A few years ago, I decided to build six pack abs despite being a regular, pot-bellied middle-aged man who is not a professional bodybuilder or a fitness model.
I achieved my goal without even stepping foot in the gym and I’m proud of it.
I learned many important lessons along the way.
The benefits of getting six pack abs exceeded my wildest expectations.
Here are the 20 life-changing benefits you can expect to enjoy by getting six pack abs:
1. You’ll Be Fit
A set of six pack abs is the ultimate indicator of fitness. That’s why you see men with six-pack abs on every fitness ad you see.
With two-thirds of adults being fat1, being fit today is an exception rather than the rule.
Not every fit person has six pack abs though. People with six pack abs are rare. When you get your six pack abs, you will be among the cream of the crop in terms of fitness.
2. You’ll Be Healthy
Fat is unhealthy, especially abdominal fat2.
It’s impossible to get six pack abs without a low level of abdominal fat.
When you lose your belly fat, you will have a slimmer waistline.
Having a slim waistline will lower your risk of type 2 diabetes3, heart disease4, cancer5, and countless other illnesses6.
People with slim waistlines not only live longer7 but also have a higher quality of life8.
In his seminal work The Wisdom of Life, Arthur Schopenhauer famously said that “health outweighs all other blessings so much that one may really say that a healthy beggar is happier than an ailing king” and extensive scientific research repeatedly links a slimmer waist to better health.
3. You’ll Be More Attractive
Six pack abs being the ultimate indicator of fitness translates into attractiveness because nature selects fitness.
It’s hardwired into women’s DNA to be attracted to lean, muscular men with six pack abs.
Take a look at Amazon’s best-selling women’s erotica and romance books. You will see that most of the books feature lean, muscular men with six pack abs on their covers.
Moreover, when you get six pack abs, you will look great with clothes on.
It’s your body what makes the clothing you wear look good.
If you are fat, you will look ugly in a Dolce and Gabbana suit. If you are fit and muscular, you will look terrific in a 5$ t-shirt
I also noticed that I have better skin after getting six pack abs.
This happens because you get healthier and exercise has a glow effect on your skin.
Having better skin will add to your attractiveness.
Getting six pack abs isn’t solely in the territory of younger men. Older men can skyrocket their attractiveness by building six pack abs as losing fat and building muscle makes you look significantly younger.
4. You’ll Have A Strong Core
Building six pack abs means building strong ab muscles, hence building a strong core.
Having a strong core adds significantly to the quality of your daily life.
The right way to build six pack abs is by doing compound movements.
When you train for six pack abs, you will also train your chest, shoulders, arms, back, and legs. This will make your whole body stronger and more muscular.
5. You’ll Learn How To Lose Weight
Losing weight is simple but not easy.
In our times it’s more important than ever because we are living in the age of obesity.
The correct way to lose weight is getting harder and harder to figure out because there are millions of charlatans disguised as weight loss gurus who are trying to steal your hard-earned money.
99% of the marketed weight-loss strategies don’t work or only work temporarily. Diets fail and people keep going back to the same marketers to spend even more money. It’s a vicious cycle.
To get ripped abs, you have to be lean. It won’t happen unless you figure out how to lose weight.
After I decided to get six pack abs, I had to sift through countless bullshit weight loss advice and I made many diet mistakes until I figured it all out.
Mastering how to lose weight is a vital life skill.
You will master it when you lose your stomach fat to unveil your ripped abs and your wisdom will stay with you forever.
Additionally, building six pack abs has another huge benefit for fat loss. When you build your six pack abs, you build a significant amount of muscle.
Muscles are fat burning machines. When you do aerobic exercise, you only burn calories during the activity. When you build muscle, you burn calories 7 days and 24 hours because muscles boost your resting metabolic rate9 so that you burn calories even when you are sedentary.
Before getting six pack abs, I always struggled in the weight loss department but now it’s not only easier for me to lose fat, but it’s also easier to stay in great shape. As a result, I am never more than 6 weeks away from getting back my six pack abs. Building six pack abs made it infinitely easier to maintain my fitness.
Before getting six pack abs, I would feel guilty after eating a delicious, high-calorie meal. Not anymore. Having the confidence to keep the unwanted fat off of my body helps me to enjoy the food I am eating, without any guilt whatsoever.
6. You’ll Learn How To Build Muscle
One of the most common myths about six pack abs is that everybody has a set of six pack abs under the layer of fat on their stomach.
Most people believe they can unveil their ripped abs if they lose enough belly fat.
This is not true.
I’ve seen countless skinny people around the world and not one of them had six pack abs. Skinny men are dime a dozen but six pack abs are not.
If getting ripped abs was as easy as losing enough stomach fat, every skinny man would look like fitness models.
The truth is, your ab muscles are still muscles. If you want to build them, you have to train them.
Building muscle is no easy task.
Just like the weight loss industry, the muscle building industry is filled to the brim with sharks who are trying to steal your hard-earned money.
If you want to build muscle, you have to get your training right.
When you get your training right and successfully build six pack abs, you will master how the muscle game works.
