subject: Stop doing sit-ups, and get your abs! [print this page] This may seem wierd at first what I am saying but trust me doing sit-ups is not the way to get your abdominal muscles showing. The thing is you can do thousands upon thousands of sit-ups, crunches, leg raises and other ab workouts but you won't get the desired results because of one main reason.
Now this is not the case for everyone, for some people doing ab exercises is all they need. This is because there body fat percentage is going to be around the 6-10 % mark which is when you will start seeing your ab muscles.
So now maybe your beginning to realise what im saying, if your body fat percentage is say 15% or higher it doesn't matter how many ab exercises you do all your doing is building muscle underneath your belly. So in fact your actually going to make your belly look bigger because the muscle will push it out. Im sure no one wants that.
If you want to get them abs showing you need to first of all burn away that fat. For this I recommend a good cardio session 3-4 times a week, maybe more but not none of this boring cardio where you run on a treadmill non stop at the same pace for 30-60 minutes, or where you sit on an exercise bike at the same pace for a similar time. The truth is that doesn't really give you much of a good workout and your not really burning that fat off.
What you want to do is what's known as 'stop & go' movements. This is a much more effective way of doing cardio, and a lot less boring! So how do you do it? Basically do what is says on the tin. You want to do quick exertions of a fast pace followed by a rest period.
Lets look at the treadmill for example. Start off at a walking pacefor 3-4 minutes just as a warmup. Then you want to do a light jog ora light run (depending on your ability) for 1 minute. Followed by a minute and a half of fast walking which is your rest period. Then another minute of slightly faster running, followed by slightly slower walking. Keep repeating this for 20-30 mins for a very intensive workout, that will and this is the key drop that weight off you! You can also apply this to all types of cardio machines.
That takes care off burning the fat away but you still do also want to build muscle to get the definition. Still no or little ab exercises though. Focus on things like squats, deadlifts, chin ups, pull ups and exercises like the plank and side plank. Because these exercises use more than just one muscle group they will not only build muscle but help turn fat into muscle and so effectively burn it off!
Try out these tips and get your six pack abs that you've dreamed and longed for. Remember your nutrition is key for this to avoid the bad fatty foods to help with the exercise.
