Doing regular sit ups or crunches will not only give you back problems but doesn't really help in develping your core and revealing your stomach muscles. Our core / stomach muscles are more complex than you may think and need to be worked in three different planes of motion for optimal results. Doing regular situps and crunches is both unnatural and only addresses one plane of movement, and it's not very good at doing that.
As well as taking the core / stomach muscles through 3 different planes of movement the body fat covering the abdominals must also be addressed. Forget the old wives tale about spot reducing fat, this simply isn't the case, hundreds of situps won't burn stomach fat - fat naturally comes off in layers from all over the body. The only way to reduce stomach fat is with a good total body exercise programme and by eating a healthy diet.
Remember that we all have stomach muscles waiting to be seen under our belly fat but in order to increase their size and make them more visable they need to be trained like any other body part. So, a combination of the correct abdominal / core exercises, a healthy diet and a good all over body routine will bring your 6 pack abs out for all to see.
I have found the following 6 exercises to be the best for stabalising your core and reducing potential back pain whilst bringing your abdominals / obliques to the surface.
1. The Side Plank - keep your hips inline, belly button in and maintain this postition for as long as possible. Start with 30 secs and increase up to 2 minutes over time. Breathe!
2. The Front Plank - keep your body in a straight line, belly button in and arms at 90 degrees. Start with 30 secs and increase up to 2 minutes over time. Breathe!
3. The Bird Dog - keep your back flat, belly button pulled in, thumb up and out at 45 degrees. Opposite leg goes straight back. Start with 6 reps on each side and work up to 3 sets of 12.
4. The Front Mountain Climber - in a press up position with you back flat and belly button pulled in bring your knee straight up to your chest. Breathe out as you do so and contract your abdominals as if you were being punched in the stomach. Take leg back and repeat. Start with 6 on each side and work up to 3 sets of 12.
5. The Outside Mountain Climber - as above but drop your hips slightly and bring your knee to the outside of your elbow. Squeeze the side of your stomach, your obliques, together as if being folded in half sideways.
6. The Inside Mountain Climber - as with the above mountain climber but bring your knee across and squeeze the side of your stomach muscles (obliques).
Perform all these exercises 3 times a week along with your regular workout for the ultimate strong core and the highly ellusive six pack stomach muscles.
Good luck and enjoy your new abs!!
Copyright (c) 2007 Greg Brookes
In my opinion, all you need to do to get 6-pack abs is this...
Lose belly fat with nutrition, intervals, and resistance training.
More specifically...
First, start by improving the quality of the food you eat. No more processed carbohydrates, no more sugar, no more deep-fried foods, no more fast food, and no more sodas or juices. Simply making these changes will help you lose stomach fat fast, and you'll drop your body fat percentage in just days.
Next, you need to spend more time on the basic workout methods, such as total body strength training and interval training, and less time on boring, ineffective ab training exercises. Doing hundreds of crunches won't get you results. And doing long, slow boring cardio is also an inefficient way to burn belly fat and see your 6-pack abs.
According to researchers from Australia, including Professor Steve Boucher, the only way to spot reduce belly fat is to use interval training. Intervals destroy body fat.
Once you've taken care of your nutrition, resistance training, and interval training, you can start with basic abdominal workouts. Here's what you need to know, and this will surprise you!
1) Beginners should stay the heck away from situps and crunch-type movements until they master the Plank, Side Plank, and Bird Dog.
Don't do situps.
2) Here are some my favorite no-crunch ab movements for intermediate exercisers...
a) the Stability Ball Rollout (also can be done with the Ab Wheel or as a Barbell Rollout)
b) the Stability Ball Jackknife
c) the Plank with Your Arms on the Ball (which according to research quoted in Mens Health, this exercise works your abs 30% harder thanregular Plank - all without messing your low back).
Okay, so I've given my controversial advice about what beginners and intermediate fitness levels should do for abs...Get ready for Men's Health expert Craig Ballantyne to reveal his belly fat burning strategies.
But first, I want to mention some "unknown" ab builders...
a) The Elevated Pushup
b) Straight Arm Cable Pullover
c) Front Squat
d) DB Pullover & even DB Triceps Extensions with extra stretch
All great total body moves to have in your program to burn calories and build abs at the same time.
3) What do you really need to do to bring out your abs once you have your body fat low?
My favorite advanced ab exercise is Cable Crunches, which are without a doubt, the best resistance exercise for building abs. There are several ways to do them, with one version being safer but just as effective as all other versions.
You can get ripped abs without ab workouts.
It shocks people, but it is true. If you want to lose stomach fat fast and see your six pack abs, focus on your nutrition, total body strength training, and interval training before you even consider adding more reps to your current ab workout.
Both Greg Brookes & Craig Ballantyne are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Greg Brookes has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Personal Trainer and Fitness. Greg is a health and fitness professional based in Hampstead, North London. He achieves fantastic results for his clients by using his indepth knowledge and the most up to date techniques.. Greg Brookes's top article generates over 2900 views. Bookmark Greg Brookes to your Favourites.
Craig Ballantyne has sinced written about articles on various topics from lose 10 pounds, Fitness and Fat Loss. Men's Health expert Craig Ballantyne has designed the trademarked Turbulence Training home fat burning workouts to help thousands of men and women with weight loss an. Craig Ballantyne's top article generates over 301000 views. Bookmark Craig Ballantyne to your Favourites.