Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SECRETS REVEALED
YOUR SUCCESS KIT TO
GETTING SEXY SIX PACK ABS
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
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Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
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DEDICATION
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CHAPTER 1
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
GETTING SIX PACK ABS
Whether you are currently heavily involved in your
workout program or just getting started on things, there is a
very good chance that one of your primary goals is obtaining
that elusive set of abs.
Lets face it. When you see someone walking down the
street with a set of six pack abs, you know they are
committed to their workout. There is no doubt about it,
they have been working hard in the gym and are following
some type of diet plan. If they werent, they wouldnt be
sporting the midsection that they are.
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CHAPTER 2
HOW IT ALL STARTED MY STORY
Before diving right into all the technical details, lets
start by discussing briefly my own story and quest for six
pack abs. As many of you already know, I am a Certified
Personal Trainer, C.O.R.E. Instructor, and Nutritional
coach. I also hold a degree in Health and Exercise Science
and have made appearances in numerous magazines, radio
stations, as well as online websites.
During my early years while I was learning about
exercise science in university, I was lean, strong, and in what
was then, the best shape of my life. My six pack was solid
and it seemed like I was just on top of my game.
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CHAPTER 3
WHY MOST PEOPLE FAIL WITH THEIR ATTEMPT
TO GET SIX PACK ABS
Not surprisingly, most people will fail in their attempt
to get six pack abs. This should come as no surprise because
if you walk around your local gym, itll be come fairly
obvious that most people are not sporting six pack abs. So,
whether they havent made it any type of goal whatsoever
(highly unlikely), havent been using the correct techniques,
or havent been putting forth enough effort whatever the
case, six pack abs are a rarity.
Lets look at some of the bigger reasons why people
fail in their quest to a lean and toned midsection.
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Short-Term Expectations
The first primary reason why people tend to fail with
their hopes in getting six pack abs is because they have such
short-term expectations that realistically, they are setting
themselves up to fail.
Think about it this way.
If youre currently overweight, how long did it take
you to put on that weight? Im guessing it didnt happen
over the course of a few weeks.
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two weeks, but in a few months time, you should see good
definition if youre doing things right.
If youre 15-20% body fat or above, then youve got a
bit more work to do and should give yourself 3-6 months
before you can see visible abs.
Note that women will always have higher levels of
body fat in comparison with men (this is a requirement in
order for them to give birth), so they should not expect to
ever reach body fat levels as low as men.
Does this mean if youre a woman you cant get a six
pack? Certainly not. It just means that you wont be quite as
shredded and cut as your male counterpart may be if he
chooses to get that lean.
But, the fact of the matter is most women dont want
to get that lean anyway, thus theres nothing to worry about.
The point of this topic is that you need to keep a level
head and not rely on short term expectations. Think long
term here. If you want to get your six pack, its going to take
a bit of time. Then, if you want to keep your six pack, that
will be a life-long effort (but not to worry, it does get easier
more on that point, later).
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Moving on.
Starvation Diets
Now lets talk about what many of you have likely
tried before. Starvation diets. Sound familiar?
If so, this is a very bad thing.
The primary problem with starvation diets is that they
cause you to lose muscle mass rapidly. Your muscle mass is
your calorie burning engine. The more of it you have, the
faster you will drop the body fat.
This is yet another reason why males tend to lean up
faster than females; they have a lot more lean muscle mass
tissue.
When you starve yourself though, your body senses
the fact that not very much food is coming in and as a result,
gets rid of the most metabolically active tissue in your body
that it can while keeping you alive (theoretically, the brain is
the most metabolically active tissue, but obviously the body
cannot get rid of that).
This muscle mass loss then causes a decrease in your
metabolic rate. Bad. Next, you come off that starvation diet
and start eating normally again (or, if youve really been
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Improper Posture
Another reason why certain individuals will really
struggle with their quest to get abs is because they have very
poor posture. While posture doesnt really have any direct
impact on body fat levels or anything like that, what it does
impact is the degree to which your stomach appears flat.
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them get used to not hanging out being so loose and unfirm.
You can obviously notice the big difference with this
when you go to squeeze your abs and how much they suck
in. While again this is not going to automatically reduce the
body fat, it will have an impact on the overall appearance of
your ab muscles.
This brings us to a conclusion on why most people fail
on their question for obtaining a six pack. By making sure
you are not making any of these critical errors you will be
putting your best foot forward to getting the results that you
seek.
If you are already making these errors, then its time to
change your course of actions immediately. If you were
using a very low calorie diet before prior to reading this
manual, I would strongly recommend you take two weeks at
eat at around maintenance calorie intake (14-15 times your
current body weight in pounds).
This will help to bring your metabolic hormones back
to where they should be so that once you do start up on the
diet again, youre not already working against yourself.
From there, then you should start doing things the
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right way so you can put your best foot forward on the
quest to getting six pack abs.
Now, lets move on and talk about cardio training and
getting six pack abs. Many of you are likely to be abusing
cardio at this point, so were going to help set the record
straight on this one.
