Do 30 Day Ab Challenges Work?
Here’s the thing about any 30 day abs challenge. Your daily workout now has a new purpose and challenge. A 30 day abs challenge is a great way to catapult your health or life forwards. And 30 days is a small chunk of time to commit to.
Agree?
Good.
So, if you’re doing all the right things over the 30-days. That’s making sure your workouts are effective, what you eat is crammed with rich ab making nutrients, you’re strength training, drinking plenty of water, doing some cardio, and getting quality sleep.
Then yes, a 30 day ab challenge works.
It’s called a challenge which means, the 30 day ab challenge isn’t easy and most will probably quit after just a few days. If you’re serious about seeing some six pack abs, you’ll stick with it.
Understand many men won’t see abs at the end of the 30-days because they have high body fat, however, they’ll notice their waistline shrinking, bigger muscles, and increased energy levels. Which is still a big positive for them.
Now before we tear into this and get all hot and sweaty here’s a few things you first got to understand:
The Ugly Facts About Six-Pack Abs
Fact #1: Not Everyone Can Get Picture-Perfect Ads
You may not like hearing this, but genetics plays a role in this. Abs can look different on everyone. Some people may have a larger split in their abs, or bigger upper than lower muscles. And some genetic freaks have abs even if they don’t work their abs.
Other factors like age, hormones, and body type all determine whether or not you can get the kinda abs you see in magazines. (But we’re not after magazine-worthy abs… because they are airbrushed we’re only after your best abs for your body.)
Fact #2: Diet Plays A Critical Role
If you work out, and then shove poor quality food down your throat, you won’t see your abs.
What you eat, plays a critical role in you getting a six-pack. I get it, most don’t want to hear this. They want some badass-ab-exercise they can do so their six-pack pops overnight and everyone notices. I’ll say it again, what you eat is critical.
Fact #3: You Must Drop Body Fat
You can do a billion ab exercises, even cramp up because you worked so hard. Thing is, ab exercises don’t spot reduce fat, or burn off belly fat.
To see your abs, you need low body fat, which means to get abs you’ve got to exercise in ways so your core gets stronger, and you drop body fat. We’ll get to that soon.
What Is The Best 30-Day Ab Challenge?
The best 30-day ab challenge is one that approaches getting abs from a complete lifestyle approach.
Why?
Because getting abs doesn’t come from just the exercises you do. If it was only about the exercises, then every man would be walking around with rippling abs. But he’s not.
Look at it like this…
If you’re doing the right exercises, but you’re not eating right. You won’t get abs. If you’re doing the right exercises, eating right, but your sleep is poor and you’re stressed out. You’ll struggle to get abs.
And say you’re doing everything right, but you’re drinking a lot of alcohol each week, you’ll struggle to get abs.
You’re a high-performance machine with many parts to you. So, make sure you’re taking care of all the parts, and not just intensely focusing on one small part.
Before Starting The 30-Day Ab Challenge
Write down what you eat over a 3-day period. Why? Because when most read over what they eat, they’re shocked. What’s the point in starting the 30 day ab challenge if what you’re eating isn’t going to help you get abs?
Understand, I’m not a nutritionist, dietitian, or doctor however I live around 10% body fat all year round and have been as low a 7.7% body fat. I don’t tell you this to brag, only to show you, I understand what healthy eating is and how to drop body fat.
The Meal Secret Few Know About But Those In The Know Use To Get Low Body Fat And Six Pack Abs
day ab challenge
If you’d like a simple, effective, and easy way to eat healthy meals without spending hours in the kitchen, and without buying a thousand ingredients, then here’s a secret used by physique athletes, athletes, and smart men in the know to keep their body fat low and their abs visible.
Eat similar meals
When you eat similar meals, it makes it easy to make any adjustments as needed so you lose body fat and build muscles. If you’re using a hundred different ingredients, then it’s hard to track, and it’s hard to know what’s causing unwanted fat gain.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are similar day in, day out.
Let me show you what similar meals could look like…
Protein source with 3-5 veggies. Maybe some sweet potato or rice. This template is used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Example of similar meals:
Breakfast: Veggie omelet, 2 x eggs 1 small tin of salmon, grated zucchini, chopped up snow-peas
Lunch: Protein source with 3-5 veggies. Maybe some sweet potato
Dinner: Protein source with 3-5 veggies. Maybe some sweet potato or rice
Meals can be flavoured with chilli sauce without sugar. Or natural spices without sugar.
If what you are currently eating is healthy and you’re getting great results. Keep doing what you’re doing. However, if what you’re eating isn’t working, try similar meals and find out for yourself how effective they are.
