Whats the best way to wrk out abs?!


Question:

Whats the best way to wrk out abs?

like a six pack?....how long will it take?...how many sets should i do?


Answers:

The truth about abs? You have to approach getting your abs into that much desired washboard appearance in at least two ways.

First is your diet. You can do all the abdominal exercises you want and if you don't eat correctly you'll always have a layer of fat covering your hard earned muscle. In short, cut out refined sugars, processed foods and saturated fats. Your diet should consist of high quality lean protein, complex carbs with a low glycemic index and low fat content but high in omega 3's.

Second is your exercise. This will include doing direct ab exercises and lots of cardio. Remember that layer of fat covering the muscle? You want to lose that. Definition has more to do with lower levels of surface body fat than it does with large muscles. Now for the ab exercises... First tip you must ALWAYS remember when doing abs. The abdominal muscles flex you at the waist and NOT at the hips. There is a difference. The rectus abdominus (6-pack muscles) connect up under your breast bone and way down at your pubic bone. When these muscles contract they bring both connections close together - thus flexing you at the waist. Hip flexors connect your legs to your hips. When you lie on the floor and do leg raises you're working the hip flexors more than your abs so it's not a very effective exercise for abdominals. Make sense?

You should do a variety of exercises to work your whole abdominal core as a whole. You want to be as bullet proof as you look right? Your basic upper body crunch is a great start. Do reverse trunk curls (lie on the floor or bench, reach behind you and hold something stable and curl your lower body up towards your ribs) or hanging trunk curls (hold a chin bar or use ab slings and raise your lower body up towards your ribs... very difficult). Remember to twisting movements for your oblique muscles. Also never forget to work on your transverse abdominal muscle. That's the deep abdominal muscle that runs across your waist from the center tendon around your back to your hips and spine. This muscle is your natural weight belt. The weight belts used today are made to do the job of this muscle. Make that strong and you'll more than likely never need a weight belt in your life.

How long will it take? It depends on you and how much work you put into it. I know it sounds like a cop out but it's true. Can you put all the pieces together at the same time and do it with enough consistency? Then you'll see results sooner rather than later.

How many sets should I do? You know I've always told my clients, and lived by the rule, that your abs are a muscle (more than one actually, but you get the idea) like any other muscle. I know some people think it's best to do super high repetitions for abs. I stick to doing reps to failure like any other muscle. I use weights for my abs also. Don't be afraid of getting that ugly distended look the pro bodybuilders have. They get that from years of abusing growth hormone and not because they use weights for their abs. Just put your ab workout into your regular split routine and hit them as hard as you would any other muscle group.

Good luck!




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