Read and Research

Research is the first and most sensible step toward preparing for any battle plan – in this case, fighting off unwanted flab. You don’t just pick up a book or go online and read; you actually delve deeper into the subject and get as much information as you can to aid you in your objective.

As a researcher, you’re also an investigator. You explore the “what,”  “why,” “when,” “where,” “who,” and “how” of the subject, especially with the question at hand: how to get six pack abs.  You gather as much information as you can, verify your sources, and relate everything you’ve learned.

Sometimes, getting a fitness instructor is not enough. They can teach you a lot of things, but you can’t just take their word without doing some research of your own. You would still have to do the work, both on the floor and on your computer.

For example, if your trainer’s six pack abs plan includes expensive and unnecessary bodybuilding supplements, you should know better than to take them without doing any research first.

Create Specific Goals

Creating your own set of goals is the next technique on how to get six pack abs. Instead of just thinking, “I want six pack abs,” make your goal more specific; think “I want six pack abs in six months” instead. The more concrete you are about your objective and the time frame you give yourself to reach that goal, the easier it would be for you to attain it.

Your goal should include a vision, a specific time frame, and a list of steps you need to perform to realize the vision. Here’s an example of those steps:

• Create a workout journal
• Buy a six pack abs video
• Incorporate other exercises into my six pack abs plan (e.g. cardio)

Consistency

Consistency is the key to any successful game plan. An unfailing attitude and the desire for continued progress are fundamental. These will help you understand how to get six pack abs and KEEP THEM.

Go ahead and take a crack at it. Research limitless information on how to get easy six pack abs, set specific yet realistic goals, and follow through. Learn the 5 most common six pack abs mistake…

Still struggling to get a six pack abs? Share what you have been doing to get one by adding a comment below.

If you’ve been dying to make your spare tire into a six-pack, you are not alone. Sculpting abdominal muscles seems to be a national obsession. Just look at the amount of infomercials on television in the last few years that have products claiming to create the washboard stomach of your dreams!

Fortunately, there are effective six pack abs muscle exercises that you can do in your very own home, with very little equipment that will sculpt your body the way that you want!

Before we start describing the six pack abs muscle exercises, there are a few tips we need to cover. First, know that in order to create the washboard stomach of your dreams…you need to commit to doing the exercises! This is not something that’s going to happen overnight, folks. Practice makes perfect, and regular exercise makes a perfect set of abs.

Secondly, spot training like these ab exercises work…but only if you don’t have a huge layer of fat covering up your stomach. If you are overweight, you need to commit to doing aerobic workouts too to whittle down your overall weight. Only then will you be able to see the benefits of your six pack abs muscle exercises.

Finally, get a journal, spreadsheet, wall calendar..whatever you like…to track your progress. Invest in a tape measure (they are really not that expensive) and record your waist size weekly. On the weeks that you feel you aren’t getting anywhere, look back to your measurements. Those will show you the real picture!

Now on to the six pack abs muscle exercises!

1. Abdominal Crunch

You can perform this lying on the ground or leaning on a large fitness ball. This old standby will sculpt your abs like no other exercise out there. Place your hands lightly on the sides of your head and lean your head back. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and then lift your chin towards the ceiling. Even though it sounds odd, the tongue part is really important!

2. Alternating Leg Extensions

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Bring both of your knees up into the air, and then extend one leg out in front of you. Keep the other knee pulled in. At the same time, bring your opposite shoulder towards the bent knee. Try to touch your elbow to your opposite knee. Switch sides and repeat.

3. Reverse Crunch

This really helps target the lower abdominal muscles. Lie with your arms out toward your sides and palms against the floor. Lift your hips and bent knees off of the floor by pulling in your lower abs. Then return them to the floor.

These six pack abs muscle exercise should be repeated on alternating days, or every day, depending on your fitness level. Remember to track your progress and give yourself time to sculpt your middle.

Did you know that most people today carry excess abdominal fat? Many studies have already proven that around 70% of people in first world countries like the United States are now either overweight or obese. Most of these people carry not only unsightly but also dangerous belly fat. In fact, there are numerous belly fat health risks that are already proven.

Health Problems related to Belly Fat

A new study conducted by the highly regarded Mayo Clinic proved that people who have excess belly fat are at a greater risk of having health problems. However, belly fat is more common in men compared to women. Here’s a fact for you. Men tend to store fat in the abdominal area while women tend to store fat in other areas like the hips and legs.

Nevertheless, regardless of sex and overall weight, carrying a large amount of belly fat increases risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, insulin resistance and many other health problems.

Types of Belly Fat

Let’s examine this idea closely. There are actually two types of belly fat namely subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is the type of belly fat that is located directly beneath the skin above the abdominal muscles. On the other hand, visceral fat is the type of belly fat that is located deeper in the abdomen beneath the abdominal muscles. Visceral fat surrounds the internal organs.