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CHAPTER 4
WHY CARDIO IS NOT
THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO LOSE BODY FAT
If youre like about 80% of the population, when you
decide youre going to start up on a fat loss program, the
first thing you do is head over the cardio equipment. Yes,
thats right, youre on a mission and that mission is to
increase your cardio time each week until those pesky layers
of fat are finally kicked out of what seems like their
permanent home on your body.
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with
high
levels
of
cortisol
circulating
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working more on your diet for fat loss. Thats not to say
some cardio isnt good, some is very productive to fat loss
and overall health, but you have to watch yourself from
crossing the line from enough to too much.
Cardio Can Cause Overuse Injuries
Another big issue with a higher amount of cardio
added into your training sessions is that its far more likely to
lead to overuse injuries.
Obviously if you are injured its going to be incredibly
difficult to do any type of workouts altogether, therefore
this is yet another big reason why you must avoid a high
volume of moderate intensity cardio.
For example, if youre a regular runner and are out
there pounding the pavement for five hours every week, you
will most definitely develop wear and tear on the knees and
ankles over time. If this is left to go on long enough, you
could very well find yourself facing a stress fracture in the
years to come.
Overuse injuries can very easily also develop into
chronic injuries, which again will definitely make staying
active in the long term that much harder.
Numerous studies have demonstrated as well that its
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If you are not able to get into the gym and do exercises
that really count (weight training more on this later), then
youre really shorting yourself of results.
While it is higher intensity cardio that does tend to
take longer to recover from, if you work your way up to
doing enough volume of moderate intensity cardio, thats
still going to hinder things.
Then you also have to add this to the fact that it may
become harder to schedule your cardio and lifting sessions.
Should you be doing all your moderate cardio after the
weight lifting session? Before? During a whole other session,
at which point time becomes another brutal factor to
contend with?
Basically, it just gets hard. Once you get caught up in
the viscous cardio cycle, it gets hard to get out of and you
wind up in a plateau and frustrated.
So, hopefully from these points you can now see why
long sessions of cardio are not worth your time. You are not
going to get very far from doing them and they are likely to
only make you backtrack as far as results are concerned.
Youre far better off using smart cardio methods and
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then taking control over other aspects that enable fat loss to
take place, namely the diet and weight training (more to
come).
I understand that if youve been doing hours of cardio
each day dropping this off might feel scary, but go slowly
and start now. The sooner you stop the better off you will
be. Most people do not find they gain weight back when
reducing their cardio and often, the exact opposite happens
and they start losing weight faster because their metabolism
starts to move back to normal.
So, now that weve discussed moderate intensity
cardio, lets look at the cardio that does work.
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CHAPTER 5
THE TYPE OF CARDIO THAT CAN HELP
YOU GET SIX PACK ABS
So, weve discussed that hours of cardio each week is
not the best way to approach getting your goals. If thats the
case, what is?
Something commonly referred to as HIIT.
HIIT stands for high intensity interval training and
make no mistake about it, will be difficult. But, no one said
getting six pack abs was easy. If you really want to reach this
goal though, this is how you should go about doing so.
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pushing your comfort zone, but once you do get used to it,
you will definitely find that youre far happier you did and
left your hour long cardio sessions of the past in the past.
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CHAPTER 6
THE MOST EFFECTIVE TYPE OF EXERCISE
FOR SIX PACK ABS
Now that weve covered cardio training, its time to
look at the most effective exercise for getting six pack abs
weight training.
Why weight training?
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CHAPTER 7
WHAT ABOUT AB EXERCISES WILL THEY WORK?
Now weve come to the point where actual ab
exercises need to be discussed. At some point or another
youve more than likely been shown certain ab exercises that
are aimed to help you get a six pack or have seen various
infomercials, magazine articles, TV shows, or something of
the like that have talked about them.
But, do ab exercises really get you closer to your goal
of six pack abs? Thats what we need to discuss.
The Cause Behind Six Pack Abs
Before even getting into what type of ab exercises you
should be doing, the first thing that needs to get cleared up
is the role that actual ab exercises play with you getting a six
pack.
That role can pretty much be described in one simple
word. None.
Abdominal exercise, while still very beneficial (well get
to that in a second), are not going to really do much in terms
of getting you a six pack.
The reason for this being that no matter how many
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their appearance.
For example, if you dont mind having a slightly wider
waist, doing weighted abdominal crunches can help make
the muscles larger, which could potentially mean you dont
have to get down to quite as low of body fat levels in order
to see definition.
Now there are limits to this obviously no matter
how big your abs get, there is a point where body fat levels
will still be too much and overtake them, hiding definition,
but if youre right around the 12-13%, this can be a factor
that can help.
Obviously building larger ab muscles does change the
way your waist looks though, so many women will shy away
from weighted exercises entirely.
So, this brings us to a close on the topic of why you
should be doing abdominal exercises with your weight
training program.
You definitely dont want to be spending hours on ab
exercises as its true, there are far better ways to utilize your
time. Spending about 10-15 minutes on ab training 2-3 times
a week should be sufficient enough to get the ball rolling
and get the benefits talked about above.
