Food Poisoning

Unfortunately Healthy Boy hasn't been so healthy the last couple of days as I contracted a nasty bout of food poisoning. Feeling better but sunday night wasn't pretty. Hoping to have some new content up tomorrow.

Meanwhile, my abs have never looked better...

Healthy Boy x

The Ultimate Gym Bag

Do you go to one of those gyms that have those stupidly designed lockers that have multiple ledges? They are great for hanging up a shirt or putting your phone and keys in, but if you have a gym bag like most of us do, then you have to stuff it in and it ends up falling down the side of the locker and anything inside gets squashed including your that peanut butter and jelly sandwich you were looking forward to for lunch which ends up smooshed all over your work clothes. Not only that, but trying to get things in and out of your bag while you are changing in the locker room is a hassle. Well fret no more because a newly designed gym bag has become available that not only helps solve all those problems for you, but it helps you look stylish while doing so.

Let me introduce you to the Glo Bag and the newest must have for any gym junkie or fitness enthusiast. It separates everything via two self contained shelves within the bag, dividing it up into three compartments. One compartment is designed for your gym shoes which has ventilated compartments so that stinky sweaty smell your feet get after a long run on the treadmill doesn't linger. The second shelf is designed for your toiletries bag (because who doesn't need some hair product after a grueling workout), and the upper compartment is to keep anything you need to be fresh and clean. The bag also comes with a cell phone pouch and a water bottle holder.

Not only that, but the manufacturer is also throwing in a free toiletries bag for all your manly skin care and body wash products, and a wet bag so you can throw your sweaty gym shirt and shorts in after your workout, normally at a value of $34.

Lucy enough to have a standard level locker at your gym? Well this gym bag is for you also. It can stand on a flat surface or hand from any coat hook or hanger.

The bag comes in solid black, black with gold webbing, or black with silver webbing. You can buy them below or with other healthy products via my shop tab above.

Solid Black                            

Black with Gold Webbing

Black with Silver Webbing

Happy Shopping!

Healthy Boy x

What's Really In Your Red Bull

Energy drinks have become increasingly popular amongst health minded individuals over the last decade for the extra "kick" they can provide before or during a workout. Not only that but they have become a staple for students wanting to stay up late studying for exams, and even made their way into our everyday lives by being available in office vending machines, and at your favorite bar as an ideal mixer in alcoholic beverages to keep you from passing out all over your friend like a Jersey Shore housemate at 2am in the morning... although I vaguely remember consuming one two many Vodka Red Bulls a few weeks back and still managed to eat the pavement. But whether you are consuming them with your favorite tipple, or as a much needed energy kick at 3pm in the afternoon, do you really spend the time to turn over the bottle to see what's inside? Today we are going to look at the ingredients in a regular Red Bull and why some of those ingredients may not only be detrimental to your health, but can interfere with your quest for a better body.

Sugar
Think energy drinks like Red Bull are better for your waistline than soda? Well they're not. One can of Red Bull has 27 grams of sugar, which is roughly the equivalent of 6 teaspoons. Still not hitting home? Well let's put that into perspective. A Dunkin Donuts Glazed Donut has 19 grams of sugar, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups have 21 grams of sugar, and a Twix Bar has 28 grams of sugar. So you are basically eating the sugar equivalent of a candy bar. The whole can itself only has 110 calories, but all of that is coming from sugar. You could throw 6 teaspoons of sugar in your morning coffee and basically get the same effect for much cheaper.

Are You Making These 10 Workout Mistakes?

How many of you out there have actually ever sat down with a personal trainer, developed a workout routine, and had them show you how to correctly lift weights and perform cardio for optimal muscle growth and fat loss? Unfortunately, a lot of people never have, and consequently make their way through years of working out by watching other people in the gym, and surfing the web for tips and techniques. While many people are satisified with this approach, and because of the fact it is the only one they can afford, it often leads to countless mistakes, from incorrect form when lifting, to over-training. Because of these mistakes some people never truly realize their physical potential or know that with a few simple changes, they could be seeing greater results. Take a look at this article below by Tom Venuto (I know this is the second article I've posted from him this week but Healthy Boy is a little strapped for time today and wants to make sure you are still getting some good reading). It's a great article where Tom not only tell us what the Top 10 Workout Mistakes are, but even tells you what you need to do to rectify them, which will result in some positive changes to your body. Number 9 should definitely resonate.

