0:00
Hi, I'm Graham Bower. I write about fitness for Cultimac, and today I'm going to show
0:08
you how you can build a rock-hard six-pack while you're stuck at home during the quarantine
0:12
You don't need any special equipment for this, just your Apple Watch and a mat or some soft
0:18
surface you can work on. I'm going to show you two essential six-pack exercises, but
0:24
before we get onto those, let's take a quick look at what exactly a six-pack is and what
0:28
it does. Your six-pack, also known as your abdominal muscles or abs, are a pair of long
0:35
muscles that run down the front of your belly. Technically, they're called the rectus abdominis
0:42
Everybody has a six-pack, but not everyone can see it. Why? Because it's often hidden
0:47
by a layer of body fat, better known as your belly. Now, there's a lot of confusion around
0:53
losing belly fat, and so first, let's dispel two myths. Myth one, turning up. You can't
1:00
turn fat into muscle. Fat and muscle are two completely different things. One never turns
1:05
into the other. You lose fat by going on a calorie-controlled diet, and you build muscle
1:11
with exercise. It's that simple. Myth two, spot reduction. You can't target fat loss
1:18
in certain areas of your body. You can do all the belly exercises you want, and it's
1:23
not going to target your gut. The only way to lose body fat is through a calorie-controlled
1:28
diet, and your body decides which areas of fat go first. But if that's all a load of nonsense, what can you do to build a six-pack? Two things
1:43
diet and exercise. When you're bored at home during the quarantine, it can be really tempting
1:49
to keep going to the refrigerator and raiding it for snacks. Stop right there. If you're
1:55
stuck at home, the odds are you're burning less calories, which means you need to eat
1:58
less food, not more. So use a diet app like Loseit to plan a calorie-controlled diet
2:05
The companion Watch app provides a handy guide to your macronutrients, so you can make sure
2:10
you're getting enough protein to build a better six-pack. Your six-pack might not be visible yet, but that doesn't mean you can't start working
2:22
on it. In fact, now is the ideal time, because if you work on it now, when you've shed the
2:27
fat, it'll already be looking awesome. To start your six-pack training, there's just
2:32
two essential exercises you need to know, the crunch and the plank. That's because your
2:37
six-pack performs two essential functions. One is to curl your torso forwards, and the
2:43
second is to keep your torso steady. First things first, make sure you log it on your
2:48
Apple Watch. You can pick the strength training option. So let's start with crunches. Crunches are all about curling your torso forwards. For
2:59
a basic crunch, lie on your back, position your head so your knees are at 90 degrees
3:03
and put your hands behind your head. Now clench your stomach muscles to pull your head
3:08
forwards towards your knees, just as far as it goes comfortably. Don't pull against your
3:13
head with your hands, just hold them gently behind your head to support your neck without
3:17
forcing it forwards. There are plenty of variations of the crunch you can do to keep your muscles
3:22
guessing, like the crossover crunch, and bicycles that also target the muscles on the side of
3:27
your six-pack, known as your obliques. For some variety, try the reverse crunch, where
3:32
you raise your legs rather than your head. Or for a slightly harder crunch, try raising
3:37
your legs at the same time as your head. This is known as a tuck and crunch. Combine all
3:42
these different crunches together for a high-energy, core-blasting workout. Our second exercise is called the plank, and it's harder than it sounds. The aim is just
3:53
to hold your body horizontally, just above the floor, resting on your elbows and toes
3:58
like a plank. It might look like you're not doing any work, but your abs have to stay
4:02
constantly engaged to keep your body rigid in this position. The challenge here is to
4:07
see how long you can maintain the position. Just like with the crunch, there are plenty
4:12
of ways you can modify the plank to keep things interesting. Introduce a leg lift to make
4:18
your core work harder. Or try a side plank to make your obliques work as well. You can
4:25
even add in hip dips to introduce a cardio element. If you do a daily workout with crunches and planks, and you do a calorie-controlled diet
4:38
with Lose It, you should be well on your way to building a rock-hard six-pack. If you have
4:43
any questions or comments, you can follow me on Twitter, I'm at Graham Bower. And remember
4:47
to follow Cultimac for my regular fitness posts. That's it for now, thanks for watching
4:52
and I'll see you soon. www.cultimac.com