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CHAPTER 8
AB EXERCISES THAT WILL BRING YOU
CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL
When it comes to finding abdominal exercises to
round out your workout program, the options are almost
limitless. There are so many different pieces of equipment
out there today that are all meant to help work the abs,
making it very easy to add variety and intensity to any
abdominal program.
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effective.
To increase the effectiveness of these movements,
place your back over a ball and extending down further and
then crunch back up. This will increase the range of
movement and thus work the abs harder.
Likewise, if youre say doing leg raises while laying on
your back, be sure you are going all the way up and down
with your movement, rather than shorting yourself and only
going from 90 to 45 degrees.
On every abdominal exercise you do, ask yourself if
you can go any further. If you can, then this is a good
indication you could be getting more out of the workout.
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Add Instability
Moving on, the next way to increase the effectiveness
of your abdominal exercises is to add some instability to the
workout. This is done by again decreasing your base of
support, or doing movements you would normally do on the
floor, on the exercise ball instead.
The exercise ball is really a great piece of equipment to
have around to include throughout your entire workout
program so its definitely something to strongly consider
investing in.
You can perform not only crunches on an exercise
ball, but you can also doing movements such as leg raises,
prone ball roll-outs, back extensions, clocks, and the plank
on the ball to name just a few.
The exercise options with a ball are really limitless if
you get creative so it will really help you continually
stimulate the abdominal muscles, furthering the gains you
see because of it.
Other ways to decrease the stability as you go about
your workout is by doing movements on a bosu ball. Due to
the fact that this will throw you off balance, it will thus call
the abdominals into play, making them work harder to
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CHAPTER 9
THE TOP SIX PACK EXERCISES
YOU MUST BE DOING REGULARLY
Now, while you should have a pretty clear indication
on how to set up your workouts at this point, were still
going to discuss right now some of the top ab exercises that
you should be doing on a regular basis that will really deliver
results.
While these are not the only exercises you should be
doing as mentioned previously, incorporating in a variety
is essential, the following exercise are going to be the ones
that offer maximum stimulation and are good to use as
mainstays in any ab workout program.
Using one or two of these exercises along with another
1-2 of your own personal choice in any given workout is a
great place to start.
As you progress along your six pack ab training, youll
also likely find that many of the following exercises can be
expanded on to make them slightly more difficult and up the
intensity in which the abdominals are worked.
Also do remember that you can add weight to many ab
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ball. This will also work many of the muscles in the upper
body in addition to the core as they work to keep you
balanced.
The Bicycle
Another exercise that most people are already familiar
with and may even be doing is the bicycle. When done right,
this movement is great because it will help stimulate the
muscle fibers over a larger range of motion (the up portion,
and then twisting to both sides). Compare this to your
standard crunch where you are just moving in the upwards
direction and you can clearly see why it would be more
beneficial.
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you will work the core in a much different way than if you
had been doing abdominal crunches for example, increasing
the results youll see.
Thats not to say abdominal crunches are not
worthwhile they still are, just that if you add other varieties
of movements, you enhance the results you are going to
obtain.
To increase the intensity of this exercise, you can just
increase the weight used with the medicine ball, thus
increasing the resistance level thats experienced.
Yet another way you can also increase the demands
this exercise places upon you is by sitting or kneeling on an
exercise ball, thereby decreasing your total base of support.
In doing so, you will definitely stimulate the ab tissues deep
within your core, enhancing the workout entirely.
Do note though that you will need to build up to being
able to do this since it is much more intense and isnt
something that youre likely to be able to start off with
initially.
Also be sure when youre doing this exercise that you
switch and do it to the other side as well so you get a good
balanced workout. If you were constantly only twisting to
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enhance the stimulation on the abdominal muscles are situps with a twist. For this exercise, the big difference is the
legs are placed on the floor and do not move throughout the
exercise as they would if you were doing bicycle crunches.
What you really want to focus on when doing this
exercises is being sure you are moving slowly throughout the
movement, which will call the muscles into play to a greater
extent.
In addition to this, be sure you are trying to twist as far
as possible to the side after you perform the sit up, as the
greater the range of motion you utilize, the better this
workout becomes.
Some individuals will also choose to hold a weighted
plate while doing this movement, just be aware that doing so
will increase your reliance on the hip flexor muscles, thus
potentially decreasing the amount youre truly working the
abdominals.
If you want to force yourself to increase the range of
motion on this exercise, another technique that you can use
is to place an object on one side of you so that you must
twist and pick it up, moving it to the other side before you
lower again to complete that rep.
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CHAPTER 10
HOW TO DESIGN YOUR OWN GYM
THAT WILL GET YOU RESULTS
Now, as you probably can guess from the information
weve gone over already in this guide, one of the most
critical aspects of any six pack ab training program is going
to be consistency. If you are not going to the gym, if you are
not doing your workouts, if you are not following the
program plan you have in place, you arent going to be
getting closer to seeing a six pack.