30-Day Abs Challenge Male
30 Days Abs Challenge Male
Start each day with a brisk 15-20 minute walk as soon as you wake. Get dressed, drink some water, and then get walking. The walk wakes you up, gets you ready for the day ahead, and get’s your metabolism going.
As you’ll soon see right below, there’s daily ab exercises you can do, and you’ll see after this section what else gets you a six-pack.
Day 1 L-Sit Holds
Day 2 Gymnastic Ring Roll Outs
Day 3 Cross Body Mountain Climbers
Day 4 Standing Banded Crunch
Day 5 Seated Banded Crunch
Day 6 Standing Band Oblique Crunch
Day 7 Low To High Band Chop
Day 8 Horizontal Band Chop
Day 9 Lunges (Hold weigh in opposite hand to the leg your working)
Day 10 Gymnastic Rings Row-to-Hold
Day 11 Walk Walks
Day 12 Famers Carry (Weight in one hand only)
Day 13 Hollow Rocks
Day 14 Cross-Body Mountain Climbers
Day 15 L-Sit Holds
Day 16 Chin-Ups (legs out in front)
Day 17 Ball Slams
Day 18 One Arm DB Bench Press
Day 19 Gymnastic Rings Row-To-Hold
Day 20 Gymnastic Rings Roll Outs
Day 21 Standing Banded Crunch
Day 22 L-Sit Holds
Day 23 Gymnastic Rings Row-To-Hold
Day 24 Gymnastic Rings Roll Outs
Day 25 L-Sit Holds
Day 26 Standing Banded Crunch
Day 27 Standing Band Oblique Crunch
Day 28 Gymnastic Rings Row-To-Hold
Day 29 Gymnastic Rings Roll Outs
Day 30 L-Sit Holds
You’ll notice there are no plank position holds or side plank holds or any type of plank position.
Why?
Because they’re not as effective as the exercises above. Take the gymnastic ring row to hold. That exercise smashes any plank hold you could do in the fact it builds muscles which is what you want isn’t it? And it engages your abs and smashes them. Done right, you’ll feel it.
And there’s no crunches because there are more effective exercises you can instead of crunches like the above. Plus if you have back issues crunches are great for triggering back issues.
I haven’t done crunches in 10+ years and I have abs so crunches aren’t needed.
What You Need To Do As Well As The Daily Ab Exercises
There’s a daily exercise to do, that targets and loads up your abs, and here’s the thing. The daily exercise on its own isn’t enough to make your abs pop over the 30 day ab challenge.
Okay, so what? Here’s what…
If you’re not currently strength training, 2-3 times a week, then that’s something I’d strongly suggest you start immediately. You don’t need to go to a gym you can train at home with a good workout plan.
A workout plan is important for you because if you don’t know what you’re doing, you won’t get results.
Minimal Equipment To Invest In So You Build Muscles Increase Core Strength And Get Six Pack Abs At Home
If you invest in a set of gymnastic rings, you’ll put yourself on the abs-fast-train. I believe they are one of the most potent muscle makes you could own. I’m in my 40’s, and I’m blown away by just how effective gymnastic rings are for carving out a ripped upper body.
At the very least, get yourself a set of resistance bands because there are hundreds of fat-burning, muscle-making exercises you can do with them.
With your strength training workout plan, you want to be doing exercises like…
- Lunges
- Squats
- Bulgarian squats,
- Turkish get-ups,
- One arm rows
- One arm Dumbbell bench press you’re abs are going kick in hard because they are needed to stabilise your body and gives you a stronger core
- Kettlebell or dumbbell snatch
Walking
If you’ve got your nutrition dialed in and you are strength training. If you daily walking to your program you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how the fat begins to fall off your waistline.
Walk more than you do right now, to get abs you’ve got to drop body fat. Walk to the shops to get your food and walk home. Walk as soon as you wake in the morning. Walk after work. Go for walks on the weekend.
The other thing about walking is, it’s great to do on your rest day when you’re not doing a strength training work out.
Warning: If You Have Or Have Had Lower Back Issues Take Note
If you have lower back issues, you’ve had lower back issues in the past, or you’re prone to getting back issues. You need to be aware that some ab exercise will further aggravate your back. Go easy with any 30 day abs challenge.
Which exercises?
I’m not a back expert. If you do have back issues I’d strongly suggest you read everything Stuart McGill PhD has written. You can find out all about Stuart and his work right here at his website.
Stuart shows you how to safely work your core and strengthen your muscles without doing further damage.
I’ve had some lower back issues, I’ve read much of Stuart’s work and done the exercises he recommends, and it’s made a significant difference to my back. When it comes to ab work, I’m very selective and only do what is safe for my back and does not upset it.
