Workouts, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Tips For Success by Robert D. Franklin

A common fitness goal people have is to get a flatter stomach and if possible, achieve some sort of a "six pack abs" appearance. Unfortunately, most people struggle for years without ever achieving this goal.

Instead, so many people waste too much of their time on worthless abs exercises, and falling for every gimmick out there on the TV screen. They think there is a magical "underground" abs exercise that would finally get them their six-pack after years of searching.

That's why it's of utmost important to get with the right structured fitness program that shows the truth about full body exercising and overall nutrition for your entire health.

So what's the truth? The truth is that people are looking in the wrong direction to achieve this goal. Abs exercises are NOT the answer to six pack abs! Sounds contradictory. huh? In fact, ab-specific exercises are the LEAST important training aspect in getting a six pack.

The fact is, the real solution to seeing a visible six-pack is simply bringing your body fat percentage down to a low enough level to where the abs become visible. This is generally about 10% body fat or lower for men, and about 16-18% body fat. Most people already have a six pack hiding underneath their stomach fat and don't know it.

So the most important aspect to getting visible abs is actually a properly designed FULL body training program, combined with good nutrition that can be maintained for life (no gimmick diets allowed).

Beginners can probably start off with the most basic bodyweight exercises like bw squats, bw lunges, bw step-ups, pushups, along with basic dumbbell exercises like overhead presses and rows. There are also body stabilizing exercises like planks and side planks to properly engage the entire "core" area in stablizing the body.

Key fitness programs would include high intensity resistance training instead of cardio where you will be sweating and huffing and puffing much more than any boring cardio workout.

The bottom line: cardio is NOT necessary for fat loss! In fact, some of the leanest people I know NEVER do traditional cardio. Personally, I haven't stepped foot on a treadmill, elliptical machine, or stationary bike in about 8 years and I maintain single digit body fat year round.

You could also implement wind sprints, hill sprints, swimming sprints, speed rope jumping, etc to complement your resistance training. This stimulates a vastly higher metabolic response in the body than steady pace cardio.

Some excellent examples are:

1. mountain climbers for 20-30 seconds

2. dumbbell squat & presses (combination squat then press overhead)

3. stability ball leg curl-ins

4. stability ball plank holds (a little harder than a floor plank)

This type of circuit can be done without much rest at all between exercises and we would repeat the circuit several times before moving to a new circuit.

Going over to nutrition, it can be a lot simpler than you think:

1. whole, unprocessed organic foods, as close to their natural state as possible

2. High nutrient density food choices instead of nutrient deficient processed foods

3. Fruits and vegetables (lots of vegetables) as your main source of carbohydrates instead of so much reliance on grains as is so prominent in our food supply these days

4. Moderate amounts of high quality protein at each meal

5. High fiber intake to help appetite control and glycemic control (maintaining more balanced blood sugar)

6. Don't neglect healthy fat intake from nuts, seeds, organic eggs, wild fish or fish oil, virgin coconut oil and olive oils, avocados, etc (helps appetite control and hormonal balance)

Once you gain control over the aspects listed above, everything else usually works itself out in your diet. You would no longer crave sweets or junk food because your body finally has all of the nutrients it needs.

One important view of total fitness is making sure your health and fitness is a priority in your life, and enjoy it.

A few people that have been stuck at a fat loss plateau have come in to get a simple nutrition trick to try. This simple change was to start basing their last full meal of the day around just meats with lots of veggies and salad... basically, no starches with dinner, just meat and veggies.

As simple as that sounds, so many people break their fat loss plateau just by implementing that into their diet. So many people think that their meals need to be based on starch like pasta or rice, but I think it's so much easier to lose fat when your meals are based around meat and vegetables instead of starch.

With this knowledge tucked under your wing, you'd do wonderful in your lifestyle greatness.