Last year I tried Splits Training. It was fine. I learned a few new stretches. However, I began their plan believing that I would be able to do the splits in thirty days. Instead, it was a thirty-day program promising that I would eventually get there. One day… I liked it well enough to keep it around and I still go through the motions once in a while.

My tablet kept recommending that I try out Six Pack in 30 Days. I figured, why not? I could use a new challenge. It was also by Leap Fitness. What did I have to lose? I do not need to be an MMA fighter or a Marvel actor. Let us not go crazy. I only wanted to see what would happen.

Why try it?

• I am in (a) shape. It would not kill me. Probably.
• I have never had rock hard abs. I do fine. I have strength. But not intensely so.
• If I am offered a new challenge, and I can succeed at it? Neat.

The Attempt

There are three choices. You can Lose Weight, acquire Rock Hard Abs, or go full-out for Six Pack Abs. I do not have much weight to lose, so I went for RHA. I did that for seven workouts. It was fine. I could feel my stomach muscles being used, but I was barely breaking a sweat. After the first week, I stepped it up to SPA and started again.

And yes. I broke a sweat. I also quickly learned that I do not like V-Ups. Nope. Not a fan. The X-Man Crunch was frustrating to begin with. However, like most things, it got easier over time. After a few weeks, I was not grunting so loudly.

(Pro tip: If you are going to try this workout, say, at three in the morning? Make sure your neighbors have no other reason to complain about you.)

Look, I could talk you through each day. Or, I could show you. This is what day thirty of RHA looks like.

The Results

I am sure my form is not perfect. I skipped one exercise. But I made it. I stuck it out until the end.

Ta da!

As for the results? Well, nothing too huge. (There are no images of me on the internet with my shirt off. We are going to keep it that way. Clingy-shirt will have to suffice.)

I tend to average around one hundred and sixty-four pounds. My waist stays at thirty-two inches. I checked every five days. About two-thirds in, I had gained an inch in circumference. Then, at the end of last week, I gained another. Movies had me assuming that it would all be in the front. However, as you would know if you had watched me perform, I am a skinny, skinny bloke. More muscle wrapped around the sides and back of my core is not a bad thing. I will take it.

Reasons to Walk Away

• Three hours a week. That is what it takes. Once you get up to the last days, the program requires thirty-five minutes. You are instructed to exercise three days a week, take a day off, and go back for another three. Do you have an extra one hundred and eighty minutes a week? Huh? The program does not factor in that I also like to run, keep my arms in shape, and, oh, I dunno, sleep.
• To get this done before work, I was up at 2 or 2:30 a.m. 4 a.m. on weekends. A guy cannot keep that up for long.
• I like being skinny. Skinny has always worked for me. I do not want excessive bulk. I do not want to be a model. Fit is great. Concurrently, I would like my pants to fit.
• Apparently, bodybuilding is thirty percent workout and seventy percent diet. I am not going to eat six thousand calories a day. I like chicken, I do. But I decline to alter my intake. (I am sure the bird population thanks me.)

Muscle is swell. It builds confidence, it keeps me from injuring myself, and it keeps my annual physical simple. However, I am a runner. If you told me I was not allowed to ever lift a weight or do a push-up ever again, I would be fine. Take away running, and I will go full cranky-pants.

Six Pack in 30 Days works. It reminded me that I have long, lean muscles, not short, round muscles like some. My development is always going to be more elongated than others’. Okay. Noted.

I may stick with it another month to see what develops. As long as I do not gain too much weight, and the zipper on my pants does not protest, I can keep going a tad bit longer.

Even when I am done, I will still keep it on my tablet. It offers a solid workout with results.

Somebody has to burn off all the pizza I like to eat.