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frequently. You can simply toss the tubing into your suitcase
and youre pretty much ready to go as far as workout gear is
concerned.
Exercises such a bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, squats,
deadlifts, pectoral flyes, reverse flyes, and shoulder presses
can all be performed using simple tubing.
After tubing, then you have the various pieces of
exercise equipment such as exercise balls, medicine balls
(weighted), ab rollers, and bosu balls. These are most often
used to work the core muscles, but in some cases you can
perform some exercises that will work additional body parts
as well.
Having a good mat to stretch on after your workout is
over is also a good thing to have many people leave out
the stretching component of their workout program which
is a big mistake. You want to be including stretching
frequently since this is what will help reduce your risk of
injuries, increase the range of motion youre able to
effectively work over throughout the rest of the exercises
you perform, as well as help reduce the soreness that you
experience right after a workout is completed.
Finally, it shouldnt need to be mentioned but just in
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CHAPTER 11
HOW TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO STAY
CONSISTENT
WITH YOUR WORKOUT PROGRAM
Now that weve discussed how you can go about
setting up your home gym, its time to discuss how you can
go about motivating yourself to stay consistent with your
gym workouts.
Different people will have different reasons for
wanting to work out. Most of you reading this book
probably place getting a six pack fairly close to the top
reason since this is after all, why youre here.
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A attainable
Moving on, the next thing you need to be sure you
have covered is that your goal is in fact attainable.
Nothing will be more discouraging than if you set a
goal where you have an extremely low chance of ever
actually attaining it. Goals need to be at least somewhat
attainable, otherwise youre already fighting a losing battle.
For instance, if you have a job where you are working
60 hours a week, have two kids, as well as host of other
obligations, would you make the goal of running a
marathon? This just wouldnt be a good idea because in
order to train for such an event you need a lot of free time
(at least a couple of solid consecutive hours on weekends for
your long run).
Not to mention that marathon training will definitely
leave you feeling drained, so if you need plenty of energy to
get through everything else in life, youre going to struggle.
There is no way around this fact.
Your goal needs to be something that you could
obtain given your current lifestyle, capabilities, and training
status.
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R realistic.
Next up we have goals that are realistic. Just like you
want your goal to be attainable, you also want it to be
realistic. Some people have the tendency to set goals that are
too far-fetched and arent even realistic.
For instance, if youre currently a 510 male who
weighs in at 130 pounds, dont set a goal to compete in a
bodybuilding competition at the year. Keep in mind here
that the body can only build so much muscle at once, so
trying to push for more when its basically physiologically
impossible is just going to defeat your efforts.
Likewise, if you have 60 pounds to lose, dont expect
to do this in a month. Youd be surprised at just how many
people, despite it taking years to get to the weight they are
at, then think that they can lose it all in a few months time.
Being realistic will help you stay sane and ensure you
are approaching your training with the proper mindset that
is needed for success.
T timeline.
Finally, the last thing that needs to be in place in order
for a goal to be SMART is for it to have a timeline.
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you and help you stick with the training that needs to get
done.
This bet can be for money, or better yet, bet
something like a weekend away, a meal out (can be either a
reward meal or a healthier option), a night at the movies;
whatever it is you want. Agree to do something with your
workout partner where the loser pays.
Even if you dont have the money to spend on such a
thing, a fun bet can sometimes also get the job done. Its just
that competitive nature that some people crave that will get
them more motivated with their workouts.
Be sure if you are going to use this point though that
you are very specific about what the bet is and what the
requirements are.
Any misconceptions can pose to be big problems, so
set every detail that you can the specifics of the goal, the
date to be accomplished, what the winner gets, etc.
Plan Ahead
Another thing that can help to keep your motivation
levels higher is to always be thinking and planning ahead.
For some people, its when they dont plan and life
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gets busy that they lose motivation. They realize how much
they still have to get done in their day and their workout is
the first thing to go.
Or, they wind up out for a longer time than they had
anticipated and dont have any healthy snacks on hand.
Hence, they are at that drive-thru window the minute their
stomach starts to rumble.
By planning ahead you give yourself the confidence
that you are equipped to stay on the plan. When you have
confidence in your abilities to achieve your goals and know
that you can carry through, motivation is naturally higher
due to your own internal positive self-talk.
If you find yourself constantly failing to make it to
your workouts, how motivated do you think youre going to
be to even keep trying?
Not very motivated. Its kind of like the cycle that just
keeps going. If you are on the positive end of the cycle and
are hitting your workouts on time all the time, you likely will
keep doing so.
Likewise, if youre on the negative side of things and
are constantly missing your workouts, chances are youre not
going to get started.
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CHAPTER 12
WORKOUT FREQUENCY
HOW OFTEN DO YOU NEED TO WORK THE ABS?
Moving on, now that weve covered the types of
workouts and ab exercises that will get you your results, now
lets talk about frequency how often should you be
working out in order to get the best results.
Many people believe that in order to really target the
abs, you should aim to be working them close to every day.
Theyve heard that the abs are more of an endurance
muscle, and as such, can take training every single day as a
way to get better results.
