Two Became Four

I've mentioned to a few folks that I have what I call "two-pack" abs. Even joked about it a couple times. I'm talking about a pair of abs below my chest that have been there for as long as I can remember. They kinda just stood there in a shroud of nothingness... lol.... In my New Year's Resolutions post I said:

(My goal is to) Have a complete set of abs. It's a frustration of mine that will no longer be a frustration! Going to the gym and being healthy never fail to cheer me up.

No, I have no intention of going into modeling or acting or anything porn-related (lol -- at least not yet). Attaining abs is just a consequence of my goal to keep myself fit and active. Unless you're anatomically blessed with a nice figure, getting abs is extremely difficult. It is harder than developing biceps or triceps or pecs and it requires a higher degree of patience. Why? Because, like I said, they are the consequence of how well you take care of your body. There is no magic exercise to achieve abs. No matter how many situps or crunches you do, your abs will never show up unless you push your whole body to work up a sweat. And how do you do that? Cardio! Yes, during cardio, almost every muscle of your body is a participant. Good examples I cited before are running and spinning. I recommend swimming and boxing too. All of them are intense exercises that burn more calories at a shorter period of time.

Ab exercises (situps, crunches etc) do almost zilch if you don't tandem it with a cardio routine. Every person, boy or girl, young or old, thin or fat, have abdominal muscles. It's a matter of burning the layer of fat that keeps them hidden. Cardio and a watchful diet can get rid of that layer of fat, not ab exercises. At best, ab exercises tighten and strengthen your abdominals. Stronger abs do help burn fat faster, but that has value only during cardio and other muscle conditioning activities. Although abs are nice to look at, they are not the barometer of one's fitness level. You can still be fit without ripped abs.

Since I made it one of my resolutions, I am working twice harder than before to get those abs. I'm now down to a size 28 and my weight has gone down to 131 lbs. The great thing is the "two-pack" is actually a "four-pack". It was the fat on top of it that made it look like two. So yeah, two more abs to go! Should I aim for an 8-pack? lol.. we'll see.