For those who want to get great abs and stay fit, there are 3 things that you will need to do: eat like an athlete, work out like an athlete and rest like an athlete.  Of course, these are old tried and true methods but they still work today.

In order to eat like an athlete you will need to stop eating before you actually get full.  You will need to learn how to tell when your body has filled its nutritional requirements.  This is important because you don’t want to eat just to eat.  Of course, you will need to know what your target weight is because whenever you first begin working out you will probably begin to eat more.  They feel that they can reward themselves in this way for all of the hard work they do whenever they are exercising.  Unfortunately, you probably are not going to be able to loose weight this way.

Besides eating like an athlete, you are going to also have to work out like one.  So, after you eat lean you will need to consider what type of an ab workout you are going to do.  This is important because while your diet will help to cut your fat level so that you will be able to show off your great abs, you will need to help this along with a good workout regimen.

The best Exercise to get started with are Pilates.  This exercise system was created by Joseph Pilates from Germany.  With this form of exercise you will be focusing on your core postural muscles that are located in your trunk.  Pilates also places emphasis upon breathing and the proper alignment of your spine.  This is important because it will help to strengthen your torso muscles however Pilates can also be brutal.  You are going to need to have balance, strength and coordination in order to do this form of exercise.  Once you are able to master the basic postures and movements you will develop shoulders, abs and back muscles that are all very strong.  At the same time you will also see an improvement in your concentration, balance and posture.

After you have eaten and exercised like an athlete, you will be ready to sleep like an athlete too.  While most men are born workaholics that don’t like to go to bed, as they grow older they will need to learn the importance between sleep, rest and recovery.  It is very important to make sure that you get enough sleep, especially if you are going to be working out like an athlete.  If you find that you have difficulty sleeping, you should try some Melatonin.  This dietary supplement will help to bring your sleep patterns back into proper regulation.

So, while many people still think that sit ups and crunches are the best way to get stellar abs if you are a man over the age of 40, this simply isn’t the case.  You really need to eat right and work out 5 times a week instead.