By the healthiergang writer , certified personal trainer and athlete ().
How to have a turtle?
Having muscle toned, sculpted, well-defined abs is the goal of all those who practice sports, both men and women. Those nice sculpted abs, defined in jargon "Six pack" or turtle, as we say in your country, how do you get them? And above all, is it really just a question of training? It is important to dispel a myth that still resists: it is not by slaughtering crunches that you will get them. Here various components come into play: your genetics, your sporting habits and, last but not least, I would say rather fundamental, your eating habits. Let's analyze them in order to get useful advice.
Genetics
Spesso I hear "I have no abs". Of course this is incorrect, the abdominal muscles are proper to the human being. It happens that though a combination of factors, including genetics in the first place, sculpt the abs that are naturally already well defined in some and less so in others. The reason lies in the different percentage of body fat: it can also happen, in fact, that, despite some training a lot, they continue to have a lower abdominal muscle definition than many others who, even if not training, have a very well defined abdomen.
This does not constitute a limit in any case, those who have less defined them by nature will probably have to arm themselves with greater patience in getting them out compared to those who have already been given a more evident definition, the percentage of body fat mass varies from individual to individual also based on sex and age. However, for information, generally the percentage of body fat mass in a man should be between 10-14%, in a woman between 14-18%
The Workout
There are various ways to train your abs: clearly when you think about specific exercises you inevitably think about the infamous crunches: there are all types, the ones I do most often are, for example cable crunch, generally a couple of sets to warm me up. And then above all leg raise e plank.
But training the abs, from my point of view, is much more, it must also involve the whole core (i.e. the middle part of the trunk) because the abdominals are essential to support the spine, and the whole musculoskeletal system benefits, not only in training, of course, of well-toned and structured abdominal muscles.
So, my advice is to strengthen the abdominal muscles also with some total body exercises (or indirect abdominals) that will involve not only these but also the whole trunk.
My favorites? Here they are!
1. SQUAT: it is true, this exercise is above all an exercise for the legs, the most representative, but trust me, without firm abs, the risk would be that of not holding the position in the right way and cause bad injuries to ligaments and joints.
2. DEADLIFT: the weight lifting exercises they are also a very useful core training system, lifting a barbell serves to develop the hamstrings, quadriceps and back muscles, but without a powerful abdomen, the same argument applies as I did for squats.
3. STANDING (o MILITARY) PRESS: obviously doing it while sitting does not involve the core and therefore the abdominal muscles as much as do it standing up, and it is the latter that I recommend… The more weights you want to lift the stronger abdominals (and not just the muscles mainly involved in these exercises) you will have to develop.
Food
Your physical efforts would be worthless if you did not care primarily about nutrition. As I often say, "abs are built in the kitchen". And so keep these simple but effective dietary rules in mind:
1. ELIMINATE REFINED SUGARS, especially those of drinks: fruit juices are full of sugar, and this sugar results in fat on the abdomen. And not only them, but everything that contains refined and industrial sugar must be eliminated.
2. ELIMINATE THE WHITE FLOUR IN ALL ITS FORMS. White bread, white flour, white pasta: choose flour, bread and wholemeal pasta.
3. ATTENTION TO CALORIC DEFICIT (i.e. eating less than normal) can be okay if done right: starving to lose weight may initially delude you into giving results, but in the long run it will lead you to a stalemate and ultimately backfire.
In fact, in the long run the body, worried, will start thinking: “Oh no, he is probably no longer able to get food! You risk starving! I'd better slow down his metabolism until he is able to feed himself again ”. This is why even though a reduced calorie intake is probably a must for many, it is rather difficult to do it in the most correct way.
It is almost always not so much "how much you eat", but "what you eat" that makes the difference. To reduce calories what I recommend is to start gradually, using the principle of the "minimum effective": that is, reduce by what is needed for the purpose, by what little that gives the first results, not to be expected all immediately. Constancy and patience are the basis for achieving any lasting and effective result.
4. INCREASE YOUR PROTEIN CONSUMPTION. This is crucial: you will need about 2 grams of protein per kilogram of lean mass per day.
5. LIMIT YOUR FAT CONSUMPTION. It is the factor that will most help you dry and firm up. Make sure you take "good" fats, ie those derived from fish, olive oil, dried fruit. Generally, the daily fat requirement ranges from 13% to 16% of our caloric needs. If, on the other hand, you are working to bring out the abdominal turtle, then they must be reduced to a percentage ranging from 12% to 13%. Important: do not consume fat before or after workouts. The pre and post wo should be limited to proteins and carbohydrates: keep your percentage of fat to consume for the other meals of the day.
6. REDUCE CARBOHYDRATES can be useful in helping the body burn fat faster: it also helps reduce water retention. However, completely cutting carbohydrates from your diet would cause your metabolism to crash; then if your intention is to cut down on carbs very aggressively, be sure to refuel at least before and after your workout.
While reducing them can have a favorable impact on body fat decrease and weight loss, eliminating them completely will only have very negative effects on the metabolism and therefore in the long run on weight loss in terms of recovery of lean mass, even on the abdomen.
Good workout!
