• Connect
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up
  • Mobile Apps

SLIM DOWN MEALS


The Science of Building a Better Six-Pack

The fitness industry is a crazy business, especially when it comes to abs. For example, if you want to reveal your six-pack, you generally have two product choices.


ADVERTISEMENT
 
MEN'S HEALTH RECOMMENDS
 
How he learned 9 languages fluently
BABBEL
 
The 1,000-Rep Morning Metabolism Igniter
MEN'S HEALTH
 
Where the World's Billionaires Live
MANSION GLOBAL BY DOW JONES
 
The Leg Exercise That Destroys Your Abs
MEN'S HEALTH
 
9 Free Business Productivity Tools For Startups
TWEAK YOUR BIZ
 
6 Insanely Fit Guys Reveal One Thing They Do Each Day
MEN'S HEALTH
Recommended by
DAILY DOSE

your email address
 SIGN UP
YOU MAY UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS | ABOUT US
1. The too-easy-to-work method.
You know this better as "5-minute abs!" or some such hype. But if this approach were really effective, even Chris Christie would have a washboard.

2. The so-hard-it-has-to-work method.
Think 60 to 90 minutes of exercise, 6 days a week. Now if you have the time and energy for this kind of regimen, we commend you. But plenty of people are missing one or the other. And that's just reality, not a cop-out.

So we wondered: Could there be an ab-sculpting program that actually works and is doable for most people? For the answer, we turned to Mike Wunsch, C.S.C.S., and Craig Rasmussen, C.S.C.S., creators of Men's Health's newest fat-loss plan, 24-Hour Abs! The answer: "Absolutely," says Wunsch, who teams up with Rasmussen to design the workout programs at Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California. "That's exactly how we make our living."

The 10-Minute Workout That Will Fry Your Abs

The plank strengthens the dozens of muscles between your shoulders and hips.

But if you jack your feet in and out as you do it, the plank suddenly becomes so much more than just a core builder.


ADVERTISEMENT
 
MEN'S HEALTH RECOMMENDS
 
Million Dollar Luxury Homes You Have to See to Believe
MANSION GLOBAL BY DOW JONES
 
15-Minute Workout: 3 Moves, 300 Muscles
MEN'S HEALTH
 
An Exercise to Protect Your Liver From Too Much Booze?
FOR MEN
 
2 Pushup Workouts That Hit Every Muscle in Your Core
MEN'S HEALTH
 
Knowing is half the battle" So when it comes to education, what's the other…
QLIK
 
The Spartacus Workout
MEN'S HEALTH
Recommended by
DAILY DOSE

your email address
 SIGN UP
YOU MAY UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS | ABOUT US
The quick movement of your feet provides a great dynamic stability challenge that makes your abs scream, and ramps up your heart and metabolic rate.

And you can make it even more difficult by changing up your arm positioning. This creates an unbalanced foundation, so you have to work harder to perform the same exercise.

Put it all together using the plank jack complex below. Do each of the following four plank variations for 15 seconds each without resting. Once you’ve completed the fourth exercise, rest one minute. That’s one round. Perform up to five total rounds.

Does It Matter How Fast You Lift?

In life, each of us tends to move at our own pace. Some of us walk, talk, and eat faster or slower than others.

Research tells us that different speeds come with different costs and benefits. Walking faster, for example, burns more calories than walking slowly. Those who talk faster are more persuasive. And those who eat fast tend to eat more.


ADVERTISEMENT
 
MEN'S HEALTH RECOMMENDS
 
Where the World's Billionaires Live
MANSION GLOBAL BY DOW JONES
 
5 Surprising Ways to Make Your Biceps Grow
MEN'S HEALTH
 
25 Gifts That Every Man Secretly Wants, My Boyfriend Totally Deserves…
LIFEBUZZ
 
4 Daily Exercises Every Navy SEAL (and Every Fit Guy) Should Do
MEN'S HEALTH
 
How he learned 9 languages fluently
BABBEL
 
The Ultimate Morning Workout
MEN'S HEALTH
Recommended by
DAILY DOSE

your email address
 SIGN UP
YOU MAY UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS | ABOUT US
So someone struggling to lose weight might be advised to eat slower and walk faster, and to beware of fast-talking salesmen trying to push the latest supplement miracle. 

It’s no surprise that in the gym, we also lift at different speeds. The open 

Editor's Pick

01

MUSCLE

Time And Tide Wait For None


02

WEIGHT LOSS

HOW TO AVOID HOLIDAY BELLY


03

WEIGHT LOSS

3 BEST DIY SHAKES FOR WEIGHT LOSS


04

WEIGHT LOSS

THE BIG READ: OBESITY SHOULD BE A NATIONAL PRIORITY


05

WEIGHT LOSS

5 SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOU WANT TO EXERCISE MORE


06

STYLE

YOUR NEW HOLIDAY STYLE ESSENTIALS


07

STYLE

LINKS OF LONDON: FOR THE MODERN MAN


08

NUTRITION

THE KILLER AFTERBURN LOWER-BODY WORKOUT


09

MUSCLE

THE KILLER AFTERBURN LOWER-BODY WORKOUT


010

MUSCLE

A Beginner’s Guide to Handstands