subject: The Best Exercises For Mens Abs That You Did Not Even Know Existed [print this page] OK, OK, you might have known they existed, but I bet you did not realize that they work the abs. That is because the best exercises for men who want to work their abs are weight lifting exercises. Why? Because getting a great set of abs is all about building muscle and burning fat and, fortunately, muscle burns fat. This is because muscle weighs more than fat and the body must work harder to carry itself throughout the day.
But, let us take a look at this more closely. To lose a pound of ab obscuring fat you need to burn 3,500 calories. Typical ab workouts do not burn anywhere near this amount. In fact, when you consider that the average person only burns 2,000 calories in an average day, you can see how little sit ups and crunches do to reach your goals.
To burn these kind of calories we are going to do exercises that are referred to as compound or multi joint exercises. These work multiple muscle groups at the same time. Now there are plenty of compound exercises and different types of equipment to do them. One of my favorite of these exercises is the clean and jerk where you lift a barbell from the floor to above your head. This works your entire body and your abs too because it acts as a stabilizing mechanism during the lift. Because you are exerting so much energy (moving a weight from the floor to well over your head) you expend such effort that you will go into a metabolic shock and be burning calories at a higher rate for days after.
Exercises like the dead lift, squat, military press, one armed dumbbell snatch and others also have the same effect on your metabolism, allowing you to reduce your overall body fat percentage well after the workout is over as well as working your abs indirectly.
If you use a kettlebell, however, you can target your core muscles, including your abs, in a way that barbells just do not allow. If you are unfamiliar with a kettlebell it is a piece of Russian equipment that looks like a cannonball with a handle. Because of its design it is ideal for swinging between your legs.
Now, this action may not look like it does anything but you will feel it in the muscles of your core, including your abs. People who work out with KBs on a regular basis doing KB swings always typically have lean rock hard abs like a Greek statue.