But how true is this really? Are your abs much more
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CHAPTER 13
LETS TALK NUTRITION: YOUR KEY TO A SIX PACK
Now we come to the issue that is probably the most
important one throughout this entire manual nutrition.
Nutrition is basically going to make or break your six
pack ab program. Without proper nutrition in place, results
will elude you.
If proper nutrition is in place, you may not even have
to have absolutely perfect workouts the nutrition will do
the work for you.
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fewer, you lose weight. If you take in the same amount, you
maintain your body weight.
In the past, you have been taking in more calories than
the body burned over the course of the day, hence you did
not see weight loss happening. Now, you need to reverse
that.
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CHAPTER 14
MUST YOU USE A LOW CARB DIET
TO GET SIX PACK ABS?
When digging deeper into the diet issue of getting a six
pack abs, one thing that many people start to ask themselves
about is whether the low carb diet approach is going to be
far more superior to getting results compared with other
more moderate carb approaches.
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overdoing things.
Furthermore, you will have to make sure you really
reduce back on the amount of higher intensity cardio work
you do if youre also doing a four day weight training
program since that could be too much for the body to
handle.
You should still definitely be able to lift heavy as you
would have if you werent on a lower carb diet, its just that
total volume will need to be adjusted downwards.
Because of this fact, diet and exercise really go
together when using a low carb approach, thus its important
you dont overlook this factor.
Doing so would certainly set you up to experience
problems problems that will only cause frustration, fatigue,
and a lack of progress.
For many people, having to cut back on the total
amount of time they spend working out wont be all that big
of a deal, it becomes more of a problem if you are say an
athlete who has to also complete additional practice sessions
or games regularly.
In that case you may not have as much control over
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CHAPTER 15
MEAL FREQUENCY AND SIX PACK ABS
The next thing to look at when creating your diet
designed to get six pack abs is the meal frequency that you
use. If youre like most people, at some point or another
youve heard or read the information that the more
frequently you eat, the faster your metabolism will be.
Unfortunately, that isnt entirely accurate.
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Heres why.
Any time you eat a meal, its true that your metabolism
is going to go up. How much it goes up depends upon two
things.
First, the macronutrient composition of the meal will
be the primary determining factor of metabolic increases.
If you were to say eat 100 calories of straight
carbohydrate rich foods, you would see your metabolism go
up by about 4%. That is, for every 100 calories of
carbohydrates you eat, you will only net about 96 of those
since 4 calories are burned off just digesting that food.
Now, if you were to eat those same 100 calories only
coming from pure fat, you would get a metabolic boost of
about 2%. This means, you only burn 2 calories out of 100
that you eat digesting. Not quite ideal as far as fat loss is
concerned.
But, if you were to eat 100 calories of pure protein,
now youre getting a metabolic boost of 25%. So, for every
100 calories you eat of protein, you only net 75.
That is an incredibly effective way to boost your
metabolism so you can eat more calories while stilling losing
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weight.
Dont think this means you should go on an all-protein
diet, however. There are limits to whats smart and safe to
consume, but if you want to get that metabolism running
faster, eating a higher protein diet is one very good way to
achieve this.
The second factor thats going to determine how
much your metabolism increases after you eat food is how
much food you eat, period. Think your metabolism is going
to be boosted the same amount if you eat a 200 calorie meal
compared to a 600 calorie meal? I definitely dont think so.
The more food you give the body to digest, the more
calories its going to have to burn through the process of
digestion.
Therefore, the more metabolic increases you see.
To put this all into perspective, lets say you have two
individuals who are both eating 1800 calories a day on their
fat loss plan.
Individual A is eating 6 meals comprised of 300
calories each. Individual B is eating 3 meals comprised of
600 calories each.
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day.
This then causes them to eventually just get fed up
altogether and throw in the towel, which obviously isnt
going to promote a good degree of weight loss.
So, the most important thing really is just about
finding out what you prefer.
Its not going to make that big of a difference whether
you eat three meals each day, four meals, five meals, six
meals whatever you want. This is assuming of course, that
all of these meals equate to the same calorie intake.
Obviously if you have 3 meals at 400 calories each
compared with 6 meals at 400 calories each, you will lose a
great deal more weight because your calorie intake is half as
much.
This is why its important to first figure out your
desired calorie intake and then second, determine how many
meals you will eat out of those calories.
That is what will help you come up with the best meal
plan for you.
So, keep these points in mind when thinking about
meal frequency. Dont let yourself be so quick to believe
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CHAPTER 16
TOP NUTRITIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Now that youve learned the basics of dieting to get six
pack abs, lets go over some of the top strategies for success.
The more often you can incorporate these points into your
plan, chances are, the better weight loss you will experience.
Plan Ahead
First off, if there is one thing you could do right now
that will make your success rate skyrocket through the roof
its planning ahead. A lack of planning is a surefire way to
fail. Basically, planning is vital.
Now, you dont need to become a planning machine,
scheduling every single meal a week in advance and being
sure you never detour from that.
