Getting Abs!

    Most people really want abs, and most people really like seeing abs. Especially the ladies. :P But, how do you go about getting great abs? Well, the answer is simple, have a low body fat percentage. The lower your bf% is, the more you can see your abs. If you are sitting at 30% abs, you will not see any abs, but get down to 15% and you will. Bring it down to 7% and you will look godly. Here's a chart for comparison on 15%>.

   How would you train for abs? Well, it's simple, for a guy lifting heavy weight you most likely wouldn't even need to do any crunches or sit ups. The core workout you get from stabilizing the weight alone should be enough to get your abs pumping. You just need the low body fat. For women though, you might want to throw in a few sit ups here and there, sorry girls.

Motivation is Key!

       Different people have different motivations as to why they want to work out. Some are motivated to lose weight, some are motivated to gain weight, and others are just motivated for their own personal reasons. No matter what the cause of the motivation is, you should hold on to that motivation forever. If you are motivated to lose weight and you lose 100 lbs over 5 months, will you just start sitting around the house eating ice cream? I sure hope not. When you lose that 100 lbs you should keep the motivation of staying fit and remember what it was like to be over weight and how much you hated it. There's no need to go back to that pain. You need to stay motivated and stay dedicated.

     Some people lose their motivation. I have a few times. If that happens, I would suggest just taking a break from lifting for a week. A week without lifting and you will realize how much you love lifting and how much you love to better yourself with it. This will get your motivation up and you can hit the gym again. If you lose your motivation very often, then I suggest trying a new approach. That shouldn't be happening. If you have no motivation, then why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you trying to lose weight? Why are you trying to gain muscle? Why? Motivation is key to staying happy about what you are doing. Without it, you are hopeless.

Your Training Routine

         You need to make a training routine based off of your body. Of course you can start off with a already made routine by somebody else, but as time goes by you should feel the need to adjust it to fit your needs. Many people go to the gym when they don't want to because of their routine. That's not a very good situation to be in because then you will probably slack on your work out. You need to make a plan that fits around your life. You need to enjoy going to the gym, you need to be happy about it. If your schedule isn't going good for you and it's stressing you out, then get a new one.

       If your plan is to lose weight, then I recommend the gym every single day with lots and lots of cardio. If you plan to gain size then a 5-day split would be your best option, with some cardio after each workout. It doesn't make sense to train all your muscles then leave out the most important one, your heart, does it? A good routine will let you leave the gym every time feeling refreshed and happy and ready to take the rest of the day on.

Strict Diets

         Many people think that they will get slim and aesthetic with just lifting weights and cardio. They couldn't be any more wrong. Diet is, if not more, just as important as working out. In order to get slim and lose that fat you hate, you have to eat at a calorie deficiency. Let's say you are 250 lbs and you are eating 3500-4000 calories a day. In order to lose that fat you will have to eat any amount of calories less than that. Let's say you want to lose weight quickly and efficiently. You should, let's say, eat 2500 calories a day. This will take your calorie intake down 1000 every single day, and on top of exercising that could be 1000 more. That's 2000 less calories a day, in a sense. Each pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. If you are eating losing 2000 calories a day, then you are pretty much losing .57 pounds a day. You might not think that is a lot, but it will add up. And you could just exercise more and cut your calories even more. Either way, hard work and dedication will get you to your goal.
     
         On the other side of that, in order to gain size and muscle you will need to intake a surplus of calories and protein. Your muscles are made of protein and when you work out your muscle fibers tear and if you intake more protein it only makes sense that they will heal faster and better. Let's say you are 165 lbs and you are eating 2000 calories a day. If you want to gain size you should eat at a surplus of that. I would recommend 3500 calories a day and 150+ grams of protein. You can add more calories to that or decrease it. It kind of just matters how your body reacts to it. Listen to your body, it never lies.

How to get started!

           A lot of people want to lose weight and gain muscle. They really do, but most of them don't know where to start. They see the commercials on t.v. for all these gadgets saying you will lose XX pounds within X amounts of months. What they don't tell you is, how you will be able to that. You won't be able to lose, let's say, 50 pounds in one month just by using a bow flex. You won't be able to get rock hard abs in a week just by doing the exercises they show you in that commercial. It takes time, and most of all it takes hard work and dedication.

           To start off, you need to have the will and dedication to better yourself. You won't get anywhere if you don't want to do it. You must have that self push in order to accomplish the goal you have. The single most important aspect of getting into shape is your eating habits. Nutrition is key to success. You won't get in shape by eating McDonald's all day. You have to have a diet plan and you have to stick to that diet. It's fine to cheat every once and awhile and treat yourself with something good, but overall you need to stick to it strictly.           

         If you are planning to lose weight you need to eat at a calorie deficiency. If you plan to gain muscle you need to eat at a calorie surplus and add a lot of protein to your diet. I will go into more detail on my next blog when I get free time. Thank you for reading.