The Top 10 Bonehead Workout Mistakes

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCSwww.burnthefat.com

“Common workout mistakes” has always been a very popular topic in fitness publications. But no matter how many times this subject is re-hashed, you almost always hear about the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, not warming up, yadda, yadda yadda. Ironically, you seldom hear about the biggest mistakes of all. I call these humongous bloopers “bonehead mistakes” because once you start to analyze and think about them, they’re really just common sense and they all seem so obvious… except of course to the person doing it… who is often quite oblivious until someone else points it out to them... then the light goes on and it's like... "Doh!"

Before I begin the countdown, (in no particular order), there’s one more gripe I have about the treatment this subject has been given in the past: Most of the attention has been put on the mistakes, but very little on the solutions. It’s all too easy to point fingers and say, “Don’t do that” and “Shame on you, dummy” but only 1% of your time should be spent on problems. 99% should be spent on solutions. So in that spirit, after I bring each mistake to your attention, I’ll give you a solution-oriented training tip to help you avoid boneheadedness and join the elite group who “kick butt” in the gym at every workout…

Build a Bigger Chest in 3-4 Workouts or Less

What guy out there doesn't want a bigger chest? Chest muscles, along with biceps, have become one of those muscle groups that men, and women, associate with strength and physical success in the gym. Unfortunately, even though most guys hit the bench press hard every week and complete numerous sets and reps, they rarely see any further development after the initial growth phase many experience when they first start training. So some times you just have to mix it up and shock your pecs into an explosive growth phase. Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, one of the muscle building and fat loss books I recommend on here, and a natural bodybuilder who has never touched a steroid in his life, has pecs that most guys would dream about, and has put together a training routine below that you can start using today to take your chest workouts to a new level and force your pecs into some impressive size gains.

Build a Bigger Chest in 3-4 Workouts or Less

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com

If your pecs are a weak body part, or, if you’ve simply hit a progress plateau in your chest development, then this high intensity chest training program will pack slabs of muscle mass on your chest after just 3-4 workouts - and I guarantee it. This is a high intensity bodybuilding workout for advanced bodybuilders only. (Beginners don’t even think about it...)

I’m currently on workout 3 of 4 in this pec routine and the results have been so impressive that I decide to write it up for you before I even finish the final workout next week.

Considering I’m on a calorie deficit in a cutting phase, I’m especially impressed with the increase in my chest size and development after 3 workouts. You’re not going to gain much if any muscular body weight if you are in a caloric deficit, but NO DOUBT, you can improve the development of a muscle group even while cutting up. This is a perfect example. I’m going to return to this program again for sure on my next mass phase. This program is called…

This is Why You're Fat

Eating all the right things but still finding it hard to lose weight? It may have to do with your portion sizes. We are much fatter today than we were 20 years ago because we are eating more and exercising less. But it's not just because we can't resist putting our hand in the bag one more time for that extra Oreo, or going back for an another helping of pasta. That does have a lot to do with it, but it turns out we are also unsuspectedly eating and drinking more than we used to, because we are getting served larger portions and don't even know it. Portion sizes have ballooned of the last few decades, along with our waistlines, and food manufacturers and restaurants are the main culprits. Take a look at the list of some of our favorite nibbles below and how they have evolved, or devolved, over the space of 20 years.

PopCorn

Tempted to buy a tub of popcorn when heading to the cinema to watch the latest chick flick? You will be throwing back an extra 360 calories than most people would have back in the 80s and early 90s. It's easy to keep throwing your hand in and before you know it you have finished the tub before the trailers have even finished. Grab the smallest one available, with no butter, and try to keep your hands out of there until the movie starts

Build Muscle and Lose Fat When Traveling

You know what it's like; you go on vacation or you go traveling for business, and you come back a few pounds heavier. Then you spend the next few weeks trying hard to burn it off and get back into shape. I recently went on a trip to New York for 10 days, and because I normally eat incredibly healthy when I am at home, I came back four pounds heavier. I have to admit I spent the majority of that vacation inhaling chocolate brownies with melted peanut butter and ice cream, while throwing back ridiculously large amounts of alcohol, but nevertheless I came back with a bit of a belly. It's hard to stick to a healthy eating plan when dieting,  and unfortunately for most of us, it's difficult to get to the gym while on vacation or to find the time to sneak in some cardio. But it turns out, you don't need to be spending hours of your vacation in a gym to stay in shape while you travel. There are some cool new workout gadgets and equipment out there that you can take on your vacation, which take up hardly any space in your suitcase, and what's even better is you can use them in your hotel room in only minutes a day. Check out some your newest travel companions that are going to ensure you don't return from your trip with a bigger waistline.

