"I want to have abs"

Each of us is aiming for something different in the long term, it can be weight loss, weight gain, toning up or just gaining self confidence. But a nice set of six pack is a goal shared by the most.

Various companies have been trying to trick us into believing that some magic machines, creams, pills and many other magical things are the "key" to getting a six pack, that we don't need to workout or kick our ass off with "that amazing machine or cream", that it simply does it for you. Well, let me tell you that you just lost money on it..

There is a variety of reasons for why your abs are not showing. Those include simply having too much fat tissue, being lean but not having your abs strong enough. You may think your abs are strong but you are lean, but do you remember about deep muscles? Some people also genetically are just gifted to not gain fat mass on the mid-part and develop strong core.

So what can you do if your six pack is not there?

If the reason is being lean but not enough muscle - gain that muscle. Start exercising more regularly, abs do not require a lot of weight or volume, bodyweight exercises will do. You can for example try doing 2x20 of two chosen exercises per day. Of course, do not forget about clean diet. Without that most of us can forget about abs. If you are lean already, probably you do not need too much cardio.

But, if the reason is excess fat mass, it probably also means that you are eating too much (and most likely not a healthy diet) and not exercising enough. Answer? Time to swap into a healthier diet with good calorie intake and expenditure ratio. Exercise/cardiovascular exercise may be crucial here.

On the whole, I highly recommend cutitng any processed foods and refined sugars. Up your protein intake as well, especially if you are a trained individual. Add cardio or high intensity intervals, and more importantly - be patient, abs are not developed in one day.

There’s much more to getting six-pack abs than simply doing a few crunches or planks each day.

Oliwia Skapczyk