Instead, you need to plan most of your meals, or at the
very least plan a base diet that you will eat each day that
allows for a couple of extra hundred free calories for wiggle
room where you can choose other foods to add to make the
diet more interesting.
One big issue many people face on their diet is that
they havent planned out what they eat and because of this,
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to the mix.
Many spices actually offer positive health benefits as
well, so being sure to use these often is a very smart move.
One thing you will want to watch though is how much
sodium the spices youre looking at contain, as too much
sodium can lead to bloating and water weight gain, not to
mention hypertension if that is a concern of yours.
More and more often you can find low-sodium or
even sodium-free spices available at your local grocery store
however, so cutting the salt shouldnt be a problem.
Never Let Yourself Starve
Another habit youll also want to get into so you help
prevent overeating from taking place is never letting yourself
get too hungry before eating. Some people figure that they
can save on calories by skipping meals, but this often ends
up backfiring in a big way when their appetite comes back
with a vengeance and causes them to really overconsume
when they finally do give in and eat.
If you just eat more frequently throughout the day,
keeping the meals and snacks you do eat slightly lower in
calories, you can help keep your hunger and energy levels on
a much more even keel, helping to prevent yourself from
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CHAPTER 17
BOOZE AND YOUR SIX PACK
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
One question that a lot of people have when trying to
obtain their six pack is whether they are going to have to
give up their nightly beer, or their weekend out at the bar.
They want to know if drinking is going to be a limiting
factor in them obtaining that six pack.
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judgment, youre more likely to also eat foods that are much
higher in calories than if you were sober, intensifying the
problem.
Now, alcohol itself only contains seven calories per
gram. This is less than dietary fat contains, but more than
protein or carbohydrates contain.
The bigger issue though comes with what youre
mixing your alcohol with.
If youre someone who likes hard liquor and soda,
unless youre mixing with diet, you might as well add
another 100 or 150 calories per drink (depending on how
much soda is added).
Even worse is if you prefer the cocktail types of
beverages including coolers, margaritas, other frozen
beverages, long island iced teas, and so on.
These can easily pack in 250-600 calories per serving,
adding up very quickly and really packing on the pounds.
So, if you do decide you are going to have the odd
drink, the very first thing you need to be doing right off the
bat is counting the calories in the alcohol you consume and
make sure that it doesnt put you too far over your calorie
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limit.
If you fail to do this and are drinking on a regular
basis, six pack abs are not going to be something youre
showing off any time soon.
Alcohol Impacts On The Body
While its not directly related to alcohols effects on six
pack abs, its also important to keep in mind too that alcohol
is going to have a very negative impact on many of systems
in the body, which could turn into a full-fledged disease or
disorder.
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malnutrition
nonviral hepatitis
severe psychological depression
skin rashes and sores
ulcers and inflammation of the stomach and
intestines
So, as you can see there are a very large number of
negative health consequences to alcohol consumption. Not
only is it going to set you back as far as maintaining a lower
calorie diet, but its also going to have all of these potential
impacts on the body.
Alcohols Effects on the Metabolism
Finally, the last thing to look at is how alcohol is going
to impact the metabolism of the body.
Basically, when you consume alcohol, it then becomes
the bodys primary concern and everything else will be put
on pause until the incoming alcohol is dealt with.
So, lets say you were currently burning off body fat,
using it as fuel. Then you have a drink.
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CHAPTER 18
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOING OFF YOUR DIET
TO GET SIX PACK ABS
Now, one thing thats not talked about enough in the
dieting world that deserves much more mention than it gets
due to the fact that its probably one of the biggest reasons
why people do not get six pack abs is going off your diet to
get better results.
Confused?
That makes you and a whole bunch of other people.
One big mistake that far too many people on diets make is
sticking too closely to a strict diet for too long of a period of
time.
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The best part is that when you then begin your diet
once again, fat loss starts happening. Your metabolism is no
longer stuck on a slow speed.
I dont need to tell you how good of a thing this is.
One thing thats very important to keep in mind with
this reefed process though is that all of these events are very
closely related to carbohydrate intake alone. So, if youve
been on a low carbohydrate diet for a long period of time,
chances are youre going to notice these symptoms much
worse than someone who is using a more moderate
carbohydrate approach.
Furthermore, the lower your calorie intake has been
on that diet, again, the more severe the effects and the larger
that reefed is going to have to be.
Most people will do fine with a two-three day reefed
period where they are eating slightly above maintenance
values (say body weight times a factor of 16-17 in calories
per day), bringing their carbohydrates up to around 200
grams a day.
This should help restore muscle glycogen levels as
well, helping to reduce some of the signs of fatigue during
your workouts that you might be experiencing.
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Do this for 2-3 days and see how you feel. If you
follow this protocol and make sure you are doing this every
3-4 weeks on a diet if you are already fairly lean (every 6-8
weeks if youre not as lean), you can be sure to keep that
metabolism humming along much better.
The Anatomy of a Diet Break
Sometimes though a reefed is not enough. 2-3 days is
simply not going to undo all the damage that has gone on
with the metabolism and youre going to need to do more
than that.
