Slimijs guide to ripped abs

[Slimijs]

Lately a lot of hype about ripped abs has been floating around, and someone just had to write a guide to getting them.

There are a lot of benifits in having strong and healthy abs :

• Help improve your posture
  
  Prevent you from injuring your back when lifting heavy objects
  
  Lower your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes (because you have less body fat)
  
  Protect you during your athletic activities.
  
  Will help you look better in a bathing suit

Nevertheless, if you persistently follow an abdominal-building routine, you may be in contention to win the newly instituted Nobel Prize for 'Most Ripped Abs.' (Really. Check this article out.)

Now let's start with the lessons!

First you have to make the commitment. The most important part of starting an abdominal-building routine is to be serious about it. Major results won't come in days or weeks. Your spare tire will eventually disappear, but it can take up to half a year to develop toned abdominal muscles. So stick with it!


Of course you have to eat right. Be aware of your food intake.

One rule of thumb is to consume carbohydrates, fat, and protein in a 55:30:15 ratio, which is to say that 55% of calorie intake should come from carbs, 30% should come from fat, and 15% should come from protein. Here's how you can calculate these percentages:

1. 
   Multiply the grams of carbohydrates in your meal by 4 - that's your calorie intake for carbs
   
   
   Multiply the grams of protein in your meal by 4 - that's your calorie intake for protein
   
   
   Multiply the grams of fat in your meal by 9 - that's your calorie intake for fat
   
   
   Add your three numbers together
   
   
   Divide each calorie intake number by the sum of the three numbers.
   
   
   Multiply each calorie intake number by 100[/list=1]
   
   You will then have the amount of carbs, fat, and protein as a percentage of the amount of calories in your food serving
   
   For instance, a meal has 40 grams of carbs, 10 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fat, and your meal has 600 calories. So:
   
   • 40 x 4 = 160 g of carbs
     10 x 4 = 40 g of proteins
     9 x 10 = 90 g of fat
   Add these together, and you get 290. Divide each individual number by 290 and multiply by 100.
   
   
   • Carbs:160/290 = .55 x 100 = 55%
     Proteins:40/290 = .14 x 100 = 14%
     Fat:90/290 = .31 x 100 = 31%
   So it's very close to the recommended 55%-30%-15%.
   
   
   Let's no forget about the cardiovascular excercise. The body (men's, women's, and hermaphrodites' alike) contains up to 30 billion fat cells. If you want to chop away the fat, you have to either shrink your fat cells or get rid of them. And the only way to shrink or kill fat cells is to use up the energy stored in them. Eating right will prevent them from getting bigger; only a cardio workout will actively shrink them.
   
   Cardio work" is basically anything that makes you sweat: running, stair-climbing, sports, stuff like that.
   
   
   Ab exercises are important because they're what help you look good after you've chipped all the fat away. Think about it - you can lose all the weight you want and you'll look skinny, but it's the ab exercises that create the 6-pack look. Ab exercises also help to suppress fat buildup; bigger muscles mean that the fat you eat burns quicker.
   
   The fitness profession has settled on crunches as the most basic and effective way to tone the abs. Here's how to do a proper crunch:
   
   • Lie down
     
     
     Put your hands behind your neck (don't pull too hard on the neck)
     
     
     Pull your knees in just above the hips with your feet flat on the floor
     
     
     Lift your shoulders no more than 30 degrees above the ground
     Hold for 3 full seconds
     
     
     Then slowly return the shoulders to a resting position.
     
     
     Repeat until you are ripped
   Beginners should do 1 set of as many repetitions as it takes to make the abs burn. It is standard for huge bumpy musclemen to do 3 sets of about 25 to 30 repetitions. Do these exercises at least 3 times a week.
   
   That's it? Not exactly; crunches work the upper abs, but you can't forget about the lower abs or obliques (love handles).
   
   A good exercise for working the lower abs is leg lifts. You can do these lying down on a flat bench or any other bench-like surface. Here's how to proceed:
   
   
   • Lie down flat on your back on a bench
     
     
     Lift your legs (straight out) about 45 degrees in the air
     
     
     Then return them slowly to the resting position (without touching the ground)
     
     
     Repeat until you cry
   -------------
   
   So that's about it. Stick with the plan and maybe you are going so see your abs again
   
   thanks to SYW

 

[Slimijs]

bump

I hope at least someone read this.

 

[AFK Protector]

I read it.

 

[Mercenary]

no word about using resistence?

did i also read your calorie ratios correctly? are we to intake more fat calories than protein calories?

i think the bottom line is to have a negative calorie balance at the end of the day (no food b4 bed... i struggle with that sometimes.. i.e. $1 filet-o-fish fridays).

 

[Derek Flint]

I would be wary of consuming that many carbs because the ones that aren't burned off from activetly will be converted to fat.

I would also recommend that carbs be of those with a low-glycemic index, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, salads etc... as opposed to sugar, refined flour, potatos etc...

 

[madgame]

So potatoes have "bad carbs" ?

 

[AFK Protector]

Yea, cuz its starch carbs, not fiber carbs. Anyways, I didn't know they had $1 filet-o-fish fridays.



I haven't had McDs or and fastfood (minus subway) for 6 months.

 

[Byronic Hero]

You mean well Slimijs and it's great that you posted, but I can't see how this works out. That is WAY too many carbs to be losing weight. Protein is very important. Your abs are muscles. They need to be worked and given protein just like anything else.

The main thing everybody seems to forget about in their pursuit for "ribbed abs" is that you need a low body fat amount to see them. Somewhere in the 12% range. You need to cut down to around that area. While getting down there you need to train your abs with weights. Do crunches with while holding a barbell. Work your obliques too since you want a total package look.

Run a great deal too. Don't jog though. Do some HIIT. You'll drop weight well and you'll get to your abs faster. The running will also work your abs out.

When you finally get down to 12%, you should be able to see all the work you put on your abs during the cutting process.

You should cut down your calories much like in Diesel's guide. I don't know if I agree with his ratios though. A 40:40:20 ratio is fine. That's 40% carb, 40% protein, and 20% fat. I've found that while trying to eat a low calorie, high protein diet, carb intake will be hurt. I'm cutting right now, getting great results, and I'm at 50% protein, 30% carb, and 20% fat. The carbs even dip lower ever now and then.

This is all from my experience though. If eating the ratios that slimijs suggested works I'd love to find out. I'd love to be able to eat bread again.

 

[diablo]

You do realize that the "Nobel Prize" article was posted on theonion.com, a spoof newsletter?

 

[WORKEROUTER]

Slimij all you need to get ripped abs is a low body fat. That's all. There's no magic; low body fat=abs.

To do that, I would recommend you follow the stickied thread on CUTTING.