Celebrity Body Secrets - Brad Pitt

There are a few moments in cinematic history that leave audiences gasping in shock and awe and get classified as some of the great movie moments of all time; Bogie and Bergman saying goodbye on that foggy airstrip in "Casablanca", the shower scene in "Psycho", Marilyn Munroe over that subway grate in "The Seven Year Itch", the head swivel in "The Exorcist", and when Meg Ryan faked it in "When Harry Met Sally". Another one of those moments is when Brad Pitt ripped off his shirt in Fight Club... Ok, maybe classifying that as cinematic history may be a bit of a stretch, but it sure got gasps from men and women a like. In that moment, all around the world, men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him. His torso in Fight Club became an iconic image of the actor and revealed a new body type consisting of lean muscle which was very different from the popular bulky muscled look at the time, and created a new popular body image that guys wanted to strive for. Brad has had many starring roles in movies over the years, and ones where his torso and body get featured relentlessly, so he had had to adopt varying exercise, diet and workout routines. Today we are going to take a look at some of his tips and techniques to getting in shape for Fight Club, and ones that may benefit you in your fat loss and muscle building goals.

Brad's Workout
In getting ready for his role in Fight Club, Brad embarked on a rigorous workout routine that comprised of working out one body part per day, per week, leaving his body ample time to recover and grow. His rep range was targeted at around 15 reps per exercise, and he completed 3 sets of each, ensuring that he went to failure on each and every set. His routine was as follows...

The 12 Most Dangerous Supplements

What if I told you that you could take a little red pill everyday and within a few weeks you would be lean and ripped without an ounce of fat? How about if I convinced you 3 small capsules a day is all you need to get buff and pack on 10 pounds of pure muscle? Sounds too good to be true right? Well it is, but unfortunately in our quests for building a getter body and looking good on the beach this summer, we spend crazy amounts of money on products every day that promise us these results. The sad reality is they rarely deliver. But if you are one of those people that buy supplements and over the counter products in the hope that they live up to their marketing hype, parting with your hard earned money may not be the only negative. In a strange twist of fate, it may be your health that ultimately suffers. Consumer Reports have just compiled a list of the 12 Most Dangerous Supplements, and the scary thing is number 12 is taken by many males in the hopes of increasing some muscle mass. Consuming any on this list however could not only make you very sick with some irreversible side effects, but they could cost you your life as well.

We have seen a drastic change in the health and nutrition industries in the last 10 years. People want to lose fat, feel better, live better qualities of life and live longer. Every morning show has a health segment teaching us what to eat and when to eat it, there are reality shows taking overweight people and teaching them how to exercise and lose weight, and there are now popular TV Doctors with their own TV shows that's sole purpose is to teach how to live healthier and longer. With this new trend comes opportunity. Opportunity to make money that is. The supplement industry has boomed, and according to the National Business Journal, Americans spent $26.7 Billion on dietary supplements in 2009, and there are no signs of slowing growth. In their search for the next bigger and better supplement, companies are finding and marketing all new kinds of products, from herbs to chemicals and throwing them into proprietary blends in some of your favorite daily capsules. But along with this comes risk, and unfortunately because of little to no federal regulation, companies can include ingredients in your products with little research on their side effects. Consumer reports advise us that these top 12 are the most dangerous, and ones that if you do see appearing in your favorite fat burner, multi vitamin or health tonic, you might want to reconsider swallowing...

The #1 Selling Protein Powder

Did you know there are some popular brands of protein that have been reported to contain traces of heavy metals? Did you also know that there are inferior protein products out there that use cheaper blends of whey protein meaning they aren't absorbed as quickly or as efficiently as others? Well you don't need to worry about that, because this product has not only been voted best product of the year fives years in a row, it's also one of the cheapest so it is good for you and your wallet.

You have probably heard of Optimum Nutrition protein before, as I know a lot of people already use it - it is the top selling product on bodybuilding.com and you can buy it by the tub load at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and most health food stores, but the news is, you can now buy it on HealthyBoy.com.