In that case, a full diet break is in order. This is where,
for a period of 2-3 weeks, you bring your calorie intake up
to maintenance (bw multiplied by 15 for most people), being
sure to get at least 100 grams of carbohydrates per day in
addition to those that are eaten around training.
By doing this, you will help to make sure the thyroid
hormones are operating more effectively too, which can be a
big issue with chronic dieters who have been under-eating
for too long.
If you fail to use this diet break though and just keep
going on as is, you are going to continue to struggle with
weight loss and wont make the progress you could be
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making.
Being sure to monitor how long you have been on
your diet and implementing diet breaks when appropriate
will be essential if you want to experience continued weight
loss.
Most people, if doing the refeeds, will not need to
worry as much about diet breaks since they will be keeping
their metabolism healthier in the first place, but even still,
after 5-6 months on any diet even with refeeds, a 2 week
diet break isnt a bad idea.
It will provide a lot of psychological relief as well.
Dieting, that constant food restriction, does tend to wear on
us after a while, so giving your mind a break and allowing
for a bit more eating freedom every once in a while is a
smart move. Plus, it will help ensure that your relationship
with foods stays healthier, which is something else that you
definitely do need to be concerned with because many
intense dieters do start showing distorted eating behaviors
after a long enough time on a very strict diet.
They simply forget what normal eating is without
these diet breaks and in some cases, it can really mess them
up long term (this is especially the case with dieters who
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CHAPTER 19
SIX PACK ABS AND MUSCLE BUILDING
DO THEY GO TOGETHER?
Another really big issue that comes up quite frequently
among people who are trying to get a six pack is whether
you can effectively build muscle while working on your abs.
To answer this question, there are a few very
important things to consider.
First, you need to keep in mind that building muscle
and fat loss are two completely opposite processes in the
body. In order to build muscle, you will require a surplus of
calories, essentially taking in more than you are burning off
each day.
Its these excess calories that are then going to be used
to help assimilate new muscle tissue, causing you to grow
larger and stronger.
For fat loss on the other hand, you need to consume
fewer calories than you take in on a daily basis because this
is what will cause the body to turn to its body fat stores for
fuel, essentially causing fat loss to take place.
As you can see, being above your maintenance intake
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CHAPTER 20
GENETICS: CAN YOU REALLY DEFY IT?
Have you ever heard someone say, I just have really
bad genetics? If so, you arent alone. Many people utter
these words as their excuse to why they cant get a six pack.
But, how much of a six pack is genetic? And if you do
really have bad genetics, is this something you can
overcome?
Lets look at this a bit more closely.
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of your abs and while you can definitely build the muscles
bigger through weighted ab work, there is a limit to how
much you can actually change that appearance.
So, keep that in mind. Sometimes people do try and
set goals or have a specific image in mind for what they
want their abs to look like and its actually not really going to
be obtainable for them.
If they keep forcing onwards with their goal, they are
likely to wind up only disappointed and upset that they
arent seeing the results they were going for.
Being realistic with your six pack ab goals will be vital
to help ensure that you are going to be capable of getting
what you want.
Finally, remember that while genetics might set the
absolute limit you can obtain with your abs that does not
mean you cannot put forth a very good effort and still get
fantastic results. You may not get cover-model abs, but even
seeing a slight amount of definition will make you feel a lot
better about yourself and speak volumes in terms of your
dedication and commitment to a good workout and exercise
program.
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CHAPTER 21
SAMPLE SIX PACK AB WORKOUT
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CHAPTER 22
SUPPLEMENTS FOR SIX PACK ABS
Moving on, now we come to supplements that are
designed to help you get six pack abs. If youve had the
opportunity to walk into any supplement store before you
likely already know just how overwhelming it can be when it
comes to trying to choose which fat burners you should be
using along with which other supplements will aid in your
quest to get six pack abs.
Getting a firmer grasp and understanding over what
works and what doesnt will be vital so you arent spending
money on products that arent really going to do a whole lot
for you.
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you eat go towards your muscle cells rather than the fat cells.
Protein Powder
As mention, you should aim to get the majority of you
protein from whole foods. But, for those of you who are
rushed for time, a good protein powder supplement is a
must.
Having a concentrate on hand for around your
workouts and a casein on hand for when youre taking it
during the day will help prepare you for times you really
need it.
A Multi-Vitamin
Since you are going to be on a reduced calorie intake
while trying to obtain six pack abs, its important to be sure
youre meeting your vitamin and mineral needs. A good
multi-vitamin will help you accomplish this, so thats
another supplement you will want to look into.
Now we come to all the other supplements out there
ones that are targeted towards maximum fat loss. Sometimes
youll come across individual ingredients in supplemental
form, and more commonly youll come across supplement
stacks, which is a number of ingredients all combined in
one pill (most commercial fat burners fall under this
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category).
The thing to keep in mind is often you will pay more
for these stack products and they contain a number of
ingredients that you dont really need. So, if price is a
concern, many times youre better off just purchasing the
individual ingredient itself, since thats what will be helping
you out the most anyway.
