Steve Robbins is editor and main contributor to www.muscleandhealth.org, www.gain-muscle-weight-fast.com and http://muscleandhealthorg.blogspot.com/. He has been a lifelong fitness enthusiast and has the rare ability to bench press twice his body weight and run a marathon in the same day. At the age of 51.
Let's be honest. Obtaining a six pack abdomen is everyone's "goal", but the reality is, without completely changing your diet it isn't going to happen. And how many people you know can change their diet completely long enough for their abs to show through. But a tighter waist can happen and is within everyone's ability, with no change in diet.
Your abdominal area is comprised of 4 major muscles. They are the inner and exterior obliques, rectus abdomenus (your six pack muscles) and the lesser know transverse abdomenis. Understanding what each of these muscles do makes knowing how and why to train them easier. Unfortunately the average person has 2 things working against them, when it comes to "getting a visible six pack".
First is most people are woefully weak in the abdominal region. Physical evidence of this is hunched posture and lower back discomfort. There are a myriad of exercises you can perform to strengthen these muscles, but that requires a significant time commitment and months of it, contrary to what any "bodybuilding guru" promises. And even if you were willing to do this only 3 of the 4 muscles are usually targeted (transverse abdominus is not).
Secondly, the most developed six pack on the planet won't be visible under a layer of blubber. Yeah, I said it. Blubber. Therefore on top of busting it in the gym for months you must also not alter, but completely change the way, and more importantly, the amount you eat. And, again, contrary to what the "bodybuilding guru's" say, you'll have to do it for a very long time (I have gone through cutting cycles many times, they are hard to do, and I am not even close to carrying blubber anywhere and it takes me close to 90 days).
BUT, your transverse abdomenus muscle is the key to a tighter waist. This muscle is behind the other ab muscle groups, and its function is to hold your inner organs in place. A weak TVA allows your insides to push outward, like a stuffed thin plastic garbage bag would. But by strengthening this muscle everything is held a little firmer, enough so that your waist will actually be smaller.
Find the exercise that tightens waists (that you could be doing while reading this article!) along with Free Weight Lifting Programs for the beginner through advanced lifter at MuscleandHealth.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Getting No Results From Cardio? Try a Weight Lifting Muscle Building Program Instead
- Weight-Less Muscle Building - How to Build Muscle Without Weights
- Weight Lifting: Good For Toning Up or Building the Bulk
- Workout Smarter! The Basic Tips on Muscle Building Every Body Should Know
- Muscle Building Nutrition 101
- Easy to Follow Muscle Building Exercises
- Muscle Building
- Weight Lifting Routines For Women
7 Minute Muscle - Build Muscle Fast Review
By: Chris Fenton | 22/12/2009If you’re one the hundreds of thousands of fitness enthusiasts who want to build muscle fast but don’t have a lot of time to spend in the gym or observe a strict diet then 7 Minute Muscle is just the one you need. This great e-book can already be used the very same day you ordered it for the purpose of helping you totally comprehend all about muscle building and the reason why supplements and drugs can’t do anything to help you when it comes to gaining muscle.
Fast Muscle Growth Supplements - 7 Minute Muscle
By: Chris Fenton | 22/12/2009For all the fitness buffs out there that are looking for ways to help them in gaining muscle mass here are some fast muscle growth supplements you can consider. You might be surprise to know that caffeine is believed to be one of the best muscle building supplements. It has been proven to increase strength, endurance and speed while decreasing reaction time. In order to get the most advantage from caffeine it is highly recommended that you take it thirty to sixty minutes before exercise.
Lean Muscle Building Diet - 7 Minute Muscle
By: Chris Fenton | 22/12/2009For all those individuals who want to involve themselves in developing muscle mass it is just proper to acquire the right information with regards to lean muscle building diet. In order to encourage your body to build muscle tissue it is very important that you make it a point to combine working out with the appropriate meal plans. In this case it is essential to learn more about diet that will enable you to gain muscles as quickly as possible and to will allow you to attain your goal as well.
Fastest Way To Gain Muscle- Easy Ways To Build 10 Pounds of Muscle In One Month
By: Tony Smith Ii | 22/12/2009Finding the fastest way to gain muscle can sometimes be a difficult thing to do. Especially when you're finding it hard to put on muscle quickly. So, what I'm going to do is share with you the fastest way to gain muscle mass. That way, you'll know how to build 10 pounds of muscle in one month.
