I built six-pack abs without ever going to the gym and I started grossly fat and out of shape. Moreover, I did it after 37 (Age is mostly irrelevant).
Millions of men would like to get six-pack abs but men with six pack abs are rare, so it must be difficult to do it, right? Let’s see.
I identified 6 reasons why it’s so hard to get six pack abs:
1. The Noise
The real difficulty about getting six-pack abs is the noise. There are too many pieces of bad diet and training advice running around. People who don’t have six-pack abs have the temerity to give advice about six pack abs. Everybody is a guru on the internet but there are few people who actually possess six pack abs.
Good advice is worth the weight of gold but like gold, it’s rare. The majority of the information you can find on the internet about six pack abs is horrible, useless and worthless. These people have no idea what they are talking about.
For example, I don’t know who was the first person to say “you already have six pack abs hidden under your belly fat” but that son of a bitch has millions of disciples perpetuating the same lie. Hence the myth “abs are made in the kitchen”.
Look, if you didn’t train your ab muscles (which most people don’t) you don’t have six pack abs hiding under your belly fat.
Bad advice misleads people who are enthusiastic about getting six pack abs. When the bad advice they receive inevitably yields no results, they give up.
Often, these poor men blame themselves for their failure to get abs, without questioning the validity of the six-pack abs advice which set them up for failure before they even began.
Related: Top 13 Myths About Six-Pack Abs
2. Limiting Beliefs
Many men regard six-pack abs within the territory of fitness models or genetically gifted men.
In reality, getting six-pack abs is not exclusive to privileged individuals. Fitness models are people too. They are made of flesh and bones just like you and me.
Genetic differences are overblown. If you are a functioning human, your genetics are good enough to get six-pack abs.
Limiting beliefs prevent people from taking action. If the mind doesn’t believe it, the body doesn’t do it.
I’m far from being a fitness model. I’m a regular man. I wasn’t even that young when I decided to get six pack abs. I did it after 37. Most athletes are already retired by that age. I believed I can do it and I did it.
Smash any mental barriers. If I could do it, you can do it too.
Related: How to Get Six Pack Abs Fast
3. A Lack Of A Basic Understanding Of Human Physiology
Many people think that training the abs is the way to get six pack abs. I liken these people to the idiots in the gym who only train their arms.
The human body works as a whole unit. Just like there’s no such thing as spot reducing fat, you can’t get six pack abs without training your whole body.
Too many charlatans got rich by exploiting gullible people who thought training their abs is the way to build six-pack abs.
4. Thinking That Losing Fat Is The Hardest Part
To get six-pack abs, you need to nail two things at the same time:
- Big Ab Muscles
- 8-10% Body Fat
Since the majority of the people have more than 10% body fat and weak ab muscles, they must both build muscle and lose fat if they want to get six-pack abs.
In my experience, losing fat is easier than building muscle. Losing fat is pretty straightforward when you know what you are doing. Building muscle is tougher.
There are countless people who managed to lose 100+ pounds of fat but few people manage to build 30+ pounds of muscle.
Learning how to train and keeping at it is the most important part of getting six pack abs. While dieting for six-pack abs is still not an easy feat, it’s easier than the training part.
Related: Six Pack Diet – All You Need to Know About How to Eat for Six Pack Abs
5. Wasting Time With Complicated Strategies
Success is more about knowing what not to do than knowing what to do.
Getting six pack abs boils down to losing fat and building muscle.
The best strategy to lose weight is creating a calorie deficit and eating enough protein. Everything else is minutiae.
The best strategy to build muscle is doing basic compound exercises such as burpees, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges etc. Everything else is minutiae.
Consistency is the most important part of achieving anything worth achieving in life.
Simplicity makes it easier to be consistent with your diet and training.
Don’t be frightened by the fact that you need to lose fat and build muscle in order to get six pack abs.
Losing fat makes building muscle easier because your training performance increases as you lose fat.
Building muscle makes losing fat easier because muscle tissue helps you burn more calories.
Losing fat and building muscle both increase the testosterone levels in your body which helps further your fat loss and muscle gain.
6. Thinking That It Will Take Forever To Get Six-Pack Abs
If your body fat percentage is less than or equal to 30%, it will take you less than 7 months to build six pack abs provided that you train correctly and follow your diet.
Training for six-pack abs doesn’t consume too much of your time either.
While I was working on building my six-pack abs, I trained 4 times in a week. Each training session took me less than 30 minutes on average. So, I built my six-pack abs gym-free and by only training less than 3 hours a week (including warm-up).
Related: How Long Does It Take To Get Abs?
Conclusion
If you train and diet right (both of which aren’t complicated), you too can build six-pack abs. You don’t even need a gym. Bodyweight training is more than enough to get six-pack abs.
Getting six-pack abs is so rewarding that I wish I did it when I was 18 or younger.
P.S. Ripped with Bodyweight is how you get six pack abs. Every man should build six-pack abs at least once in their lives. Believe me, it’s worth the effort.