7. Having Six Pack Abs Improves Your Sports Performance
When you get six pack abs, you will have a strong core and a stronger body. You will be more athletic overall.
You will be able to jump higher, run faster, and kick the ball harder. You will have better balance, endurance, and stamina.
This translates to a tremendous advantage in any kind of sports you are engaging in, be it basketball, football, swimming, skating, athletics, and so on.
8. You’ll Build Self-Discipline
Losing weight is tough. Building muscle is even tougher than losing weight.
If you want to get six pack abs, you have to do them both.
In addition, it’s completely up to you to build six pack abs. You are not obliged to do it. It’s not a must for finding a job and nobody will pay you for it (unless you are a fitness model).
You have to do the work, all by yourself.
This will require tremendous self-discipline.
There will be many times that you will want to binge eat, abs be damned.
There will be many times you won’t want to train.
You have to be disciplined enough to not quit and have the mental toughness to get going when the going gets tough.
Once you achieve your goal, you will have first-hand experience of how self-discipline brings you the results you want.
Then you can apply that hard-earned self-discipline to other areas of your life. You will build a can-do attitude which will translate into any worthwhile endeavor you take on.
9. You’ll Build Self-Confidence
Having a fit, lean and strong body is the guaranteed result of getting six pack abs.
A fit, lean, and strong body is attractive to girls.
You will be more athletic.
The clothes you wear will look terrific on your body. When you look terrific, you will feel terrific.
You will have discipline and mental toughness.
All these factors will build you self-confidence and self-respect.
10. You’ll Build An Excellent Foundation For Bodybuilding
Abs are the core muscles of your body. They are involved in nearly every lifting movement.
Strong abs act like a natural belt and provide spinal support, which will help you lift more weights when you are doing squats, deadlifts and shoulder presses.
These are the lifts that will grow your muscles the most. Lifting more weight when you are doing squats, deadlifts and shoulder presses means bigger muscles.
I built my six pack abs with bodyweight training. After I achieved my goal, I switched to lifting weights because I wanted to have even bigger muscles.
After a mere 4 months into weightlifting, I was bench pressing 275 pounds, squatting 365 pounds and shoulder pressing 175 pounds (All 1 rep max).
The muscular foundation I built with my six pack abs training paid off and helped me to be the man who lifts the most weight in my gym in a matter of just a few months.
11. You’ll Look Good Naked
When you have six pack abs, girls will go “WOW” when you take your shirt off.
A good sex life is one of the crucial pillars of being a man. Six pack abs turn girls on.
I can make girls soaking wet with the simple act of removing my shirt.
When she is turned on, sex is a lot better.
12. You’ll Have More Endurance, Energy, And Stamina
When I was fat, even the simple act of going to the grocery store seemed like a chore. I would get easily tired by doing any physically demanding activity.
Now I’m more active without even thinking about it. When I have something to do, I just do it. I don’t fret over physical activities as I did before.
I have more stamina in the gym too. I can train in almost any condition. I trained while traveling, hungry, in the morning, at night, anytime…
It’s funny how human energy works. The more energy you spend, the more energy you have.
I always find the energy for training, working, going out, doing chores and so on.
13. Having Six Pack Abs Helps Prevent Lower Back Pain
Before I built my six pack abs, I had a nagging lower back pain which made my life miserable.
My belly fat was acting as an extra load to carry for my lower back and my weak core made the matters worse.
I got rid of my lower back pain as I burned my belly fat to unveil my six pack abs and strengthened my core in the process.
14. Your Posture Will Improve
In our age, even a simple act like walking upright is an exception rather than the rule.
Look around when you are out next time. You will see countless men with poor posture, walking with slouching shoulders and hunching backs.
Six pack abs mean strong ab muscles. Strong ab muscles mean a strong core. A strong core means a good posture.
A good posture will make you stand out. Standing up straight with your shoulders back is the posture of a winner.
When you have a good posture, you will be more attractive and you will get more respect.
15. You’ll Be Impossible To Ignore
Gold is precious because it’s rare. Scarcity makes things valuable.
Men with six pack abs are rare because it’s not easy to get six pack abs.
This is exactly why you should get six pack abs because it guarantees you to be special.
When I had an average physique I was invisible to other people when I went out. I started getting more and more attention as I got in better and better shape.
People respect other people who achieve difficult things. By building six pack abs you will have more social prestige and receive more attention.
16. You’ll Sleep Better
Low quality of sleep is one of the biggest problems human face in modern times.
Sleep apnea is associated with abdominal fat. Having six pack abs automatically means low abdominal fat, so it will help you to sleep better.
There’s also another benefit of being lean which helps you sleep even better.
8 years ago I had a small surgery due to a loose tissue on the back of my throat. I was constantly waking up (without noticing) throughout the night, which greatly impaired the quality of my sleep.
The doctor who operated my throat advised me to lose weight. He said, “When you gain weight, you also gain weight inside your nose, mouth, and throat which makes it difficult to breathe by partially blocking the respiratory pathways, especially when you are sleeping”.
The doctor was right. Now I’m lean and I sleep like a baby. I also no longer snore.
