Off-Topic Any advice on how I can get a six-pack in the shortest time period possible?

[Hallington]

Okay. So I'm not a professional when it comes to working out but, I have been trying it for years and I'm not getting the results I want where my stomach is concerned. I have done sit ups in the past but, now I have lower back pain and so now I'm sticking to doing planks which I do everyday. Whenever, I have the time, I'd do jogging and it does help with weight lose. However, I feel like I'm stuck with some sort of skinny fat physique and it would really like to get a six-pack. Does anyone know of any simple bodyweight exercises that I can do quietly in a small space that can help me to get a six-pack in a month or few weeks (preferably one week)?

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

Does anyone know of any simple bodyweight exercises that I can do quietly in a small space that can help me to get a six-pack in a month or few weeks (preferably one week)?

I wish I did!

You'll need to choose and utilise some form of ab training that really challenges your strength rather than your endurance (i.e. something you can only hold for a short time/perform for a small number of reps) and you'll need to look at various diet and lifestyle interventions to reduce your body fat (too many different factors for me to go into here, unfortunately).

If you're looking for a nice little routine you can work on at home, you might want to give this a try:

​

It should provide a bit more variety than just planks although you may want to skip the sit-up variations if they're hurting your lower back.

 

[Ryan T]

It would be better for you to adopt a different mindset. First ask yourself why. Why would your life be better with a six pack?

If you describe yourself as skinny fat (and you are unlikely “stuck” with this), then likely you are under muscled.

1. Work on building strength and muscle first.
2. Fasted aerobic work.
3. Higher, complete protein.

Other factors to consider: sleep, stress management, nutrition, micro-nutrient deficiencies (if any).

Generally, do not focus on the short term. Focus on long term strength and wellness; short term thinking ends of being counter productive.

 

[BJJ Shawn]

Four sets of fork put downs and 3 sets of table push aways should do the trick.

 

[Hallington]

Four sets of fork put downs and 3 sets of table push aways should do the trick.

LOL. I never heard that expression before and you had me looking up workouts for a minute. Now that I'm out of college, I don't eat as much as I used to; I spend most of my days fasting. Still, I'll admit that my diet sucks for factors beyond my control. I don't think I need to eat less, I think what I'm eating might be the culprit.

 

[Hallington]

I wish I did!

You'll need to choose and utilise some form of ab training that really challenges your strength rather than your endurance (i.e. something you can only hold for a short time/perform for a small number of reps) and you'll need to look at various diet and lifestyle interventions to reduce your body fat (too many different factors for me to go into here, unfortunately).

If you're looking for a nice little routine you can work on at home, you might want to give this a try:

​

It should provide a bit more variety than just planks although you may want to skip the sit-up variations if they're hurting your lower back.

Interesting video. I think I'll try out the back extension workout. Anyway, today I just did another one minute plank and it was easier than ever before; I just wasn't breathing properly which made the exercise unnecessarily difficult. I think I'll finally reach back to a place where I can do two minute planks again.

 

[Hallington]

It would be better for you to adopt a different mindset. First ask yourself why. Why would your life be better with a six pack?

If you describe yourself as skinny fat (and you are unlikely “stuck” with this), then likely you are under muscled.

1. Work on building strength and muscle first.
2. Fasted aerobic work.
3. Higher, complete protein.

Other factors to consider: sleep, stress management, nutrition, micro-nutrient deficiencies (if any).

Generally, do not focus on the short term. Focus on long term strength and wellness; short term thinking ends of being counter productive.

Well, I don't look "fat" with a t-shirt on but I just got this bit of stubborn belly fat that just won't go away, especially ever since I started doing planks; it weird. I do jogging everyday but, it's up an hill (where I live) and I get tired quickly( I was diagnose with asthma when I was younger). When it comes to dieting, I may as well get me some time of supplement(like whey protein) as there are limits to the changes I can make to my diet right now.

 

[Ryan T]

Four sets of fork put downs and 3 sets of table push aways should do the trick.

I’m not sure that will be effective in this case. He has characterized himself as skinny fat. He needs more muscle and let the fat come off over time. If he’s relatively untrained, then actual body recomp is possible. I don’t know that a caloric deficit is warranted and if he goes to a caloric deficit, he’ll want to make sure to have plenty of protein in the mix to at least help preserve muscle mass.

