Welcome to The Six Pack Post! That’s right, you have just typed and/or clicked your way to Washboardville where Calvin Klein models and shirtless werewolves roam. If you’re not into magnificent midsections – or you’re Team Edward – you may want to turn back now…
As some of you may be aware, I have a fitness-oriented facebook “fan page” on which I post daily exercise, diet, and overall health tips ranging from how to do a lat pull-down properly to why foods rich with healthy fats (key word, “healthy”) actually help one to lose weight. I also, as much as possible, try to answer people’s questions and clear up any health-related confusion.
This may come as no surprise to you, but after fat loss, the foremost issue I am asked about revolves around the rectus abdominis, otherwise known as the six pack.
Blame MTV, “Bay Watch,” or Britney Spears, but rockin’ abs are one body part everybody worth their gym membership seems to want. Even whilst strolling through a Greco-Roman art exhibit, it doesn’t take long to notice that ancient artists like Praxiteles and Phidias knew what heroic looked like. (Gerard Butler in 300, anyone?) And interestingly, Roman mosaics dating back to the third and fourth centuries depict bikini-clad women! Actresses like Ava Gardner and Bond girl Ursula Andress brought the bikini back into vogue over half a century ago, and bathing suits have been shrinking exponentially ever since.
Back in the days of Gardner, Andress, and other stunning starlets like Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, one’s midriff-baring capabilities relied mainly on favorable genetics and old-fashioned self-control when it came to the burgers, fries, and soft serve at the local Tastee-Freez. However, since female Olympians began lifting weights in the ‘70s, more and more women have found that resistance exercise, when combined with a healthy diet, can literally sculpt one’s body so it looks more Greek goddess-like than we ever could have imagined. Bottom line: Flat, firm abdominals aren’t just for teen werewolves, Spartan warriors, and pop princesses.
I’ll be back soon to describe my journey to ab- attainment. Of course, you can decide for yourself (and comment on this post, also!) if you think people are too absessive when it comes to building a killer core.
Stay fit, stay faithful ~<3 Di
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.- 1st Timothy 4:8