Optimum Nutrition's protein recently won supplement of the year and protein powder of the year five years in a row, and has an exclusive proprietary blend of:

- Micro-filtered Whey Protein Isolates
- Ion-Exchange Whey Protein Isolates
- Ultra-filtered Whey Protein Concentrate
- HydroWhey Hydrolyzed Whey Peptides

It gives you more of what you want (pure, unadulterated whey protein) with less of what you don't (fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, lactose, and other carbohydrates).

It contains whey protein isolate - the purest and most expensive source of whey protein, as well as glutamine and other BCAAs that are needed for muscle recovery and growth.


Click on the add to cart button below to buy, or check out my online shop by clicking here.

Denny's Fried Cheese Melt = Heart Failure On a Plate

Large Coke $1.50. Side of Fries $2. Denny's new Fried Cheese Melt, $4. Dealing with the poor body image and cardiovascular disease eating this meal will cause you? Priceless.

Denny's new arterial clogging creation known as the Fried Cheese Melt does it's best to beat KFC's Double Down for the latest irresponsible meal offered to Americans by large chain restaurants.

Order one of these monstrosities when you sit down at Dennys and you will get four fatty mozzarella sticks that have been deep fried in... you guessed it, more fat. Those are sounded by even more copious amounts of heart stopping fatty cheese, layered between two pieces of bleached white flour sourdough, ontop of a platefull of fatty fries, and a bowl of marinara sauce so you can dip this tripple bypass of a disaster in even more calories.

Speaking of calories, one of these will set you back 895 of them. Thats the equivalent of either;

- 3 McDonalds Cheeseburgers
- 4 Kit Kats
- 2 Starbucks Grande Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccinos with Cream
- 3 Dunkin Donuts Glazed Donuts
- 5 Mrs Fields Triple Chocolate Cookies

To burn that off you would need to do either a hour and a half of high intensity aerobics or rowing machine, or you could run it off in around an hour. Worth it? Maybe not.

Healthy Boy x

Tell The FDA To Keep Antibiotics Out Of Your Meat

I wrote a post a while back, Where Does Your Food Come From, where I discussed having watched the food manufacturing industry explosive documentary Food, Inc.and how it changed the way I look at and buy food, primarily meat and diary. Now I'm no vegetarian and I particularly like the occasional burger (if you are ever in New York City, head down to SoHo and go to a little cafe restaurant called Ruby's and order the Bronte Burger - it will be the best burger you have ever tasted). But did you know that 80% of the beef we eat here in the United States comes from only four companies? And that because of an artificial grain fed diet that beef has been pumped with antibiotics and chemicals? Doesn't sound appetizing now does it? What's even worse is today it has been reported that there has been another beef recall here in the United States because of an E.Coli outbreak that has made people sick. What causes that? You can read about it here. Well today I'm going to show you how you can change all that.

Today you can do something about it and as a consumer now have an opportunity to tell the FDA (U.S Food and Drug Administration) exactly what you think about that. A new organization called Food Democracy Now has been launched to fight back against the large food manufactures, and who are dedicated to bringing back a sustainable food system that protects our environment and your health.

They have launched a campaign where you can send an email letter directly to the FDA telling them you do not want antibiotics in your meat. The letter has already been written for you, all you have to do is add your name and it takes two seconds.

Click here to sign the petition, and use your power as a consumer to have a say in how your food is manufactured.

Healthy Boy x

Are You "Skinny Fat?"

There are a few words and phrases in the English language that when thrown around strike fear into the hearts of many. For men it's great to be lean, but mention "skinny" and it will send them sprinting to the nearest Burger King to down a supersized hamburger and large order of fries. For women, it's great to be curvy and voluptuous, but mention the word "fat" and their next week's meals will consist of lettuce leaves and lemon juice followed by an online subscription to Weight Watchers. Personally, if you mention "Justin Bieber" and "memoir" to me in the same sentence like it was the other day, I can be seen pulling all my eye lashes out, grabbing two beers and inflating my own escape raft to slide off the plane away from the horrible thought of it. Now if you combined the two most hated words for men and women you get "Skinny-Fat", and it's a fairly new phrase that is creating even more anxiety amongst individuals because it's altering us to a new body type, that not only is socially undesirable, but can be an indication of some otherwise unnoticeable health concerns. Let's take a look at exactly what it is, what causes it, and whether you fall under this new term.