Precision Nutrition has a good online calculator

The Ultimate Calorie, Portion, and Macro Calculator

Use the FREE PN Calculator to instantly get a nutrition plan that’s personalized for your body, eating preferences, and goals.

www.precisionnutrition.com

 

[Steve W.]

help me to get a six-pack in a month or few weeks (preferably one week)?

Any supermarket or convenience store should do.




Sorry to make light, but having visible abs is more a body composition question than a specific exercise question. Both of these are good answers:

It would be better for you to adopt a different mindset. First ask yourself why. Why would your life be better with a six pack?

If you describe yourself as skinny fat (and you are unlikely “stuck” with this), then likely you are under muscled.

1. Work on building strength and muscle first.
2. Fasted aerobic work.
3. Higher, complete protein.

Other factors to consider: sleep, stress management, nutrition, micro-nutrient deficiencies (if any).

Generally, do not focus on the short term. Focus on long term strength and wellness; short term thinking ends of being counter productive.

our sets of fork put downs and 3 sets of table push aways should do the trick.

 

[Nate]

Rep for rep, I love TGUs for abs.

 

[54321]

Okay. So I'm not a professional when it comes to working out but, I have been trying it for years and I'm not getting the results I want where my stomach is concerned. I have done sit ups in the past but, now I have lower back pain and so now I'm sticking to doing planks which I do everyday. Whenever, I have the time, I'd do jogging and it does help with weight lose. However, I feel like I'm stuck with some sort of skinny fat physique and it would really like to get a six-pack. Does anyone know of any simple bodyweight exercises that I can do quietly in a small space that can help me to get a six-pack in a month or few weeks (preferably one week)?

Pretty hard to accomplish much in that time frame. Your best bet would be a time machine or better genetics. If you can’t make either of those options work, I’d say pretty much stop eating would be your only hope.
A six-pack doesn’t mean much. I think I remember Dan John writing “meth addicts have six-packs.”
I’d say screw the six-pack and go for the keg

 

[silveraw]

Protein sparing modified fast is probably your quickest bet. It sucks, is unhealthy, miserable, and unsustainable.
Do hypertrophy training while you do it to help preserve what muscle you have.
Also bear in mind that if you start skinny fat you are going to end with a physique more like Christian bale in the mechanic rather than Christian bale in Batman begins.

 

[Hallington]

I don't drink beer.

 

[IMayAgainKnowChris]

I recently was doing keto/carnivore and lost a ton of weight. Like 35 lbs. then my weight loss stalled at 175.
Started barbell training about a month ago and Did some reverse dieting and got my calories from 13-1500 up to about 22-2500/day and I’ve actually gained 3 lbs (I’m guessing muscle) but my upper abs are starting to show and my waist has definitely got trimmer. Crazy stuff.

 

[Ryan T]

I recently was doing keto/carnivore and lost a ton of weight. Like 35 lbs. then my weight loss stalled at 175.
Started barbell training about a month ago and Did some reverse dieting and got my calories from 13-1500 up to about 22-2500/day and I’ve actually gained 3 lbs (I’m guessing muscle) but my upper abs are starting to show and my waist has definitely got trimmer. Crazy stuff.

Great results! More importantly, how do you feel?

Outside of that two things come to mind:
1. Reverse dieting is sometimes the key; I was in a caloric deficit for a couple months, reverse dieted for a month and continued to loose body fat and gain a little lean body mass (measured by 7 site skin fold).
2. Keto is good to a point, but if you want to continue to remove body fat, you’ll want to bias the macro-nutrient profile to protein a bit more. So if ~70% of your calories come from fat, try to push that down to 60-65% Get >=35% calories from protein.

You may also be interested in the work of Dr. Ted Naiman Protein to Energy ratio (P:E Diet). He maintains the following equation is extremely favorable to body composition:

P/E > 1.0
Protein/Energy >1.0

The following in grams:
Protein/Fat+Net Carbs >1.0

Example:
160 p/100 f + 40 c results in P:E = 1.14 and total calories 1,700. Granted depending on your weight, age, activity level may change your caloric needs. You can push the protein lever around and modulate the fat + net carbs for your energy requirements.

His contention is that Western society is biased towards energy toxicity (consuming more energy that is required) when supplying our protein needs. Once you get to the desired body comp, you can easy to ratio to ~1.0 and perhaps be lax on some days and take a break. He’s not super dogmatic and makes a compelling case.

 

[Ryan T]

Well, I don't look "fat" with a t-shirt on but I just got this bit of stubborn belly fat that just won't go away, especially ever since I started doing planks; it weird. I do jogging everyday but, it's up an hill (where I live) and I get tired quickly( I was diagnose with asthma when I was younger). When it comes to dieting, I may as well get me some time of supplement(like whey protein) as there are limits to the changes I can make to my diet right now.

