Women have a more difficult time achieving a defined abdominal area, or six pack, because they possess less testosterone and growth hormone, which facilitate muscle building. It may take more time, but girls can achieve a six pack through consistent cardiovascular exercise and an abdominal training program designed to build muscle.
Step 1
Do an abdominal workout three days per week. The abdominal muscle that creates the six pack appearance when developed is your rectus abdominal. Achieving a six pack requires your rectus abdominus to be built in size, so you want to follow a hypertrophy, or muscle building program. This would require the muscle to be worked three days per week with a day of rest in between.
Step 2
Adequately overload your abdominals during your workout. To see significant results, you need to properly overload your rectus abdominus by completing enough sets and repetitions of each exercise. To build muscle, you want to complete three to five sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each exercise. Four to six exercises that target the rectus abdominus should be completed during each session.
Step 3
Choose exercises that effectively develop your abdominals. The American Council on Exercise completed a study in 2007 identifying the most effective abdominal exercises, which include the bicycle crunch, crunches on an exercise ball, long arm crunch and vertical leg crunch.
Step 4
Complete 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three to four days per week. To achieve a six pack, you must be at a healthy body fat percentage. Fat is independent and lies over the top of muscle, so despite whether you have a defined rectus abdominus, if you have body fat lying over the top of the muscle, it won't be able to be seen. Completing a cardiovascular workout on most days will facilitate a healthy body fat percentage.
Step 5
Eat low fat, low calorie foods and drinks. In a step to further promote a healthy body fat percentage, consuming an appropriate amount of calories per day will help you in your six pack endeavors. Use a calorie counter, such as one provided by Mayo Clinic, to find out how many calories you should consume each day. To maintain your weight, eat the amount that the calculator provides. To lose weight, decrease the amount of calories you consume by 500 per day.
Step 1
Do an abdominal workout three days per week. The abdominal muscle that creates the six pack appearance when developed is your rectus abdominal. Achieving a six pack requires your rectus abdominus to be built in size, so you want to follow a hypertrophy, or muscle building program. This would require the muscle to be worked three days per week with a day of rest in between.
Step 2
Adequately overload your abdominals during your workout. To see significant results, you need to properly overload your rectus abdominus by completing enough sets and repetitions of each exercise. To build muscle, you want to complete three to five sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each exercise. Four to six exercises that target the rectus abdominus should be completed during each session.
Step 3
Choose exercises that effectively develop your abdominals. The American Council on Exercise completed a study in 2007 identifying the most effective abdominal exercises, which include the bicycle crunch, crunches on an exercise ball, long arm crunch and vertical leg crunch.
Step 4
Complete 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three to four days per week. To achieve a six pack, you must be at a healthy body fat percentage. Fat is independent and lies over the top of muscle, so despite whether you have a defined rectus abdominus, if you have body fat lying over the top of the muscle, it won't be able to be seen. Completing a cardiovascular workout on most days will facilitate a healthy body fat percentage.
Step 5
Eat low fat, low calorie foods and drinks. In a step to further promote a healthy body fat percentage, consuming an appropriate amount of calories per day will help you in your six pack endeavors. Use a calorie counter, such as one provided by Mayo Clinic, to find out how many calories you should consume each day. To maintain your weight, eat the amount that the calculator provides. To lose weight, decrease the amount of calories you consume by 500 per day.
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