How to Work on Your 6-Pack

While a select few are genetically blessed with perfect metabolisms, the rest of us have to work to attain the bodies of our dreams. However, even the most in-shape bodies experience daily weight fluctuations of up to several pounds on an average day. If you know there is a big event on your horizon, like a wedding or graduation, there are steps you can follow to both prepare yourself for the big event in a sustainable way, and to take a few further steps to avoid any last minute disasters on the day of.

Firm Your Abs

Looking your best requires practice and patience, and the first thing you can do to get your body in check is to get it in shape. If you’re wondering how to fix bloated abs, luckily there are plenty of solutions that you can practice, both at the gym or while working out at home. Even as little as five to ten minutes a day spent focused on building abs will pay off enormously in the long run, so remember to be consistent with your efforts.

The best exercises for a six pack are varied in difficulty levels, but can easily be adjusted based on reps and weights. These exercises include ab wheel rollouts, barbell roll ups, barbell Russian twists, Swiss ball crunches, medicine ball twists, and medicine ball mountain climbers. Other exercises don’t require anything except for your body, such as sit ups, partial sit ups, bicycles, flutter kicks, leg raises, and planks. Just make sure to always hold the proper form while exercising for the best results, and be sure to vary your routine.

If you’ve been focusing on abs for weeks, and still can’t seem to kick the bloat, understand the underlying issues that lead to ab bloat. Abs are often bloated because of digestion issues, dehydration, retention of fluids, flood allergies or sensitivities, constipation, overeating, poor core training, genetics, or other issues. Therefore if working out and diet changes aren’t sculpting your abs, you might want to consult a doctor about any underlying issues at play.

Monitor Your Diet

Abs are made in the kitchen, so it’s going to be difficult to look your best if you’re not putting the best quality food into your body. Plan ahead if you know you have a big event on your calendar, and get your diet in check as far in advance as you are able to. Switching to a healthier lifestyle will help you slim down, but it will also improve your health in the long run.

Some of the big offenders when it comes to bloated abs are food sensitivities and allergies. In particular, gluten and dairy tend to be big culprits for why some can’t seem to cut out the bloat. Transitioning into a gluten free diet is luckily linked to health benefits, so you might want to give it a try if you notice carbs are cutting away at your six pack. You can consult your doctor to get tested for a wheat allergy, or to see if you’re gluten sensitive or lactose intolerant. Fortunately there are lots of substitute food items on the market.

Additionally, be aware of what foods cause bloating, so you can avoid them before big events. Such foods include beans, lentils, carbonated drinks, wheat, cruciferous veggies, onions, barley, rye, dairy, apples, garlic, sugar, alcohol, and beer. While you surely don’t have to cut these foods and drinks out of your diet, you might want to avoid them before a photoshoot.

Last Minute Prep

Yes, Victoria’s Secret models are unnaturally gorgeous beings, but even they don’t look runway show slim on a daily basis. Before big events, critical shows, revealing movie scenes, or big budget music videos, celebrities of all kinds follow last minute rituals to slim up for the special moment. While diet and exercise is the only way to get and maintain your ideal body shape, this kind of last minute prep work allows your body to look its best for a specific night.

Last minute tips for fixing bloating can make all the difference on a monumental night. While some might avoid water in fear of bloat, drinking lots of water will actually help cleanse your system and eliminate bloat, so make sure to stay fully hydrated. However, you should skip out on any salty foods. Be sure to add some lemon to your water to aid in digestion, and also consider coconut water in order to replace electrolytes. Ginger and peppermint tea will also help to settle the stomach, while going on a walk or doing some gentle yoga can help food digest faster and easier. You can also consider taking some probiotics to help with your bloat.