Getting six pack abs means getting lean. Getting lean means better breathing. Better breathing means better sleep and less snoring. Simple as that.
17. You’ll See First-Hand Results Of Taking Action
Getting six pack abs is completely within your control. Nobody can do your training and diet for you. You can’t buy, inherit, steal or borrow sick pack abs.
You have to do all the work personally. You can’t accuse your teammates, the government, your boss or your family in case something goes wrong.
Being in full control of your destiny is empowering. When you achieve it, you will feel the fully deserved pride of achievement. It’s completely up to you to do it and when you do it, it cannot be taken away from you.
You will see the first-hand results of how taking action can benefit you. You can then transfer it to other areas of your life where you want to improve.
18. You’ll Become An Inspiration To Your Loved Ones
Humans are the products of their environment.
When you spend time with slobs you are more likely to become a slob yourself. In contrast, when you spend your time with disciplined people, you are more likely to be disciplined.
It’s no coincidence that my girlfriends and my family members all got in great shape after I built my six pack abs. They all learned the value of training regularly and watching what they eat.
When you are in great shape, you add value to the lives of your loved ones. It’s amazing to witness your loved ones improving their lives, especially when you know you are their inspiration.
19. You’ll Have More Testosterone
Testosterone is the hormone that makes a man different than a woman.
The benefits of testosterone are:
- Stronger muscles
- Stronger bones
- Higher libido and better erections
- Higher energy levels
- Better cardiovascular health
- Mental sharpness
- Higher confidence and vitality
- Better memory
- A sense of well-being
Getting six pack abs increases testosterone in two ways:
- If you didn’t start building six pack when you are already at 8-10% of body fat then you must lose fat to unveil your abs. Losing weight is proven to increase testosterone levels.10
- You build six pack abs with strength training and strength training is proven to increase testosterone.11
20. You’ll Beat The Average
Being average is a curse for a man. Normal people are average and average people suck.
Being above average is a must for every winner. The more above the average the better.
Few men have six pack abs. When you get them, this will automatically put you right in the top 1% of the male population.
Conclusion
When I decided to get six pack abs, my only goal was to get in great shape. Not only I got in great shape but also I received many unexpected benefits along the way.
The benefits I got from getting six pack abs greatly outweighed the effort I put in.
Moreover, there is this beautiful thing called muscle memory. Once you build your six pack abs you are set for life because maintaining your muscle mass is infinitely easier than building it.
I developed my bodyweight training and diet program Ripped with Bodyweight during the time when I was trying to get six pack abs and I still follow the same routine to keep my stomach fat free, and my abs rock hard.
I am still enjoying the benefits of having six pack abs, day in day out.
Getting six pack abs changed my life and I highly recommend it to every man regardless of age, current shape or genetics.
I did it after the age of 37, I started grossly out of shape and I didn’t even step foot in the gym since I trained with bodyweight exercises. I don’t see a reason why you can’t do it too.
Be sure to read:
- Ripped with Bodyweight: 12-Week Program for Muscle Growth and Fat Loss, Chapter 8: The Workouts & The Routines
- Ripped with Bodyweight: 12-Week Program for Muscle Growth and Fat Loss, Chapter 6: Muscle Building, Fat Burning Diet
- How to Get Six Pack Abs Fast
- How Long Does It Take To Get Abs?
- Training and Diet Principles to Get an Athletic Body
- Why Is It So Hard To Get Six-Pack Abs?
- 10 Truths About Building Muscle That Nobody Wants To Believe
- 10 Truths About Fitness That Nobody Wants To Believe
Footnotes
- Overweight & Obesity Statistics. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- How Abdominal Fat Increases Disease Risk. Harvard School of Public Health.
- Waist size linked to Type 2 diabetes risk – regardless of BMI. The British Diabetic Association. June 2012.
- Sex Differences in the Association Between Measures of General and Central Adiposity and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction: Results From the UK Biobank. Peters, Bots, Woodward. Journal of the American Heart Association. Vol.7, No. 5. Feb 2018.
- Comparison of general obesity and measures of body fat distribution in older adults in relation to cancer risk: meta-analysis of individual participant data of seven prospective cohorts in Europe. British Journal of Cancer volume 116, pages 1486–1497. (23 May 2017)
- A pooled analysis of waist circumference and mortality in 650,000 adults. Mayo Clin Proc. 2014 Mar.
- Waist-to-Height Ratio Is More Predictive of Years of Life Lost than Body Mass Index. Ashwell, Mayhew, Richardson, Rickayzen. 2014 Sep.
- The impact of waist circumference on function and physical activity in older adults: longitudinal observational data from the osteoarthritis initiative. Batsis, Zbehlik, Barre, Mackenzie, Bartels. 2014 Aug.
- Skeletal muscle metabolism is a major determinant of resting energy expenditure. Zurlo, Larson, Bogardus, Ravussin. 1990 Nov.
- Overweight Men Can Boost Low Testosterone Levels by Losing Weight. Source Newsroom: Endocrine Society
- Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training. Kraemer, Ratamess. 2005.