These are the ingredients you might want to consider.
Caffeine
Some studies have demonstrated that caffeine does
help increase the rate of fat oxidation in the body as well as
boosts the amount of energy you have to workout with.
Since how many calories you burn during a workout is
tied in with the intensity, it only makes sense this would
help.
Caffeine also helps reduce hunger in some people, so
thats another added benefit many enjoy.
Hoodia
Moving on, another supplement many people do find
helps them with hunger levels is hoodia gordonii. This is a
plant that was used by African hunters to help reduce
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Yohimbe
Finally, the last supplement you may want to give
some thought to is yohimbe. Note that yohimbe should
never ever be taken with ephedra though.
Yohimbe acts as a vasodilator in the body, therefore
increasing blood flow to all of the tissues. This then helps
with fat mobilization, especially of stubborn fat, so can be
beneficial when youre getting down to those few last
pounds that just do not want to move.
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CHAPTER 23
OUTSIDE FACTORS THAT PREVENT YOU
FROM GETTING A SIX PACK
Now its time to look at some of the outside factors
that might come into play, preventing you from getting the
six pack youre going for. While diet and exercise are going
to play the biggest role in the progress you make towards
your six pack, there are some lifestyle factors that can take
you to that next step as far as muscle definition is
concerned, or do the opposite and hold you back.
Here are some you need to know.
Sleep
Sleep is a big issue because when you are low on sleep,
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just to decrease the stress you experience. But what you can
do is take measures that will help decrease your stress levels
over time so its more manageable.
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If you are highly stressed out all the time you are going
to feel more overrun, have difficulty recovering from your
workout sessions, and will not have as much energy for the
workouts themselves.
Stress is a big aspect of many peoples lives and
unfortunately we arent currently doing enough to try and
control it, bringing levels back down to a more normal
range.
Getting this under control is one of the top things you
can do with your overall lifestyle in order to promote better
health and get closer to reaching your six pack.
Your Daily Interactions
Another thing that will definitely impact the results
you get is who you are in contact with on a regular basis.
Have a good look at the people you hang around with. Are
they involved in health and fitness? Do they frequently look
for active pursuits to take part in and watch the foods they
are eating?
If not, they might be having a negative influence on
you. If your closest group of friends is much more
interested in sitting in front of the TV most nights snacking
on high calorie items, chances are you will join them.
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CHAPTER 24
MAINTAINING YOUR SIX PACK IT DOES GET
EASIER
Now, one issue that many people overlook with the
process of getting abs entirely is what happens after you
obtain your goal.
So many people are all too focused with just getting
there and with good reason; that needs to be the priority.
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CHAPTER 25
MONITORING YOUR PROGRESS
No six pack ab book would be complete without some
type of talk about the best way to go about measuring your
progress.
When you see progress, you typically get motivated
and it is this higher level of motivation thats going to help
drive you to keep going on your plan, pushing you further
and further towards success.
When progress stops, thats when people typically get
antsy and their dedication to the program starts to fall short.
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intake, time of the month, etc. Its not unusual to see them
fluctuate by as much as 5% between readings, which
obviously is nowhere near accurate assuming you are taking
them within a weeks time span.
A final option as far as body fat measurements go is
calipers. This is a handheld device that is used to pinch
certain areas of the body in order to determine how much
body fat you currently have.
This can be a decent way to measure body fat, but you
want to make sure that youre getting the same person to do
it each time (since different techniques can impact the
reading), and youll also want to be sure that you take the
arrived at percentage as a guideline, indicating movement
upwards or downwards to show progress rather than a
direct determinant of body weight.
Its key to do this because of the fact that while this
measurements are a little more accurate than the hand held
devices, they still dont really take into full account the
interval amount of body fat you have (subcutaneous fat is
measured and then plugged into an equation meant to
represent body fat levels).
Since this can vary from person to person, again, use
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CHAPTER 26
THE SIX PACK MINDSET
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
To wrap up this guide on the six pack we come to the
six pack mindset. There are those who have a six pack
mindset, and those that clearly do not.
If you dont, youre going to have to work really hard
to get yourself there both getting into that mindset, as well
as getting real about your workout and diet program.
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Dedication.
Commitment.
Compromise.
Organization.
Self-Control.
Self-Monitoring.
Intensity.
Persistence.
All are words that have been used to describe
individuals who are successful in their attempt to get six
pack abs.
To reach this fitness goal, you really do have to have a
certain type of work ethnic. If you dont, chances are youre
really going to struggle. Getting six pack abs doesnt come
easy for most people and the sooner you can accept this and
understand that you are going to have to put in the time and
work, the closer youll be to actually reaching that goal.
Individuals who think they can just flip a switch and in
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ARNEL BIO
Arnel Ricafranca, B.A, C.O.R.E Certified is a world
renowned fitness professional. He lives with his wife Sara in
New Jersey with his beloved cats, Roxy and Marley and a
miniture Yorkie called Buster.
He is the founder of one of the biggest six pack ab
membership sites on the internet.
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