Get The Six Pack Abs You Want By Losing Weight And Exercising Right

How many people have you seen incorporating all sorts of abs exercises into their workout routine, yet only a few of them actually achieve those six pack abs that everyone is after? Maybe you're finding yourself in this situation, following a dedicated workout routine but without getting the results you want. If so, you're certainly not alone. But why does this happen? Why are some people able to get a firm and toned rack of abs while everyone else is left struggling?

You may not be aware, but the abdominals are actually one of the easiest muscle groups to build. If you're doing regular abs workouts, you may already have a great six pack. It could simply be hiding underneath a layer of belly fat. Since belly fat accumulates in direct proportion to your body fat ratio, to get rippling six pack abs, reducing overall body fat to less than 10% is the way to go. Once you've burned that extra fat off, you can begin focusing on specific abs exercises.

Now speaking of abs exercises, this is another place where many people go off track. Losing body fat can get you a flat belly, but getting abs with definition requires doing abs exercises, and not just any abs exercises. There is a correct way to go about exercising the abs that will focus on the right muscles and get the best results.

It's a common myth that sit-ups will get you more definition and tone in your abs. The truth is that sit-ups are really not one of the most effective exercises for this purpose. For one, they offer a low level of resistance with a high number of repetitions. For building muscle, this is the opposite of what you want. Also, they're really not an exercise that's specific to the abs. The next time you do a set of sit-ups, try this: Put your hands on your hips as you go and raise your upper body. You should feel the muscles in your beltline flexing. Those are called the hip flexor muscles, and they're the ones that are doing most of the work. You upper body is actually staying fairly straight, which doesn't allow your abs to work very hard.

So what about stomach crunches? Crunches can actually be great for toning your abs, but only if you know how to do them correctly. Think about why they're called crunches. It's because you need to bend forward and squeeze the muscles in your stomach. To get the best workout, you need to curl up as tight as you can go and let go of all of your air. Holding in air actually fills up your abdomen too, as the diaphragm pushes everything down to make room for your expanding lungs. This is why breathing everything out is especially important for crunches. When you curl your upper body, let go of your breath slowly over the course of several seconds, and hold yourself in that position so that you feel the burning sensation in your abs. Doing dozens of quick repetitions does very little for you. If you're doing your crunches properly, you'll find that you won't be able to do very many of them before you ab muscles start to feel tired. You should apply this same squeezing principle to the other abs exercises you do.

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how to get a great looking set of six pack abs. Just focus on reducing body fat and exercising in the correct form, and you'll be the example that everyone else looks to for getting great looking abs.

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