Whether someone is socially deemed "skinny" or deemed "Fat" is completely relative. You may have an individual who has high expectations of their body type and classifies themselves as fat, while others may not. People may think someone is too skinny, where as that person may indeed fall into the desired weight range for a healthy individual of their height and age. Either way, our views on the matter are sometimes skewed and biased and sometimes our fears of falling into either category are unwarranted...

Welcome To The Healthy Boy Shop

So you may have noticed yesterday that the cool clock that was counting down at the top of my blog over the last few weeks has disappeared, and a new page on the menu tab "Shop" has appeared along with a shopping cart icon on top of the left column.

This is my new shop and if you click on the tab you can see various products that I recommend, why I recommend it, and what's even better is... you can buy it! My shop is hosted by Opensky, and view my shop on their site also. The shop is a little scarce at the moment, as I'm not just going to flood it with products just for the sake of it. I am only going to recommend products I actually think you will benefit from and help you build muscle, lose fat or just be healthy.

Over the next few weeks I will be adding new products, so keep you eye out for some awesome new products and have a shop around. Check out my first product here.

Healthy Boy x

Hot Product - The Healthiest Water Bottle

Remember that post I wrote on Why You Need To Stop Drinking Bottled Water? Well I, like a lot of you who emailed me after reading the post, threw out all my plastic water bottles that I had been refilling and reusing, and went around my apartment looking at the bottom of every water bottle I use at the gym to see whether they contained those nasty chemicals. I was left with absolutely nothing healthy to drink out of so did some research and found a water bottle by Klean Kanteen.

It's been my new workout water bottle that I take with me to the gym. It's made from stainless steel, meaning it can be reused and doesn't contain all those nasty chemicals like BPA that have been known to leach from the plastic and into your water. So it is not only good for the environment, but it's good for you body also.

So it makes sense that I chose as the first product that I sell through my new Healthy Boy Shop! That's right, you don't have to search online through multiple sites or head to your nearest store to grab one. All you do is have to click on the add to cart button below and go from there. What's even better is that if Healthy Boy readers enter FREESHIPPING as the coupon code between now and August 16th, you will receive free shipping.



Healthy Boy x

Does Diet Soda Make You Fat?

Are you one of those people that have a diet soda with your meals and think you are being healthy? Perhaps you have sworn off regular soda in recent years because of the high calorie and sugar content you know those beverages are laden with. Maybe you want to lose some weight and have switched to diet soda believing you are doing your waistline a favor? The fact is that diet soda has become a staple amongst people who live healthy lifestyles and who watch what they eat. I mean, it is even a staple amongst those who aren't on diets... ever see those people walking out of McDonalds or any other fast food restaurant with a super sized hamburger and fries and a diet coke? It's about as confusing as Kirsty Alley giving weight loss advice. But even though diet sodas are consumed in large quantities in the belief that it contains no calories, recent research shows that it could be actually working against us and may actually be making us fat! That's right, recent research shows that even half a can a day increases your risk of obesity. Let's take a look at why that may be the case.

We all know regular soda is bad for us. Plain and simple. If you are still drinking the stuff, I personally think you should order your meal with a side of diabetes because you are drinking more than 10 teaspoons of sugar. Yes, that's right, 10 teaspoons. Soda generally contains anywhere from 35 - 40 grams of sugar per can or small bottle, and 4 grams makes up a teaspoon. Scary huh? It's the equivalent of eating over 80 M & Ms or 31 gummy bears. Not only that, but the type of sugar that they use in soda is generally high fructose corn syrup which in recent studies shows it tends to bypass the body's natural process of burning it for energy, and gets stored straight on your hips and thighs, meaning you can kiss those dreams of fitting into that bathing suit goodbye...

Healthy Weekend Links

Healthy Boy has had a crazy week being all busy and important... well I like to think I am anyway... so to apologize for the lack of content, check out some of the interesting and informative health and fitness articles that came out this week.

Add One Inch To Your Arms: Men's Fitness

The Dark Side Of Vitamin Water: Remember that post Healthy Boy did on Vitamin water way back when? Well it turns out I was ahead of the curve with this new article in the Huffington Post just coming out this week.

