For many people, the idea of cutting weight several months away from the summer is difficult to comprehend, but the truth is that those with a little extra weight to lose, who want to get shredded for the summer, require more than the 14-day plans that are often touted to get you beach ready.
Still, getting serious about your ab game requires a multifaceted approach to scorching fat while building muscle, not to mention keeping your heads straight while doing so. Fortunately, Canadian natural bodybuilder, powerlifter, and highly respected coach Jeff Nippard has explained everything you need to know in his latest viral YouTube video.
While it’s true that cutting your body fat level to 20% and below is what will generally reveal your abs, it’s not true to say that muscle building is irrelevant. As Nippard explained, that’s like saying you don’t need to grow your biceps. The more you build on your abs, the more chiseled they will look, and they will look fuller too. To that end, Nippard provided a complete, easy to follow plan:
Jeff Nippard’s Simple 6-Pack Abs Training Tips
In the video, Nippard explains that you should perform these non-negotiable exercises twice per week, on Mondays and Thursdays for example, taking the last set to failure.
Upper four-pack focused exercise
- Loaded Kneeling Cable Crunch (or Plate Loaded Crunches): 3 sets, 10-15 reps
Focus the tension on your abs Progressively overload by adding some weight or a rep to each set every time you train
Lower abs focussed exercise
- Hanging Leg Raise: 3 sets, 10-20 reps
You can use a Roman Chair, pullup bar, or triceps dip bars to execute this exercise. Focus the tension on your abs. If you are unable to complete straight leg hanging leg raises, begin with bent knees and straighten as you progress with this exercise. Nippard prefers to add a rep to each set each week until he gets to 3 sets of 20. After that, he can add further tension by adding ankles weights or slowing down the time under tension.
Cardio
- 30-Minute Low-Moderate Intensity Cardio Sessions: Two to five times a week
“It would also be smart to include some cardio in your plan, even if it isn’t required for weight loss,” says Nippard. “Research shows that combining weight training and cardio leads to smaller waists than just weight training alone.”
The bodybuilder went on to explain that being more active with cardio will also allow you to eat more calories, noting that more active people tend to be more successful at keeping the weight off over the long term according to science. “So, feel free to include two to five thirty minute low-moderate intensity cardio sessions per week,” he concluded.
Of course, no amount of training will reveal those abs until your body is lean enough for them to pop, and that’s where nutrition comes in.
Jeff Nippard’s Simple 6-Pack Abs Nutritional Tips
Calories
“It’s very simple,” says Nippard. “Take your current bodyweight in pounds and multiply it by 10-12. That’s how many calories you’ll need (per day).”
Protein
“Then, take you goal bodyweight, also in pounds, and multiple it by 0.8 -1,” he explains. “That’s how much protein you’ll need (per day, in grams).
Fat
“Make sure you eat at least 50 grams of fat, per day, and whatever’s left over are free calories. They can be carbs, fat, or protein,” says Nippard, noting that he would always steer people towards minimally processed, nutrition wholefoods where possible… most of the time.
Supplements
Protein supplementation isn’t obligatory, but it can make hitting your total daily protein intake a lot easier says Nippard, who also recommends 5g of daily creatine monohydrate for it’s strength and muscle-mass gaining properties in 75% of responders. Lastly, Nippard says that around 200mg of caffeine from coffee, tablets, or pre-workout supplements, is a good idea because it has a small thermogenic effect but also helps to keep you more focussed and dialled-in during training. However, due to our ability to increase our tolerance of caffeine, only use it on days where you feel you need it, or cycle on and off at regular intervals.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Avoid Cutting Too Fast
“This is a near guaranteed way to not only lose muscle and strength but rebound all the weight back as soon as the diet is over,” says Nippard, who goes on to explain that for sustainable fat loss, you should be aiming to lose somewhere between 0.5 to 1% of your bodyweight per week. So, if you currently weight 200 pounds, try to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. The coach also suggests taking a 2-to-3-week diet break every 3 months, because almost all of those who take these breaks see greater weight loss when they return to their caloric deficit.
Don’t just rely on the weight scales
Because your body composition will change and you will likely be putting on muscle as part of your training, relying only on the weight scales could be misleading. Instead, Nippard recommends that you should take progress photos once per month in the same lighting. This will give you a more reliable view of your physique as it changes, plus you will have these photos to look back on as you progress. Monthly waist measurements will also show that you are losing fat even when the scale isn’t reflecting it.
So, there you have it, a simple and complete guide to shedding pounds and shredding your abs. And, if you want to go pro, download Jeff Nippard’s MacroFactor app that adapts to your individual metabolism, with a free trial here!
