Are you single? Committed? It’s complicated? Wherever you fit into love’s illustrious design, the enigma of physical attraction has enthralled and troubled creative minds since the dawn of time. Few other great mysteries baffle us more, as each and every one of us must at one time or another figure out how to push someone’s buttons. Indeed, where do we fit? And how do we push buttons?

Hundreds of crunches just won’t cut the fat from your abs

Hand on heart and tongue in cheek I thus reply. Get fit. Get some buttons. Love buttons, that is.

Abdominals populate the centre of your body, spanning the space between your hips and chest. Formally known as rectus abdominis, they’re called washboard abs, six-packs and eight-packs – whatever the name, they have seduced many a soul and are the ultimate symbol of physical vitality.

So how do we push someone’s buttons? Never mind all that – let your admirers worry about it while you slap the buttons right onto your own body. Read on, because these are the buttons everyone wants to get their hands on.

Fat resides in adipose tissue located all over the body just beneath the skin, on top of the muscle. Since rectus abdominis is a muscle, it should have only a minimal amount of fat sitting on top of it if it is ever going to be revealed in all its glory. This basically means you could have the most beautiful love buttons ever, but if they’re hidden, no one will ever see them.

Now, fat is lost in a generic way and not from specific selected parts of the body only. This means that we cannot send eviction notices exclusively to the fat residing at Adipose Alley or Tummy Town, because they’re not budging if no one else is. The only eviction notice that works is more like an air-raid siren. It must be loud, dramatic, effective, and reach the fat residing absolutely everywhere.

Fat loss is a full-bodied, full-blown, mass eviction process which must involve cleaning up your diet, reducing your overall calorie intake, and becoming significantly more physically active. You’ve got to keep this going until you possess such little fat that all your muscles, including the rectus abdominis, stand out in bold relief. Stop eating sweets and junk food. Slash your meal portions and fill them with unprocessed natural foods like vegetables and whole grains. Being physically active doesn’t necessarily mean joining a gym – it could be jogging, cycling, aerobics, recreational sports, or dance to name but a few activities.

What about exercises that are specifically for the abs? The fact is that hundreds of crunches just won’t cut the fat from your abs, even if that’s where you feel the strain while performing them. Rather, crunches are a resistance training exercise designed to strengthen and tone the abs. Even if you performed crunches with the intention to burn fat, you wouldn’t burn as many calories as you would with jogging, aerobics or any other sports.

Hundreds of crunches just won’t build it either. When you get your fat loss routine down to a tee and the stuff starts pouring off you (as it will – trust me), you’re going to want to start building and sculpting your abs. The most popular core exercises are low intensity, which means you can perform 20 or more repetitions of them before tiring – this may sound easy, but it’s not.

The more technical enthusiasts might say: “Ah, but the rectus abdominis is a postural muscle consisting of predominantly slow-twitch muscle fibers.” True, but unfortunately slow-twitch fibers simply do not grow in size – medium and fast twitch fibers do. This means that to acquire dramatic contours, your abs must ultimately grow in size through the fascia into that segmented shape we all know and love. We must attack the medium and fast twitch fibers with challenging exercises we can only perform for sets of 10 to 20 repetitions and no more.

So, what about the love button blitz? Let’s summarise. One: no sweets. Two: no junk food. Three: smaller meals consisting of unprocessed foods. Four: more physical activity in any shape or form. Five: repeat steps one to four until you’ve lost enough fat for the rectus abdominis to stand out in bold relief. Six: heavy abdominal training. Did someone say six-pack? Drink all six and relish the rush to push your love buttons.

Matthew Muscat Inglott is a personal trainer at Noble Gym.

www.noble-gym.com