As I walk around the gym I continuously see middle aged men huffing and puffing during their ab workouts. Abs are a great thing, don’t get me wrong, but since when did everyone get caught up in the moment obsessing over them? Asking around I quickly gathered up all the info on the latest ab lecture the body builders are preaching and decided to take a look-see. Seems straight forward. Eat many meals a day, exercise regularly, easy on the fat. The diet seemed fair enough, so with nothing more to my life then bodybuilding to begin with, I was determined to hop on the bandwagon.

Phase One: Eating seven times a day is much harder then it sounds. You can’t always sneak an apple in the office, drop by the 7-Eleven on your way home, or find a snack with any nutritional value to begin with.

With all that in the way I still had to fight off the enormous steak dinners my mother makes (Around 1200 calories a meal = not small) and all those cravings where you just want to eat a big bowl of, well, anything. This phase took a long while to get used to, but by always keeping snacks in my briefcase and drinking lots of water to conserve my appetite I overcame it in less then a month.

Phase Two: Regular exercise can be a hassle for most working men in this day and age. The key here is to know what you want.

If the gym is important to you, you will find a way to get yourself there everyday necessary. Give up some guy night. Don’t watch some sports games on TV. Heck, leave early from work if you need to, just be there, do your exercise, and you’ll feel great afterwards. The trick I used was setting up a “before picture” of myself on top of the TV, in my refrigerator, anywhere I needed it. When I see the picture of myself 3 years ago I can’t wait to run to the gym fast enough!

Phase Three: Cutting fat can be difficult, depending on your usual daily routine. If you’re a guy who can’t wait to get home for dinner because you have fried fish and French fries waiting for you, this one is a tough one.

Cutting fat can be done in many ways, from not eating fried foods, to staying away from certain foods that are known to be fatty (Cheese, Peanut Butter, etc…). I use the method of staying away from foods that are breaded, never eating French fries, and staying off pop (Pop has 0g of fat, but its sugar content will sky rocket your insulin levels which will make you gain weight in the end, but that’s for a different article.)

Here are a couple of other personal techniques I’d recommend. Work out with free weights: Working out with free weights is more strenuous on your body since there is no machine to help perfect your motions in your exercise. The more strenuous the workout, the more fat you’ll burn. Also, drink a lot of water: Drinking water not only cleanses your insides and helps drain some fat off the sides of your body, it also reduces appetite in a dramatic way. Think of it this way: If you were full would you still want to eat? Well, when you are full from drinking water, you’re still full, but you haven’t had any fat or calories.

Whatever method you choose I wish the best of luck to you. Abs are a great thing when they are ripped and a terrible thing when you have a beer belly. As much as everyone loves to show off their abs, lets not forget a very important note: You have other muscles, TRAIN THEM!

Glen