Best Way to Get Six Pack Abs

                

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There are still many fitness trainers that believe the best way to get six pack abs is by doing many repetitions of crunches and sit ups on a daily basis. They go on to believe that it is all about focusing on one set of muscles and targeting that set of muscles with several sets of the same type of exercise routines.

The good news is that there is a better approach to developing six pack abs, and monotonous repetitions of crunches and sit-ups are not included on a daily basis in this effective approach to achieving six pack abs.

Numerous studies have shown that the abdominal muscles should be treated like all other muscles in your body.

That being said, abdominals muscles should only be exercised once every other day. This allows the muscles to have at least one day of rest so that it may build itself up to the next level. Doing many repetitions of crunches and sit-ups on a daily basis will do nothing more that cause overall fatigue to your abdominal muscles.

Actually, crunches and sit-ups should only be performed once or twice a week. It is shown that a better method of exercising the abdominal muscles is by not targeting them with specialized exercises, but instead by performing compound exercises and interval training.

Compound exercises and interval training are effective because they are able to maintain muscle mass while at the same time burning body fat. Interval training burns energy long after you have left the gym. That means that fat is burnt away even when you are not exercising!

By using this approach to exercising your abdominal muscles, you will be well on your way to developing some well defined six pack abs.

Remember that a combination of a healthy low-fat diet and well designed exercise program is the best way to develop six pack abs without the risk of injury. This also ensures that you get maximum results in the shortest time frame possible.

If you would like to know which abs exercise program we highly recommend, click here

Challenge Your Abs!

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

How do you train your abs?
Abdominal training is a priority for many people but few know to train for real results. I know many folks training their abs almost everyday: they do hundred and hundred of crunches (or similar exercises) per week. What happens? No results, and after a few weeks or months they quit!

There are two big mistakes when these people work their abs:

- They use the same kind of exercise, they never change: when you start an exercise program and you are out of shape, it’s ok to do sets of crunches or similar exercises. But after a while, this exercise become easy, unless you do more and more reps. Imagine you have to do 5 sets of 100 or 200 reps to feel your abs! Most people don’t have the time and they stay with the basic framework of 20 or 30 reps and a few sets. It’s boring, there is no challenge, they reach a plateau and stay there forever!

- High reps mean low intensity, it means endurance work (at least at the beginning). To get results you need intense workouts; it can be short but intense, there is no compromise, intensity is the key!

My advice: challenge yourself and pick up a few tough abdominal exercises like this one: do hanging leg raises and straighten the legs, it is a basic exercise for a gymnast but it will be challenging for most people. Do low reps in a slow motion and feel your abs: 5 to 8 reps, 3 to 5 sets and you’re done in a few minutes. If this exercise is too difficult, start with this one: do a normal hanging leg raise (legs flexed) then straighten the legs at the horizontal and slowly go down. Don’t drop the legs, stay in control and feel the abs. Challenge yourself!

Dominique Paris is a Strength and Conditioning Coach who provides powerful and functional fitness and exercise tips that keeps you focused on results while having fun. To create the body of your dreams and to finally feel healthy visit http://www.gladiator-fitness.com

Toning Your Abs - Common Exercising Myths

                

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1. The 'Chew Then Crunch' Myth

Crunches are good exercises for toning the abs and stomach if done properly and combined with a low fat diet. However many people think they can continue to eat what they want and end their day with 100 crunches to "work off" all the bad stuff they put in their body throughout the day.

If you're not lowering your fat intake by watching what you eat, it doesn't matter how many exercises and crunches you perform. Not only will you see zero results, but you may actually see your stomach increase in size!

This is because you're building muscle underneath the existing fat. We all have flat stomachs, it's just that some have layers and layers of fat on top of that muscle we must get rid of first.

You've got to work off that existing fat first by training and toning your abs and stomach area.

I had this problem when I first started exercising. I didn't lower my caloric or fat intake much but I started doing crunches. For three months straight I did my 8-minute ab routine like clockwork. I couldn't understand why I wasn't seeing results. In fact, my stomach started protruding even more.

Well after doing lots of reading I discovered that I was going to also change my diet if I was going to see the results I wanted.

2. The Numbers Myth

Twenty-five good, quality crunches are much better than 250 half-done crunches. Many people just want to get it over with so they lie down and do as many fast crunches as they can while lacking in quality.

The best thing to do is perform 4 sets of 20-25 solid crunches while resting 90 seconds in between each set. That is a much more effective way of training your abs than 250 lackluster crunches in a row.

3. The Spot Toning Myth

This is the one that frustrates me. I have always been very thin and recently started gaining weight in my hips and thigh area. I welcomed the added pounds because it gave me a curvier figure. Unfortunately it also left we with a slightly flabby stomach.

I wanted to keep the hips and thighs but lose the stomach so I started exercising my stomach and abs by doing pilates and crunches.

Well, I didn't see any results. I discovered through reading that you can't just spot tone because if you only focus on one area (ie. your tummy), you won't raise your metabolism enough to burn that extra belly fat. So the key to flattening your stomach area is to increase your body's metabolism so it can effectively get rid of those layers of excess tummy fat.

A total body exercise is the key to slimming your waistline.

4. The Six Pack Myth

Whether you're a man or woman, we'd all love to have that solid six pack to show off when we're at the pool right? Well, what most people don't realize is that solid abs don't start in the gym, they start in the kitchen. If your body contains a lot of fat, your abs won't show no matter how much you exercise.

Your first goal should be to lose that fat, and it starts with your diet. Decrease the amount of fat and calories you consume and increase the amount of protein. Protein is an absolute necessity for ridding fat and building muscle.

5. The Running Myth

Did you know that running does very little when it comes to toning your stomach? This is because it can cause your pelvis to pull forward and arching of your lower back.

Don't get me wrong, running is good for you and can burn a lot of calories, but if you aren't doing any other stomach toning exercises in conjunction with running you'll see little if any results.

Conclusion

Hopefully you've learned that flattening your stomach is not about doing 100 crunches per day. It's about total body fitness and changing your overall diet.

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Lisa Irby is the author of http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com, a site that encourages people to understand their bodies before they begin that ab workout.