The First Goal - The Six Pack

 

Goal: The Six Pack

So I've decided that after 2 weeks of not running it was time to get back into running to prepare for the Vegas Relay I'm doing in October, and to work on my first goal. The abs.

warlordblade's Activities | RunKeeper

There has been a lot said about the value of abdominal exercises versus diet in six-pack visibility - with the clear winner being diet every time. However I feel that adding ab exercises a few times a week along with cardio and Intermittent Fasting (IF) I will achieve the results I am looking for.

Just for an idea - here are some not-so-exciting pictures of my abs while I was running almost 3 weeks ago.

I can definitely benefit from a lower Body Fat %

I think since then I've already seen a change due to IF along with the exercising I have been doing.

I've been reading some wonderful fitness blogs for a while now, and recently I've read these great ab workout entries which have helped me decide to start this now:

"A Simple Guide to Rockstar Abs" from Zen to Fitness: Part 1, Part 2
"The Manly 'Pelvic Muscle' That Drives Women Wild!" from Fitness Black Book

Today after running my 2.5 miles, I limped inside (forgot about a blister that was NOT happy with me) and did 10 Negative Chin Ups, a whole bunch of Stomach Vacuum exercises (those are painful in a way that feels like it will help, seriously!) a rough 2 minute plank, followed by a quick 25 pushups and some pullups to wrap it up.

It felt GREAT.

This is the first time since I've started my Tuesday/Thursday IF schedule* that I've done a REAL workout before eating, and I was amazed at the amount of energy I had throughout the run and the workouts after my run. It was awesome!

So I am very excited to see some progress.

I WILL achieve my goal.

(*Basically I don't eat Breakfast or Lunch, drink a good amount of water, and cheat with chewing gum!)

*Update* Found this great Stomach Vacuum Explanation - very easy to change this exercise around and almost do it anywhere! Nice!