subject: 10 Great Exercises To Get Washboard Abs [print this page] The only way to get washboard abs is to burn a lot of fat. For men you need to be under 10% body fat and for women you need to be below 16%. Now, most people go about trying to get washboard abs by doing exercises that concentrate on the abs. However, those exercises do not burn nearly enough calories and that is what most of us need to do, burn calories and reduce body fat.
The best and fastest way to burn fat is to build muscle. This is because muscle weighs more than fat and the body has to work harder to carry itself and, consequently, it burns more fat. But the kind of weight lifting exercises you do also make a difference. You need to do what are referred to as compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time. These are exercises like the dead lift, clean and jerk, bench press, squat, military press and others. These types of exercises cause you to exert so much effort that your body actually goes into an anabolic shock and burns calories at a higher rate for days on end.
The best piece of weight lifting equipment for burning fat is without a doubt the kettle bell (KB). This device looks like a cannon ball with a handle and is so versatile that there are literally hundreds of different compound exercises and exercise combinations that you can do. Researchers have discovered that you can burn up to 20 calories a minute using a KB.
Because of the design of the KB there are hundreds, if not thousands, of more exercises you can do as opposed to barbells and dumbbells. I have mentioned some great exercises above that can be done with either barbells, dumbbells or kettlebells. But, here are some more that are strictly limited to KBs. Halos, in which you hole the KB in your hands and circle it around your head in both directions. Figure 8s, in which you pass the KB between your legs from hand to hand, bottoms up military press in which you press the KB above your head with the bottom of the weight facing upward. Kettlebell swings in which you swing the KB from between your legs with one hand or two and thrust out with your hips.
The great thing about KBs is that they not only work the muscles of your abs, they burn fat so you can see the results of your labor.
So, here is my vote for the top ten exercises to do in order to get washboard abs.