Muscle Building Books..What's Better - Personal Trainers Or Build Muscle Books?
By: Tanner Hemingway | 21/12/2009The question of whether to seek muscle building books or a personal fitness trainer to build muscle can be answered in this way - both will help you reach you goals but only if you become consistent in using both.
Muscle Gaining Secrets - How To Build Muscle Review
By: Chris Fenton | 21/12/2009Nowadays, people consider building muscle as an undertaking that takes up way too much time to achieve or truly may look like unattainable no matter how much time they spent simply because of the way their body works. However if you are aware about the right things to do then it is very achievable by just about everybody else. Muscle Gaining Secrets is created with the intention of helping individuals who desires to lose fat and gain muscle all at the same time.
Best Diet To Gain Muscle - Muscle Gaining Secrets
By: Chris Fenton | 21/12/2009The pursuit for lean muscle mass is best defined as bodybuilding. The significance of a proper diet in order to achieve this goal cannot be taken for granted. In fact many researches have shown that healthy diet can really account for up to ninety percent of an individual’s accomplishment in building their physique. The best diet to gain muscle is ideal in order to burn fat at the same time.
How Long To Build Muscle - Muscle Gaining Secrets
By: Chris Fenton | 21/12/2009Nearly everyone who has involved himself in body building routines have come across workout programs that allegedly be able to add at least twenty to thirty pounds of lean muscle in just a few week’s time. This is absolutely not possible! The common question among body builders out there is how long to build muscle? As of this moment one may not find a satisfying answer to this query yet. And the sad truth is there is no hard and fast answer to this so far.
Weight Lifting Programs - Be Careful!
By: Steve Robbins | 17/10/2009 | Muscle BuildingHave you ever heard the saying "those that can, do and those that can't, teach"? Thanks to the internet that needs to be revised to "those that can, do, those that can't sell those that did". I don't rant often but now and again things need to be said.
How to Get a Tighter Waist
By: Steve Robbins | 17/10/2009 | Muscle BuildingLet's be honest. Obtaining a six pack abdomen is everyone's "goal", but the reality is, without completely changing your diet it isn't going to happen. And how many people you know can change their diet completely long enough for their abs to show through. But a tighter waist can happen and is within everyone's ability, with no change in diet.
What is the Best Amount of Rest to Take Between Sets?
By: Steve Robbins | 17/10/2009 | Muscle BuildingWeight lifting routines are comprised of the exercises you do combined with the amount of sets and reps. But there is another component and it might just be the most important. How much time to rest between each set?
How a Muscle Building Diet will lead to Visible Six Pack Abs
By: Steve Robbins | 16/06/2009 | BodybuildingHave you noticed how professional bodybuilders no longer have to "starve" themselves to stay lean? Unlike the old days where a cutting cycle required a big muscle loss to also lose fat and get lean, today's weight lifters can control fat gain during muscle building and reduce muscle loss during the cut cycle. This is how.
Add an Inch to your Arms in 30 Days
By: Steve Robbins | 12/06/2009 | Muscle BuildingUnless you work as a life guard, you probably wear a shirt most of your day. So massive pecs and cannonball deltoids aren't visible. But your arms are. Most people don't build mass on their arms for the simplest of reasons. They are out smarting themselves.
You are 60 Days from Visible Six Pack Abs
By: Steve Robbins | 11/06/2009 | BodybuildingHaving visible abs is about what you eat verses what you exercise. Without doing one ab workout, visible abs are within your reach in 60 days if you are 25 pounds or 4 inches in the waist overweight. Here's how.
The Fastest Way to a Visible Six Pack
By: Steve Robbins | 11/06/2009 | Muscle BuildingSummer is here and having a beach body is in high demand. If you have waited to long to get yours in shape, there is a way to rapidly increase the rate of fat loss necessary to get those abs out in public before the summer is over.
Before and After Photo’s, The 2 Tricks Behind the Amazing Transformations
By: Steve Robbins | 29/04/2009 | BodybuildingYou know the pictures and the captions: From “scrawny to brawny,” are you a “hard gainer”? And my favorite“from this to this in 90 days”. It’s almost like magic they are so amazing. So, how do they do it? Well if you are the magician…….you know the “magic”.