How much are you jogging on those days and how hard? Are you getting good sleep and is your diet mainly real vs processed, edible non-food stuffs? You may have some hormonal imbalance issues to clean up, an over abundance of cortisol and estrogen.

You could look at what I posted on the P:E diet above this. It may help you make changes to your body comp.

Adding whey protein to your nutrition will not improve anything unless you remove something.

I’ll say it again, don’t focus on getting “results” fast, figure out small things that will compound and improve your health over time. Get sleep, de-stress, eat well, prioritize protein, reduce edible non-food stuffs and swap out a running session or two with some strength training.

Doing more ab exercises isn’t going to change the quality of your wellness and health in the long term. That is what you really need.

 

[IMayAgainKnowChris]

Great results! More importantly, how do you feel?

Outside of that two things come to mind:
1. Reverse dieting is sometimes the key; I was in a caloric deficit for a couple months, reverse dieted for a month and continued to loose body fat and gain a little lean body mass (measured by 7 site skin fold).
2. Keto is good to a point, but if you want to continue to remove body fat, you’ll want to bias the macro-nutrient profile to protein a bit more. So if ~70% of your calories come from fat, try to push that down to 60-65% Get >=35% calories from protein.

You may also be interested in the work of Dr. Ted Naiman Protein to Energy ratio (P:E Diet). He maintains the following equation is extremely favorable to body composition:

P/E > 1.0
Protein/Energy >1.0

The following in grams:
Protein/Fat+Net Carbs >1.0

Example:
160 p/100 f + 40 c results in P:E = 1.14 and total calories 1,700. Granted depending on your weight, age, activity level may change your caloric needs. You can push the protein lever around and modulate the fat + net carbs for your energy requirements.

His contention is that Western society is biased towards energy toxicity (consuming more energy that is required) when supplying our protein needs. Once you get to the desired body comp, you can easy to ratio to ~1.0 and perhaps be lax on some days and take a break. He’s not super dogmatic and makes a compelling case.

Omg. I feel so good and strong AF. I wasn’t drained on keto cause I was def fat adapted but I definitely was lacking a little power in the training. Carbs are annoying though because I’m hungry a LOT more often now. Lol.
I def think adding about 5g salt to my water in the am helped some stuff too.

 

[Ryan T]

Omg. I feel so good and strong AF. I wasn’t drained on keto cause I was def fat adapted but I definitely was lacking a little power in the training. Carbs are annoying though because I’m hungry a LOT more often now. Lol.
I def think adding about 5g salt to my water in the am helped some stuff too.

I was carnivore for 8 weeks, and I was at my lowest adult weight and highest level of strength, and subjectively felt like I could tear through a wall from the moment I woke until when I went to bed. It was incredible.

I stopped 100% animal based nutrition because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep it up for my whole life.

Perhaps target your carbs around a workout.

You might also be interested in the work of Dr. Paul Saladino with fundamental health. 100% animal based nutrition, however there are certain plant foods that he claims are less toxic, such as low sugar berries, avocados and butter lettuce. He used to 100 nose-to-tail carnivore, however he started adding honey around his workouts and feels even better.

And yes, replenishing those electrolytes is key!

 

[MikeHall]

Every post is a Master's class in strength, health and nutrition. You folks are amazing. Where do you find your information?

 

[IsaacRobertson]

There are a few great options. One is mountain climbers. You can do sets of them by alternating your back and forth between the floor and your hands to make waves, for 20 seconds or so with a little break in between sets.

This works great because it does not involve much equipment and barely any movement, making it easy to get done on the sly! Another option is planks- most often people want to focus on their lower abs when doing these, which can be done by lifting one leg off the ground with support from the toes under the foot of that same side (so if you lifted left leg up, your left arm supports you).

Okay. So I'm not a professional when it comes to working out but, I have been trying it for years and I'm not getting the results I want where my stomach is concerned. I have done sit ups in the past but, now I have lower back pain and so now I'm sticking to doing planks which I do everyday. Whenever, I have the time, I'd do jogging and it does help with weight lose. However, I feel like I'm stuck with some sort of skinny fat physique and it would really like to get a six-pack. Does anyone know of any simple bodyweight exercises that I can do quietly in a small space that can help me to get a six-pack in a month or few weeks (preferably one week)?