How to Get Those Six Pack Abs!

Kate Deering of Kate D Fitness

As many of you know, I am out on the event trail monthly and I have all PR information throughout the DiRTY ReD tent! The one marketing piece that gets the most reactions and questions would be what the ladies call The Ab Photo! Now when I was pregnant with both my girls, people would poke and rub my belly but not as much as they do now! Do I mind? . . . No. I have to admit, the work has paid off and I am a mother of two! Heck no, I do not mind, but do not ask me to pull my shirt up again. LOL!

So, the deal that I made with many of my Dirty Red Women was to post information an article on How to Get Those Six Pack Abs!. I kept my promise and went to an expert . . . my trainer Kate Deering!

Kate Deering is a premiere Fitness and Nutritional Consultant here in San Diego with 12 years of fitness experience. Kate holds degrees in Psychology and Exercise Physiology and fitness training is her passion! Kate has teamed up with me and Dirty Red to begin an entire fitness series to help women nationwide get healthy and fit! Check out the latest from Kate on those Six Pack Abs!

Hey Ladies! Well, there is no big secret to six pack abs, its very simple a lot of hard work! A lot of hard work that consists of three main things, gaining the muscle, losing the fat and a nice lean meal plan. Throughout the next few months, I will guide you through the Ab Process with basic exercise techniques and nutritional guidelines to follow!

For you Dirty Red Women, your body fat goal should be 14%-16% in order to see those abs. Getting to these numbers will take some commitment and determination, but they can be done if you really want it!

First Thing is First . . . Gaining Muscle!

The best way to get six pack abs is to gain muscle, not only in your abdominal area but all over your body. Six pack are not achieved by crunches and sit up alone they are achieved by doing a full body workout. The more muscle your body carries the higher your metabolism thus the more fat will burn off for a leaner look.

When doing a full body workout you should spend 75% of your time working your larger muscle groups, working these muscles will burn more calories and increase your muscle mass quicker.

A good full body workout should be done 3x/week every other day and should take about an hour. You should move quickly in between exercises alternating between different body parts.

Make sure the weights you are lifting are challenging, do not be afraid to lift heavy weight ladies!!! You are not going to get bulky, as women we just do not have the capacity to get BIG. The more weight you lift, the more muscle you will add on, the more calories you will burn the leaner you will become!

Next, Losing the Fat!

You want to see those abs? You have to get rid of the layer of fat that covers them. Unfortunately, most of you know we can not spot reduce an area, so doing 1 million crunches is not going to make that stomach pooch go away. The best ways to lose fat are high intensity training, sustained cardio and a calorie restricted diet.

High intensity training is exercise that gets your heart rate elevated to 90-95% of its maximum heart rate for short bursts of time. Sprinting, hill runs, stair climbing are all great ways to do high intensity training. Along with a maximum fat burning effect high intensity running derives a good amount of power specifically from the abs. The purpose of the workout is to go all out for 10-60 seconds bursts, rest 60 seconds and then do it again. A good high intensity workout will last about 20 minutes

Sustained cardio is any amount of cardio that keeps you in your target heart rate for more than 20 minutes. Running, biking, swimming are all good sources of sustained cardio activity. If you are looking to burn fat most effectively try and keep most cardio sessions under an hour. Anything longer than that and you will produce a risk of burning muscle mass.

Finally, Getting A Nice Lean and Healthy Meal Plan!

Finally and most importantly, a calorie restricted diet is needed to get those six pack abs. Proper diet will be 75% of the battle to getting those abdominals to show up. This does not mean starve yourself, in fact it is quite the opposite, you need to eat a lot!

You just need to eat the right foods in small meals every three hours, so about 5-6 small meals a day. Become a grazer, this will keep your metabolism ON all day long.

Nicol eats very lean proteins, complex carbs, fruits and veggies. I have seen her eat, she eats A LOT because she works out A LOT! Make sure you remove all sugars, processed foods, alcohol, most starches, and most bread from your diet. Adding more fiber to your meal plan can make you feel full, plus it will help clean you out! So, you are probably thinking, geez, now I have to give up my brownie bites or my cookie fix . . . no way! Nicol has 2 days out of the week where she will splurge but she knows her limits and will not go overboard!

Last, drink tons of water, at least 64 oz/day, your body is 75% water, sometimes when we feel hungry our body is just letting us know we need something, sometimes that something is just water.

That is it for now, check back with us for the DIRTY RED FITNESS CHALLENGE and WORKOUT!

For more information on getting your 6 pack abs contact Kate at katedfitness.com or email her at kate@katedfitness.com