Does A HIIT Workout Routine Help You Get Abs?
Sure does.
HIIT? High intensity interval training.
Here’s an example…
Peddle flat out for 10 seconds then rest for 40, then repeat. Do 10 rounds
Hit a boxing bag flat out for 20 seconds then rest for 1 minute. Do 12 rounds
I’ll say it again because I believe it’s that important. If you’re not eating healthy your wasting your time because nutrition is the fastest way to drop body fat.
Can You Actually Get Abs In 30 Days?
Depends on a few factors, like…
How much body fat you’re currently carrying. The more fat you’re carrying the more fat you must lose before you see abs.
If you’re not strength training you’ll struggle to get abs. If you’re eating too much food or your diet is dirty, and you’re not prepared to clean it up. You won’t get abs.
Here’s the thing though…
What if you followed this 30 day challenge, and in 30 days from now you’ve dropped body fat, your waistline shrinks, and more muscle mass on your body is visible. You’re looking and feeling athletic, and others notice.
Would you be okay with that outcome?
Because if you stick with it, maybe day 60-90 you see your abs.
Hey listen…
You’ve got be realistic about this. Yeah, you’re going hard for 30 days but look at the long-term picture here.
You’re creating healthy habits and you’re on track to get abs, it may not happen in the first 30 days if you’re carrying more body fat, but it will happen.
Can You Actually Get Abs In 30 Days?
How much fat is covering your abs?
Because your abs are under that fat, which means it’s got to go.
Here’s what you can do…
- No alcohol
- Meals can only consist of protein source, 3-5 vegetables and optional sweet potato. Use this meal template for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Flavour meals with a sugar free chili sauce.
- Coffee. Black, no sugar, a tiny, tiny dash of milk if needed
- Strength training 2-3 days a week if doing full body workout. 4 days a week if doing, upper body, lower body split
- Walk 15-30 minutes first thing in the morning 7 days a week
- Go for walks of a weekend
- If you’re into it HIIT get after that 1-2 days a week. What’s great about high intensity interval training is, it’s takes less time to do, and it accelerates your results.
Get Your Daily Protein Intake Right
If you’re not eating enough protein you get hungry and worse, your muscle aren’t getting what they need to grow and get strong.
When it comes to daily protein intake there’s all sorts of numbers thrown around. You could start with 1g per pound of body weight. Then divide that number by the amount of meals you’re going to eat each day.
Example: If a 180lbs man wanted to eat 4 meals a day that’s 45g of protein he’s aiming for each meal so he hits his 180 grams of protein at day.
Drink More Water
Water is vital for your body and how it functions and yet here’s the thing, most don’t drink enough water.
What Happens If You Don’t Drink Enough Water:
- Persistent headaches
- Sluggish bowel function
- Dull skin
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Dry mouth
Go Alcohol Free For With Your 30 Day Abs Challenge
When you drink alcohol your body burns it off first before it burns any of the food calories off. That means what you eat gets stored as fat.
Fact is…
Our bodies don’t need alcohol, we drink it because we like the taste and how it makes us feel.
Here’s the point:
If you’d like to get results at the end of your 30 day ab challenge you pumped with. And you want your waistline to shrink faster. Cut out the booze and see what happens for you, especially if you’re over 40.
If You Have Issues Sleeping Take This Before Bed
I’m mentioning sleep here because sleep is anti-aging, muscle building and helps you drop body fat.
Of note, studies show a direct link between lack of sleep, weight gain, and obesity.
If you struggle to get to quality sleep an evening try taking magnesium powder. You’ll find plenty of reviews online with people touting the sleep benefits they’ve gained from taking magnesium before bed.
I take magnesium before bed and find I sleep sounder and deeper when I take it.
Summary 30 Day Abs Challenge
Attack the challenge with sage energy because in 30 days, you can have a stronger, more ripped core section.
If you’ve got more body fat it’s going take longer than 30 days before you see your abs pop on out.
Get you’re eating right. Simple, healthy, similar meals are the secret to living in great shape. If you flavour your food with natural spices and chilli sauces without sugar then you see your abs a lot faster.
Another thing…
If you cut out alcohol for 30-days you’ll notice your waistline shrinking faster.
Commit to the 30 day challenge today, now go get after it.
Week 1: day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4 day 5 day 6 day 7
Week 2: day 8 day 9 day 10 day 11 day 12 day 13 day 14
Week 3: day 15 day 16 day 17 day 18 day 19 day 20 day 21
Week 4: day 22 day 23 day 24 day 25 day 26 day 27 day 28
day 29 day 30
