That's Fit

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Fitzy. I work out a few times a week and eat pretty well, but "six-pack" abs have always escaped me. I do plenty of crunches, but nothing seems to bring me even close to the abs I see on the cover of Men's Health magazine. What is the secret to it? Chase

A. Ahhhh Chase. The elusive six pack. Doesn't every body wish for that? Yes ... almost everybody does. Very few actually achieve it, though. This is the deal Chase, the "secret," if you will. If you want to look like an athlete, you're going to have to behave like an athlete. Train ridiculously hard and eat ridiculously well. Six-pack abs are a sign of elite fitness for sure, and you're probably not going to earn them working out a "few times a week and eating pretty well."

In order to produce muscular abdominals with very little fat between them and your eyes ... you're going to have to bust your ass. Crunches? Probably not good enough. Try these instead. Add weight and/or instability to your abdominal workouts and you'll be more likely to develop the muscles in your mid-section so they bulge. Try using a BOSU, medicine ball, Bender Ball, or weight plates. Ab work should be hard.

You're also going to have to burn off most of your excess fat. Even thin people have fat. And I promise you, if you're over 15% body fat at minimum ... it's going to be hard to rock rippled abs. Fat loss is accomplished by reducing calorie consumption and burning a ton off with sweat. Imagine the strain an NFL running back endures. Aim for that. Run until you want to puke. Lift until you grunt and yell. Be a machine!

Now, this type of training isn't for everyone, Chase, but either are six-pack abs. If you want them though, you're going to have to earn them. I don't wish you luck, I wish you hard work. Now GO! Fitz

Q. Hi Fitz. My cousin is trying to get me to both buy and sell a "nutritional drink" and some other products just like it. I'm not sold. What do you think? Amber

A. I think you're wise to be skeptical. Honestly, I hate that garbage ... and I rarely use the word hate. People are far better off consuming a balanced diet full of whole fruit and veggies. lean protein and lean dairy. Want some vitamin C? Eat an orange or a bowl of strawberries! Want potassium? Have a banana! Plus, I really discourage anybody from drinking their calories. (Unless of course they need a drink like ENSURE to combat disease or illness.) Not usually a smart idea for weight management.

Instead of relying on some sort of "nutritional drink,"why not just eat nutritiously? OH! I know! Cause then a bunch of non-fitness or health professionals can make a buck off of other people's desperation for an easy fix. That's why! Amber, I used to attend a monthly meeting geared towards professionals in my community. There was a saleswoman, I'll call her "Karen," who drove me nuts. Karen was wildly overweight, had horrible skin and was really just quite a disaster physically. Incredibly though, she sold "weight loss supplements" and "nutritional drinks". How dare she? Those products didn't work, as proven by her consistent weight gain over the many years I knew her. Nothing about her suggested health or wellness, but there she was, pushing her useless pills for money. Infuriating! She was a phony and so were those products.

Amber. Buy some apples and asparagus. If you want a bit of nutritional insurance for the day, consume a multivitamin. Don't buy your cousin's drink and please don't sign up to sell it. You can do better. That's what I think. Thanks for asking.

Punches & Kicks,