You read that right! For the first time in years, I can finally see my obliques and a hint of my upper abs. I am beyond ecstatic. I still have a very long ways to go, but at least these muscles have begun to play peekaboo with me.
Let me remind you that my goal in all of this is basically to burn lower belly fat and get clearly defined abs. There are no magic tricks here. Getting a flat stomach from top to bottom just comes down to fat loss in general by lowering your overall body fat percentage. As you know, my plan is to go from 25 percent body fat to 15 percent. Since there is no way to specifically target lower ab fat, just as there is no specific way to target arm fat or face fat, it just comes down to getting leaner in general. It's not that ab training should be avoided. I do a number of fun ab exercises, including leg raises. But since spot reducing just isn't possible, I go about my fat loss journey simply doing my regular workouts. Today is a good illustration. I showed up at the gym for my workout.
I performed my exercises. These included spider curls.
Lat pulls.
And, of course, pull ups.
Afterwards I drove over to the high school for my cardio.
Without exception, I walk 5 miles every day, which translates to anywhere between 10,000 to 13,000 steps.
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| Today's total. |
Then I immediately replenish my calories. For lunch I had noodles along with barbecue chicken dipped in a blend of shoyu and Chinese mustard.
Again, whereas I used to get two or sometimes even three servings when I went to a Chinese buffet, what you see here is all I needed to feel comfortably full after my meal (protein is very satiating). This will hold me over until dinner tonight (one ground beef soft taco, rice, and refried beans, along with a large salad).
I've heard some people grumbling about lacking abs despite having a low body fat percentage when in fact they are well above the body fat level needed to see well-defined abs and obliques. If your body weight is stagnant right now, try to reduce your calories until it starts dropping. Being in a moderate calorie deficit each day is a great place to start. You can also increase your activity level as well. Make sure you maximine your diet by eating less calorie-dense foods and making sure you're getting enough protein and drinking enough water. (My server had to refill my water glass three times today.)
At the end of the day, it really just comes down to discipline and hard work if you want to lose those last vestiges of belly fat. If that's what you're doing, my hat's off to you!