There is nothing more upsetting than not getting results after dedicating hours to workout sin the gym and dieting over the course of many months! You pushed the weights regularly, did cardio and improved your diet, but in the end, there was still that unwanted layer of body fat covering your abdominals. It may have been because you did monitor one very important item…added sugar.
Are Doing Sit-ups Enough?
You may wonder why your abs are not showing as much as you would like, especially since you’ve been hitting the gym every other day for months now. A research study at the University of Massachusetts, in 1984, looked at various fitness outcomes of subjects who performed 5,000 sit-ups over the course of a month. Performing hundreds of sit-ups on a daily basis wasn’t enough to lose abdominal fat. The subjects, a group of college students, had body measurements taken as well as a painful muscle biopsy procedure. The subjects body fat didn’t change and not even an inch was lost around the abdominal area by the end of the study. In the end, they had much stronger abs but their body fat and girth remained unchanged.
Many factors can influence the way you look and feel on a daily basis as well as over the course of your lifetime. A healthy, sustainable lifestyle also plays a huge part in how lean you ultimately get. You have probably heard that genetics are also important. True. Don’t forget about physical activity (in and out of the gym), this plays a significant role too. The missing “ingredient” in most exercise plans though is cutting back and monitoring added sugar.
What is Your DASI? Daily Added Sugar Intake
The term, DASI, is an acronym that I coined and stands for daily added sugar intake. It’s an important component of any nutrition program and it’s a game changer for those looking to get ripped abs. For the majority of people, getting a lean, ripped mid-section will be a lifelong challenge. Some never seem to realize that how they fuel their body in turn effects their midsection and abdominal area. This goes well beyond doing a daily plank challenge. Learn from the story of the UMass college students.
Follow These 2-Steps to Get Strong, Ripped Abs
Beware of added sugar in all foods and drinks. How? Start reading food labels and keep track of your daily added sugar. Put yourself on a sugar budget. Eat no more than 150 calories of added sugar a day for men. That’s about 38 grams a day for men and 100 calories or 25 grams a day for women. Carbohydrates (sugar) contain 4 calories per gram. There are two types of sugars, natural sugar and added sugar. Added sugar is hidden in just about everything we eat and drink. Examples of natural sugar are milk and fruit, and unlike added sugar, they contain more fiber, vitamins and minerals. Added sugar has minimal nutrients, basically no fiber, and can quickly raise blood sugar levels like all types of fast food or junk food.
Add a weekly HIIT session on the cardio side, in addition to your weekly strength training sessions. Begin adding intervals into a cardio session or two with bouts of hard work followed by brief periods of recovery and repeat several times. A whole cardio session could be an interval-based workout for 15-20 minutes or you can periodically add it to the cardio work you’re doing now. Any type of cardio will do the trick from jogging, biking, to rowing.
Final Thoughts
Remain focused with your weekly core routine and incorporate the two steps above into your training plan. This will definitely move you in the right direction in terms of getting those long wanted ripped abs. Shaking things up periodically, from the way you have been doing things, is a great way to stimulate not only your body but also your mind. Use the Jefit app to help track your progress and keep you moving toward your goals. Remember, you don’t own it until you right down or record it, so use the app. Good luck Stay Strong!
Try Jefit app, named best app for 2020 and 2021 byPC Magazine,Men’s Health,The Manualand theGreatist. The app comes equipped with a customizableworkout plannerand training log. The app has ability to track data, offer audio cues, and features to share workouts with friends. Take advantage of Jefit’s exercise database for your strength workouts. Visit our members-onlyFacebook group. Connect with like-minded people, share tips, and advice to help get closer to reaching your fitness goals. Try one of the new interval-based workouts and add it to your weekly training schedule. Stay strong with Jefit as you live your sustainable fitness lifestyle.
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Michael Wood, CSCS
Michael Wood, CSCS, is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and Content Manager for JeFit app. Michael is a former Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Connecticut and Exercise Physiologist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. He is the Founder of Michael Wood Fitness, named twice to "Top 100 Trainers in America" by Men's Journal and voted Best of Boston by Boston Magazine. Michael previously taught at the University of Connecticut and Boston University. He is the author of TBC30: 6 Steps to a Stronger, Healthier You.
If you consume extra sugar and don't metabolize it quickly, it will be stored as fat. Many of us, men in particular, tend to store this fat on our bellies. Clearly, a diet high in sugar will hinder you on your quest to a six-pack. Processed sugar is among your abs' greatest foes.
Sugary drinks like soda, sports drinks, and juice can increase body fat and stall progress on getting abs. These drinks are not only high in calories but also packed with sugar. Studies show that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages may be linked to a higher risk of belly fat and weight gain ( 29 , 30 , 31 ).
It will require a combination of diet and exercise. You will need to make sure you are eating a healthy diet that is low in fat and calories and high in lean proteins and complex carbohydrates. You will also need to engage in regular exercise that includes both cardiovascular activity and strength training.
Sugar will not necessarily prevent you from losing weight or fat. You lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume. However, since extra sugar is stored in the body as fat, eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain.
Week three is when you really start reaping the benefits of cutting sugar. “People usually have no symptoms [of reduced sugar intake],” Dr. Smith says. “They feel energized and encouraged that they can actually do this,” he says.
By quitting sugar, participants in the two-week experiment experienced improvements in cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and cardiovascular function. They also noticed a decrease in inflammation, reducing the risk of chronic diseases and promoting overall health.
A diet high in added sugars, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, may increase belly fat. Most often, stick with water, unsweetened coffee/tea, and eating a diet rich in whole, minimally processed foods.
A large body of research showed that sugar is even worse for your heart than saturated (bad) fat. Guidelines now suggest Americans limit added sugar to roughly 10 percent of daily calories, or about 12 teaspoons per day.
Carbohydrates are an essential nutrient that your body uses for fuel. So, no, carbs don't destroy abs. Fast-digesting carbs like white bread, sports drinks, and sugary cereals, however, can initiate an insulin spike that can hinder fat loss.
So, six-packs don't automatically make you fit, but they also don't mean you're underweight or addicted to exercise. Really, those abs aren't great correlations for much of anything. “These are not markers of health and wellness,” says Leahey.
Complete workouts that target your lower abs, like leg lifts, hanging leg raises, reverse crunches, and an ab V hold. It also helps to follow a balanced core routine, which could include side crunches, bridges, lunges, and yoga poses. Doing cardio and eating a healthy diet can cut body fat, which may also help.
It's wise not to overconsume simple sugars when you're bodybuilding. While consuming sugar can cause a surge of insulin right after a workout — which can benefit muscle growth — eating too many simple sugars for too long can lead to insulin resistance, which can inhibit it.
When body building all will have to be sure to include a variety of nutrient dense foods in your diet to support muscle growth and overall health. You should limit alcohol, added sugars, and fried foods, though certain supplements can be useful.
Toss the table sugar (white and brown), syrup, honey and molasses.Cut back on the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there. Swap out the soda.
Put yourself on a sugar budget. Eat no more than 150 calories of added sugar a day for men. That's about 38 grams a day for men and 100 calories or 25 grams a day for women. Carbohydrates (sugar) contain 4 calories per gram.
This is the visceral or “deep” fat that builds up around vital organs like your liver, pancreas, and intestines. Stubborn and hard to get rid of, it's also dangerous; visceral fat is a known risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.
Cutting out or limiting added sugar has several benefits. You might increase your intake of nutrient-rich foods, manage your weight, and reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Still, you might feel an intense and out-of-control craving for sugar if you cut out or limit carbs, your body's primary energy source.
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