Question: What is the fastest way to get a six-pack?
Answer: I always try and pick out the most interesting questions from my readers, this helps to keep these emails fresh and (hopefully) enjoyable. But if I chose questions based on frequency, I'd be talking about six-packs and belly fat every single week!
The truth is that many people are very focused on this question, and with good cause. It is still seen as the epitome of fitness and health, no matter how often fitness experts state otherwise. It's a difficult question to answer, because your chances of getting a six-pack depend very much on your current physique, your lifestyle, and your genetics.
If you are morbidly obese, then your chances of getting a six-pack quickly are zero. In fact, aiming for a six-pack would be a bad idea, it would be like only going for a run if you thought you could break the 100 metre world record.
But, here is a generalised answer:
You need to create a calorie deficit so that you can reduce your body fat percentage to around 10-13% (13-20% for women).
Creating that calorie deficit can be achieved by three methods:
Reduce your calorie intake
Increase your calorie expenditure
A combination of the two
I would always recommend option three, because it is safer, more effective, and provides you with many additional health benefits. But when we're talking about getting six-pack abs FAST, it becomes even more important.
To reduce your calorie intake, you need to first find out what your average calorie consumption is. Keep a food journal for one week, and use myfitnesspal (or similar) to find out your calorie intake.
Next you want to find your recommended calorie intake, and then you can find out what calorie target you need to consume to burn fat (>200).
How "John" Dropped 6kg of Body Fat in 66 Days
Here is an example:
John consumes 2,600 calories per day on average
His recommended calorie intake is 2,500 to maintain weight
To burn fat, he needs to consume <2,500 calories per day
A sensible reduction would be to consume 2,300 calories per day, but John could safely consume 2,000 calories per day to create a 500 calorie deficit.
To continue the example, let's say that John has not been exercising at all. So he starts going to the gym 7 times per week (fastest results possible, remember).
Each session burns 200 calories. This increases his calorie deficit to 700 calories per day.
At this rate it would take him 11 days to burn 1kg of body fat. He could increase his step count each day to burn a little more. Or to allow him to consume a few more calories from food.
If John has 20% body fat and weighs 80kg, then he would need to drop 6kg of body fat to hit 15% body fat. Which would take him 66 days. Or just over 2 months.
Are Ab Exercises Overrated?
Notice how I haven't talked about "the best exercises for abs". The reason for this is that ab exercises really don't contribute that much. You can get a decent six-pack with barely any ab-specific exercises.
That doesn't mean you should ignore them completely, throw in 3-6 sets of crunches each week and your abs will be stronger and look better. But if you want to see them, then you need to get your body fat down.
Supplements such as Instant Knockout Cut, Hourglass Fit, and Hunter Burn can help by reducing your hunger (helps with keeping your cravings in check), increasing your metabolism (when we diet our metabolism can drop, so fat burners help to reset it), and keeping you mentally focused.
So there you have it. The fastest way for an 80kg man (20% body fat) to get a six-pack is 66 days. These numbers will change from person to person, but as a rule of thumb, someone who has more body fat will take longer, someone with less body fat will get results faster.
I don't recommend creating too large of a calorie deficit though, as this can affect your testosterone levels, stress, libido, and health.
