They’re a favorite subject of mass media- fashion spreads and fitness magazines, infomercials, billboard advertisements, action flicks, even soap operas. I’m talking about people with gorgeous six pack abs and they’re the envy of millions everywhere.

By the frequency they’re shown on the movies and on shows and advertisements on TV, one might get the idea that the United States is filled with physically-fit specimens of the human race. Unfortunately, this is a bit distant from the truth.

Recent data gathered by Center for Disease Control and Prevention brings disturbing news. As much as sixty-six percent of American adults are overweight and almost half of that number already obese. The hectic schedules and unhealthy lifestyles most people have been forced to adopt are mostly to blame. Working overtime in these lean financial times leaves not much room for regular exercise and healthy, well-balanced meals.

Sad but true that the very things that are supposed to give us a better quality life- the internet, instant food and cable TV are causing us to become inactive and unhealthy. Indeed, maintaining a lean and sculpted body is becoming increasingly difficult at this day and age.

You know what? We aren’t at all helpless. It may seem impossible but getting lean enough to get a well-defined six pack on our midsections is just a matter of finding the right workout that fits with a tight schedule.

Conventional strength-building exercises with the use of free weights or machines have a heavier effect on six pack ab formation than you may think. Adding muscular tissue to one’s frame actually increases our basal metabolism or our metabolic rate when we’re at rest. Experts say our basal metabolism accounts for 75% of our caloric usage in one day!

Our basal metabolic rate is our normal rate of metabolism- when we’re at rest. The high percentage of calories it consumes means raising our BMR through regular exercise will result in more calories burned during and even after our workouts. The key to rapid fat-loss is using-up more calories than we get from the food we eat.

The increased muscle tissue we gain from resistance training improves our metabolism and already increases our body’s ability to burn calories. Increasing the intensity of weight-training by shortening the rest periods between sets will result in even more calories burned because of EPOC (excessive post-workout oxygen consumption). This will let us shorten our workout sessions effectively and get us out of the gym faster. Always remember that moderation in eating means moderation in working-out.

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