. I do about 200 crunches per day on those three days. More importantly, I have a great diet. I think that has more impact on my abs than anything else.
If you want to get better abs you need to make sure your diet is in check. You can work out a few hours a day but if your nutrition is out of whack you are really spinning your wheels and wasting your time.