Ripped abs, ab exercises, ab machines…all mantras for over a decade of fitness products and weight loss ads in the US. How many variations of the Ab-Name-Goes-Here ab machine, The stomach tightener, or whatever you want to call it, have been marketed and sold under the banner of giving the wearer six pack abs. Then there are the endless magazine articles with headlines like “Best Exercises for Abs,” “How to Get Ripped Abs,” or “Tighter Abs in Just 10 Days.” If aliens landed on earth, these would be some of the first phrases they’d learn, at least in English.

Here’s the truth of the matter that anyone who’s had a good, solid year of fitness and weight training can tell you: Ripped abs are as much about what and how much you eat as it is about how you exercise your abdominal muscles.

I remember a “wise older training teacher meets newbie” occurrence that happened just a few feet from where I was working out one afternoon at the gym. (It was, of course, around the ab machines.) A solid, well-defined young man, clearly dedicated to what he was doing, asked an older member that he had a more defined set of abs how he got them. The young man protested that he was going crazy doing all the abdominal exercises recommended by the gurus, but still he was not getting the results that he thought he should given the work he was doing.

Don’t get me wrong: I had a relatively flat stomach, and I’m sure most people would love to have. He just didn’t match his arms, chest, or legs, which were clearly top notch for a serious fitness enthusiast.

The wise old man stopped what he was doing, shook his head and laughed to himself, then said, “I’m not laughing at you. You just wouldn’t believe how many times people ask me that. There are actually three things going on here. “You’re already doing all the workouts you need to, so that boils it down to two. One is genetic, and you can’t do anything about it. The other part is diet. I don’t care how hard you work your abs, if you’re eating too much.” or eating the wrong foods, you’re not going to see a six pack.

Okay, I know you’re probably not shooting for an abdominal fitness model, but I’m giving this example to demonstrate how critical the diet component is. Everyone who manufactures and markets those abdominal training devices knows this too. Just take a close look at the ad and you’ll see that each product includes a handy diet program to go along with the abdominal exercises. At some point during the infomercial, or in the ad copy if it’s a print ad, they make it perfectly clear that if you want to achieve the flat stomach of your dreams, you’ll also need to follow their dietary guidelines.

You have no idea how many guys and gals are out there with textbook abs, but no one has seen them because they’re hidden under a layer (or two or three) of fat.

The other thing they’re not telling you: There’s no such thing as “spot reduction.” You cannot target fat loss in the abdominal region through exercise. The calorie burn that accompanies any form of muscle training affects your entire body, meaning your gut-busting ab workout will likely be apparent on your face first. Then, depending on factors beyond your control (genetics), you will lose weight in other parts of your body, the order of which may differ a bit from person to person.

Do not misunderstand. If you work hard on your abs, you’re certainly strengthening them, and that’s a good thing. But they can stay hidden under belly fat until it’s time for your body to get rid of them.

For men, ironically, the last place you can see the effects of your weight loss exercise program is your abdominal area. As we all now know, Mother Nature has programmed men to store fat in the stomach area. Women get it mainly on the hips and also on the abs. Mother nature doesn’t care if you look like a fitness model. She’s going to keep a little more around the waist just to be safe.

In the final analysis, six pack abs are overrated and too hard to come by. When it comes to building a stronger abdominal section, unless you’re genetically gifted in this area, it’s probably best to focus on diet control and balanced workouts, which lead to good weight control and better health. Let abdominal development creep up on you over time. If you can control your diet and get aerobic and weight training into your workouts, you can develop a stronger and flatter abdominal area, which is an achievement you can be proud of.