The secret to six pack abs

How on earth do I get six pack abs?

Each New Year, it's the same unhappy question for millions of guys all over the world when they look at their flabby abdomen and long for the hard look of a bodybuilder or motion picture star.

So, once the January 1st hangover has worn off they go to work furiously at the nearest fitness center to get a six pack. Or they buy some ab exercise contraption and try to do it at home.

And for the vast majority, January becomes February... becomes March... And still no six pack abs. And at that moment they give up, believing it's out of the question and they just don't possess "the right body type".

Perhaps you are one of those men trapped in this annual routine and fed up getting nowhere in your quest for a firm tummy.

Be frank, how many crunches did you do today. Was it 75? 100? What about 200? Maybe 500?! Now, take a look at your abdomen... do you catch a glimpse of something occurring? More than likely, NO.

Want to know why?

OK, here's the big secret about six pack abs: you already have them, you just can't see them.

I'm not kidding. You don't need to exercise like a maniac to get them because you've got them already. Even the 300-pound overweight guy has got abs! The problem is that we can't see his - or yours - because they're covered in a layer of fat.

Now, exercise will help build those abs and further define them, but exercise alone will not get you a six pack fast because of the simple fact you have to remove the belly fat that is on top of those abdominal muscles to reveal the muscles that lie underneath.

Oh yes, those muscles are there.

Do this simple test: Tense your belly muscles and prod them with a finger. Pretty firm, eh?!

Now belly fat is stubborn stuff - it can not be removed by exercise alone. It is removed by placing your primary emphasis on proper nutrition. The better you are eating on a daily basis, the faster you will get rid of that fat and be able to see your six pack!

You don't need to go on a severe diet to shed belly fat, you need to embrace balanced, healthy eating. The problem with many conventional diets is that people cut back so drastically that the body believes it is being starved, therefore it hangs on to its fat stores - including those around the belly.

Adopting a healthy diet merely means dumping junk food, reducing salt and sugar intake and eating lean meats and fish and plenty of vegetables and fruit. In this way you improve the quality of "fuel" you put into your body.

Reducing weight-gaining foods like fries, burgers, baked goods, chocolate and processed foods loaded in fats and sugars will help condition your body and actually lower the percentage of body fat.

Applying some moderate exercise will burn off more fat stores - and reveal those six pack abs for all the world to see when you hit the beach next summer!