Washboard stomach: How to get one?

The washboard stomach is the optical perception of the abdominal muscles divided by tendons. The small amount of body fat above it has a far greater influence on the washboard stomach than the development and muscle cross-section of the individual abdominal muscles. In order to get a washboard stomach, a certain nutrition plan and the right abdominal muscle training in connection with an endurance sport is therefore required.

The right nutrition will be a constant companion throughout the day and requires a high degree of planning. What do I eat in the morning, at noon at work, in between – when hunger gets the better of me – and in the evening? Do I possibly have to precook something to eat and take it with me to work?What do I buy and where do I find the right food?

These are all questions you have to deal with to get a washboard stomach. The associated training on the other hand is subject to fixed times. For example, abdominal training is done every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and jogging is done on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

This is about one hour a day during which one is occupied with training, while the diet takes up more time during the day. If you are beginning to see the first signs of success for a washboard stomach and you like a healthy diet, the whole thing is only half as hard. You will even develop a completely new body awareness.

The hard discipline pays off from week to week and more and more abdominal muscle parts become visible for the washboard stomach. In addition, the stability of the trunk is significantly improved and you are more resilient in everyday life. Back problems decrease, the well-being increases and the blood values are in favor of the athlete.

Getting a washboard stomach requires the highest discipline in training and nutrition over a longer period of time. This period depends on the initial weight and the amount of training required. The body composition of a woman differs significantly from that of a man.

Therefore it is harder for women than men to reduce their body fat until the abdominal muscles for a washboard stomach become visible under the skin layer. While men aged 30 to 40 years have a body fat percentage of approx. 18% – 21% which is considered healthy, women of the same age have a body fat percentage of approx.

29% – 32%. Women therefore have approx. 10% – 15% more body fat than men.

The only problem is that in both sexes the washboard stomach only begins to become visible when the body fat percentage is below 15%. Conversely, this means that women must lose up to 15% more body fat than men in order to achieve the same results as men. In addition, men also have a higher basal metabolic rate due to their higher percentage of muscle in the body.

For a woman it is all the more important to increase her basal metabolic rate in order to get a washboard stomach. It is much easier to lose excess body fat when more energy is burned than is added. The prerequisite for this is a healthy and calorie-optimized diet.

To increase the basal metabolic rate, endurance sports as well as special abdominal muscle training should be done several times a week. Exactly here lies the problem of many women today. Who can manage to do about one hour of sport four to five times a week in addition to their job, family and private interests?

This is exactly the problem, not only for women, but it requires a higher training effort than for men in general. The question is, how can abdominal muscle training and endurance sports best be integrated into everyday life for the washboard stomach? Important for the goal “washboard abs” is not only the right amount and composition of nutrition, but also the training planning in the form of a daily, weekly and monthly plan.

This plan should be sensibly adapted to everyday life. Many women are active in the morning, some in the evening. The training units should therefore be adapted to the individual physical conditions.

But before such a plan is drawn up, motivation is of crucial importance. There will be days when neither the body nor the mind feels capable of doing sports. Exactly on such days it is important to regain the motivation that influenced or even triggered the decision for a washboard stomach at that time.

Be it role models, the arranged date with your training partner or certain music titles that get you going again, is up to you. The important thing is to regain motivation day after day to get closer to success every time. Besides, it is not absolutely necessary for a washboard stomach to be a member of a studio. Abdominal muscle training usually only requires a mat, your own body weight and the right attitude. The endurance sport can be done before work, during lunch break or after work right outside the door.