If you thought that abdominal crunches could get you six pack abs quickly then you are wrong. Many of us have performed crunches thinking that it will give us sculpted abdominals. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.
Why crunches don't do the job?
Abdominal crunches only work when the underlying layers of fat have been burnt. So if you have fat layers on top of your abs then doing crunches will not help reveal the abs below. Crunches primarily work at toning the ab muscles and that only shows when the fat is gone. Thus the first step is to remove all the fat layers in the abdomen and then work on crunches. Only then can one attain sculpted abs quickly.
The best way to get leaner:
Since the first attempt should be at removing the fatty areas of the abs the only way to do so is through cardio exercises. These exercises raise the metabolic rate and help burn fat faster. While you perform cardio routines you should focus on exercises that build on lean muscles. Building lean muscle is important so that you do not lose out on muscle while burning fat. More lean muscle mass also contributes to a faster metabolic rate which in turn melts fat quicker.
Cardio exercises you can do:
It is not always necessary to go to a gym or buy an expensive piece of equipment to do cardio. Often the simplest and most inexpensive methods work the best and give you the best results. For example, if you have a skipping rope you can jump rope for just 10 to 15 minutes a day to get a leaner, more sculpted look. Plus, you will also notice your stomach getting flatter and more sculpted. You can even hit the pool now that summer's here, to achieve a toned look in your body. Even jogging for 20 to 30 minutes a day can do wonders in making you slimmer. Brisk walks and climbing up the stairs work great too. Even intensive household chores do the job well! So whoever said cardio had to be expensive didn't know what they were talking about!
Interval training: why it is so great:
You might have heard the buzz about interval training. Most celebrities swear by it and even ordinary folks have gone this route as far as cardio is concerned. Interval training is performing cardio training in short bursts. Each session will be intense and will last a few minutes. So let's say you use the jump rope for your cardio sessions. You could try jumping rope intensely for 2 minutes then follow that by slow jumps for 30 seconds and so on. Alternate this method for 10 minutes. However, since this kind of cardio puts a lot of stress on the joints and bones you should not do interval training more than twice per week. If you also want to do cardio daily opt for a slow long approach on other days of the week.
