You can get a six-pack even if you’re over 45 and have never had one.
But first, here’s what you should NOT do in your quest for a six-pack — these will only waste your time:
-Crunches
-Sit-ups
-Side bends
-Twists
In order for your six-pack to show, your overall body fat percentage must be in the lean range (the leaner you are, the more it will show), and when I say “lean,” I don’t mean skinny like a marathon runner or runway model.
A man can be 5-9, weigh 190 pounds and still be very lean.
A combination of smart eating habits and specific exercises, as well as specific exercise intensity, will help the man or woman over age 45 achieve a six-pack.
The following exercises will help you achieve the abs you dream of:
Deadlift
Squat
Pushup
Chin-up/Pull-up
Plank
Hanging straight leg raise
Sprint intervals
Let’s take this a little further:
Sled push
Tire flip
Hill dash and other forms of high intensity interval training, which can be done with a jump rope, a box or stool for jumping, or even a stationary bike.
Deadlift. Shutterstock/Maridav
Pull-up
Pushup. Freepik.com Racool_studio
Sled push. Pexels-airam-datoon
These aforementioned exercises, when done intensely with whatever weight or level feels strenuous and heavy to you, will slash body fat and tone and harden your six-pack region.
Plank. Freepik.com
Forget crunching, folding up your body and twisting it. People over 45 who can’t figure out why they can’t “get” a six-pack are, no doubt, not focusing on the deadlift, pushup and chin-up or pull-up, for example.
These three exercises actually hit the abs hard. When you see someone doing a sagging pushup, with their midsection drooping rather than their body straight, this isn’t necessarily because their arms are weak.
It’s because their abs (which comprise the core) are weak.
Let’s throw in another great exercise for the abs: dumbbell pushup row.
Work on your deadlifts, squats, pushups and chin-ups — just those alone — plus controlled eating — and you will begin seeing a six-pack, even if you’re over age 45.
The compound strength training moves listed here recruit abdominal muscle; they work the entire core. When you develop the strength to do chin-ups, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Ask anyone who can do chin-ups or pull-ups for reps if they can “feel” their abs while doing the reps, particularly on the way down from each rep. Listen to their response.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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