In these times of gourmet ice cream, gourmet coffee and uh, 'gourmet fast-food', it's becoming increasingly difficult to stay fit and lean. Unless you're a native of Miami Beach, it seems like six pack abs are becoming rare- a common sight only on Baywatch reruns and movies depicting warriors of ancient Greece.

It's not because of lack of trying. There's a high attrition rate among folks who start working-out to get six pack abs because of misconceptions about how to exercise effectively. The wrong exercises bring slow results and loss of motivation.

Contrary to the perception of the general public, the path to six pack abs doesn't rely on countless sit-ups and crunches. In fact, focusing too much on the abdominal muscles can even lead to strain on the lower back. Expensive, gimmicky gadgetry featured on fitness infomercials aren't the answer either. Diet shakes and low-fat food? Forget it! Studies prove that we tend to eat 75% more when we're eating diet food.

As experts have long figured-out, the key to getting a sculpted midsection is losing enough body fat by creating a daily calorie deficit. This means making it a point to burn more calories than our bodies take in each day to achieve a body fat index of at least 10% for men and 15% for women.

Now, since all the high-calorie gastronomic fare we live on nowadays makes it impossible to rely on our daily activities (sitting in our cubicle, driving our car and surfing the net at home) to burn surplus calories, the only real solution is to work-out regularly.

Total body exercises which engages several muscle groups in activity are the best for rapid calorie-burn, fat-loss and formation of six pack abs. Cardio and anaerobic strength training both play an important role in building strength and forming six pack abs because they do wonders in raising our basal metabolic rate. Our BMR is responsible for 75% of calories our bodies use-up each day.

Working-out consistently also strengthens and develops muscle tissue and in turn reinforces the joints of the body- making them last longer as we grow old. Strong connective tissue around our joints prevents injury which can keep us from being consistent with our exercise regimen and prolonging the process to a chiseled abdomen.

Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of disability in America. It is mostly caused by too much joint-stress brought about by excess weight. Working-out consistently will not only prevent this by lightening the load on our joints, we also get an awesome set of shredded abs in the process!