Abs? What Abs?

At one time, I told people I definitely had six-pack abs. They looked at me, not wanting to laugh, but wondering where those abs lay. At the time I was hopelessly overweight. And yes, I was very much aware of it. Obviously one look at my physical condition and they knew there had to be a punch line.

Id point to be my torso area and say Yep, theyre right there. Underneath the bags of potato chips and cheese puffs. If you look really closely you might be able to see it.

It doesnt matter right at this moment whether you can see your abs or not. Well take care of that as we go along. What really matters right now is that youre committed to eventually seeing your abs -- and in the process strengthening them.

Now, even before we begin, lets get a few items cleared up. When you work toward your new look -- in the past it used to be called that washboard look. (But I guess more people know what a six pack is these days than a washboard.) -- youre going to be working more than just one muscle group.

And while youre calling them your abs, you also need to realize that many sports experts and fitness gurus are calling this midsection your core. Its a growing trend not only in sports medicine to take care of these muscles, but even the medical community is learning that the core may be far more important in the way of warding off future diseases -- serious diseases -- than ever thought before this.

The one smidgen of health information Id like you to think about is the size of your core as a risk factor for a potential heart attack. Those individuals with larger waists are far more likely to end up suffering with a heart attack.

Specifically, if youre a man your waist should be 40 inches or less. A womans waist should be no larger than 35. The very first study that revealed this pretty amazing relationship was published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology nearly two years ago.

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