Celebrity Weight Loss - What They Are Doing to Get Thin: Diet Blog

6 Exercises You Need To Build Your 6-Pack: Bodybuilding.com contributor Chad Slaw shows you 6 exercises you may not be doing, which will help you get rock hard abs.

Easy Ways To Blast Away Fat: Men's Health

8 Foods To Eat Raw: The Daily Green

5 Ways To Get Off A Weight Loss Plateau: Thats Fit

Are You Making This Fat Storing Mistake Before You Exercise?: Dr Mercola

Can You Really Think Yourself Thin?: A great article for women but beneficial for men also from Slimming Resources

Healthy Boy x

What's Really In Your Protein Bar?

Heading to the gym today to lift some weights and build some muscle? Perhaps you are going to do some cardio and sweat out all those calories so you can fit into your skinny jeans this weekend. If you fall into these categories, chances are you probably watch what you eat also. I mean what's the point of spending all those hours lifting to muscular exhaustion and running so fast for what seems like an unbearable eternity if you are going to ruin all that hard work with bad eating. Would you spend an hour lifting and then throw back a snickers bar? Would you get off that treadmill and dig your hands into a bag of M & Ms? No. Because you know it's bad for you and works against your health and fitness goals. But if you, like many people on a healthy lifestyle plan, are consuming protein bars, then that's exactly what you could be doing. Many of the protein bars available at your gym, and health food stores, are nothing more than candy bars in disguise, with high levels of hip widening fats, copious amounts of insulin overloading sugars, and as many chemicals and artificial ingredients as other refined, processed foods you wouldn't even dream of eating. Today we are going to look at what's really in your protein bar, and the information below will shock you.

What if I told you that Special K's "healthy" protein bars actually contained trans fat? You probably wouldn't believe me, I mean their commercials on TV say their products are good for us. What about if one of the most popular protein bars out there had corn syrup as one of their main ingredients? You probably wouldn't believe that either. Well, you don't have to believe it, because I am going to actually show you. Check out a few of our favorite protein bars below...

The Ultimate Exercise For A Rock Hard Body

Do you spend countless hours at the gym working out your pecs, shoulders and biceps and don't pay much attention to your legs? That may be the reason why you are not seeing any increases muscle gains. Most people hate leg days, and rightly so; a good leg workout leaves you exhausted, drenched in sweat and stumbling around like a Valley girl at after one too many drinks. But its exactly that reason, explains Mike Geary author of The Truth About Abs, why you need to do them. In his article below Mike not only explains why leg workouts help you build more upper body muscle and burn fat, but he also tells us the one lower body exercise that can turn your physique into a rock hard body. Check it out.

The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss).  This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man.  Squats and deadlifts use hundreds of muscles throughout your entire body to move the load and also to stabilize your body while doing the drill.


Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises...

What Is The Ideal Body Fat To See Your Abs?

See those ripped men and women on the front covers of all those glossy health and fitness magazines? Do you often sit there and stare at their abs wondering if you will ever be able to achieve a body so buff and ripped? I do. However it's the Bon Appetit and Country Baking magazines next it them, with their peanut butter brownie and oatmeal raisin cookie recipes that seem to get in my way. But if you are striving to emulate those gods that grace the covers of the magazines each month, how lean do you a actually need to get? What body fat percentage do your really need to show off your six pack abs? 20%? 10% or maybe even 5%? Truth be told most of us have no idea what our current body fat percentage is, or where it needs to be to get that ripped and chiseled look, so Tom Venuto, fitness professional and author of the internet's top selling fat loss and muscle building book Burn The Fat, has devised a scale for both men and women showing us what percentages we are at, and where we need to get to. Check it out below.

What is The Ideal Body Fat To See Your Abs?

By Tom Venuto

www.burnthefat.com

Measuring your body fat percentage is a valuable tool to chart your progress on your quest to get six pack abs. Hopefully most people realize by now that abdominal exercises don’t burn fat off your stomach. Abs are made in the kitchen, not just in the gym. No matter how much you work out, if you don’t eat right and achieve a calorie deficit, your abs will remain covered in a layer of adipose.

When the realization hits you that you must reduce your body fat percentage to see your abs, one of the biggest questions that pops into your mind is, “how low do I have to get my body fat percentage to see my abs?”  It’s a tough question and the answer may be different for men than women.

Here's what I'd recommend: