Ripped abs: How to get a washboard stomach
Learn what the simple logic is behind getting ripped abs and why you should treat your abs like any other muscle on your body when it comes to getting a washboard stomach.
About reducing fat on your stomach
Men tend to accumulate fat around their midsection, while women accumulate fat around their hips.
However, the fat on your body is almost never accumulated on one location, which means that when you get fat, you never get fat only in one area of your body; you get fat throughout your entire body.
So when you go on a diet to lose bodyfat and especially lose fat around your midsection, you must understand that to get ripped abs, you have to lose fat throughout your entire body; not only on your stomach.
How muscles get that ‘ripped’ look
To get ripped, you have to do two things: Build muscle and lose fat.
This is a universal rule you can apply to every single muscle in your body, although genetics will come into play and determine how ripped you can really get.
You build muscle by training with heavy weights and overloading your muscles. You lose fat by closely watching what you eat, that is, your diet, and by expending more calories than you consume.
Your abs are no different than other muscles
Your abs react to diet and exercise just like any other muscle group in your body:
- If you do ab exercises with heavy weights, you will build bulky muscles in your midsection.
- If you reduce the amount of fat on your body, your muscles (including your abs) will become more visible and you’ll look more toned or ripped.
It is a combination of diet and exercise that will give you the washboard stomach you are after.
If you do 100 crunches a day, your abs might look gorgeous, but you won’t be able to see how gorgeous they look if you don’t reduce the amount of fat that is covering them.
Which ab exercises are best for a washboard stomach?
Before you dive into doing ab exercises, you must understand that your abs consist of different muscles that work together: The rectus abdominis, serratus, and obliques.
The function of the abdominal muscle group is to bring the spine forward and to move it to the side. So any exercise where you move your chest towards your legs by curling your spine forward and sideways will help build your abs.
Your abs can be easily overtrained. Your abs are a stabilizing muscle group that get trained when you do other exercises and activities, like for example running.
Unless you want a very bulky looking washboard stomach, I’d suggest not using heavy weights while doing ab exercises, but to wait until you have reduced your body fat percentage enough to be able to see your abs. Then you will be better able to determine whether you need to add weights to get more bulk in your midsection area or not.
Instead, concentrate on giving your abs a challenging enough workout by varying the types of exercises, sets, and reps that you do.
Final words
Train hard, eat smart, and treat your abs like any other muscle on your body and you’ll get a washboard stomach sooner than you expect.
