subject: Guidelines to Setting Up Workouts For Your Abs [print this page] Whatever you want to call it, six-pack, cut abs, flat stomach, it all boils down to the same thing: getting the look you want. Knowing the right exercises and workout routines for your abs is going to be crucial to you looking the way you want to look on the beach or anywhere else that a lot of skin is showing.
So, if you want to make your friends secretly jealous of your waistline (and let's face it, we all do want that), here's the basics on what you need to know.
The first thing I want to hammer home is variety, variety, variety. Doing the same exercises over and over until your eyes go crossed with boredom isn't going to help anybody. As you experiment with all the different ways to workout your abs, you'll find some that work better for you than others and some that you like more than others.
Just make sure to mix and match them up as much as possible. Getting a six pack is a marathon, not a sprint. What I mean by that is, you need to create a routine that works for YOU, and works for you for the long term. It doesn't do you any good to do crunches for a week and then stop.
Let's continue by making something SUPER important clear: there's more than just a front to your abs. I know that everyone wants that six pack, but remember, the abdominal muscles have a side (called the obliques) and a back (called extensors) as well. You need to work all three. This is maybe the most important idea to take away from this article.
You can do crunches for the front part of your core abdominal muscles- I like to use the exercise ball because it creates some instability, which forces all of your other muscles to kick in and help out as well.
For the sides, I prefer side planks- they look like a push-up done from the side. Some people have problems performing this exercise because their shoulders aren't strong enough to hold them up. That's okay. You can just prop yourself up on your elbow instead.
For the back, using a hyperextension machine at the gym is what I prefer. If you don't have access to a gym, you can do what I call the Superman exercise, which is lie on your stomach and lift your arms and legs up like you're pretending that you are flying like Superman. Raise and lower alternating arm/leg combos to really feel this one.
Another great way to work this area is Pilates. I'm a huge fan of this program, because it follows what I think is the most important part of any core routine- that you do not use heavy weights to exercise this area.
If you use heavy weights, you build bulk. That's a rule with any muscle. Write it down, shout it out loud, do whatever you have to do to burn it into your brain, because you probably don't want to make your stomach get bulkier. If you're reading this article, odds are, you want to make your stomach smaller.
So, use light weights and many repetitions (like crunches) or hold a sustained posture for a period of time (side planks, Pilates, that sort of thing). This will tone your muscles without creating a lot of bulk.
The most important things to take away from this article is to remember that there are a side and back to the abs as well as a front, that you need to vary your routine so that you don't get bored and quit, and you need to keep the resistance light in order to avoid bulking up those muscles. Remember these three things, and you're well on your way to making your friends secretly envy you on the beach.