Now, listen closely. Although both types of belly fat are serious health risk factors, several studies indicate that visceral fat is more dangerous compared to subcutaneous fat. This is because this particular type of belly fat releases more toxic substances to the body.

How to Minimize or Eliminate Belly Fat Health Risks

Here’s the bottom line. The best way to minimize or eliminate these serious health risks of belly fat is to reduce belly fat or to lose excess weight. To stress, the best way to do so is through a proper diet and exercise program. Focus here. You cannot spot-reduce or specifically lose belly fat through abdominal exercises, okay? You have to create a daily calorie deficit by eating less and exercising more.

Everyone knows that although dieting alone works, exercising helps make the process faster. Also, exercise has numerous health benefits like better cardiovascular health, new brain cell development, anti-depressant properties and many more.

Fact! A high carbohydrate diet leads to insulin resistance after some time and this is one of the major reasons why some people carry more visceral fat. This means that you have to minimize sugar and starch intake in order to prevent the accumulation of visceral fat. Also, according to studies, high fructose intake is one of the major causes of having excess visceral fat. In terms of exercise, the best way to reduce visceral fat is through high intensity exercise like interval training and circuit training. Undeniably, these are proven to be more effective in weight loss and reducing belly fat compared to traditional low intensity cardiovascular exercise and abdominal exercises.

Do you have your own belly fat health issues? Share with others how you conquered them.

The best exercises for lower absdon’t require going to the gym, buying equipment, or hiring a trainer. The secret is so simple that you can do it right now, in your home.

You just need to do these 3 things to get great abs:

1. Know your abs and what works them
2. Follow a healthy diet
3. Work your cardiovascular system

Before you begin, you should know that technically, there are no separate upper and lower abdominal muscles; they are a group of muscles that are all connected.

So, does targeting your upper and lower abs differently matter?

Experts disagree on the answer, but science has proven that some movements target the lower abs more effectively than others.

The best excerises for lower abs are:

1. Curls
2. Crunches
3. Bicycles
4. Knee to Chest Stretch

1. Curl

• Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat.
• Place your hands on your abdomen.
• Tighten your abdominal muscles and press your lower back against the floor.
• Slowly curl yourself up, raising your head and shoulders.
• Uncurl back down, slowly lowering yourself back to the floor.

2. Crunches

• Lie down on the floor.
• Bend your knees and place your hands across your chest.
• Contract your abdominal muscles.
• Bring your shoulder blades up off of the floor several inches while bringing your knees up at the same time.
• Hold this position for a few seconds and then lower yourself.

3. Bicycle

• Lie flat on the floor.
• Rest your hands up next to your head and bring your knees halfway up.
• Begin a bicycling motion with your legs.
• Alternate between touching your left elbow to your right knee and your right elbow to your left knee and repeat.

4. Knee to Chest Stretch

• Lie on the floor with your knees bent and flat feet.
• Bring one knee toward your chest. You can use your hands if you need to.
• Hold your knee near your chest for ten seconds and lower your leg slowly.
• Repeat with your other knee.
• Hold the stretch for as long as you feel comfortable and then repeat.

Perform these 2-3 times per week with at least one day of rest between each workout session. Start with 5-10 repetitions for each exercise and move up to 3 sets of 20 repetitions with you feel stronger.

Also, remember that following a low fat diet and performing regular cardio workouts, such as walking or running is a significant part of any ab training routine.

By performing these excerises for lower abs as part of a healthy fitness routine, you will become stronger, fitter, and see your abs like you’ve never seen them before.

Beauty experts today are realizing that a well defined body can be more attractive, but, thousands of years ago, classical cultures knew women with abs were sexier.

Ever wonder why all those sculptures of Grecian Goddesses have six pack abs?

In recent history, men have been the sex with all the muscles – abs on women were rare. Activity that could result in abdominal development was strictly men’s work or play.

Employment of women was restricted by social convention and only the poorest women worked outside of the home. Still fewer worked at physical labor. The odd exceptions to the rule were acrobats and circus performers, neither of which was a socially respectable occupation.

Until the last century, most women did not participate in sports or outdoor activities that would lead to well toned abs. While housework was backbreaking at times, unless you were out back chopping wood, it did not lead to abdominal development.

If you did get muscles, you couldn’t show them off. There was no one to appreciate them.

The accepted view of attractive feminine appearance had been soft and round since the early Christian Era. Muscles and tans were out. It meant you worked, which wasn’t attractive back then.

Going back 2,000 years to the periods of Classical Greek and Aegean History, artistic depictions often showed strong musculature and women with abs would have been the rule. Young girls were expected to compete athletically against males, on equal terms, and most of that competition was done naked!

They ran, jumped, threw the javelin and discus, and even wrestled. A beautiful female body was well developed and it would have been natural to see women with abs competing in the nude, or semi-nude, with men in their own age group.

Like athletics, labor was more physically demanding, and the kinds of exercise women did resulted in more developed physiques, as well. In general, average people were healthier, and their view of beauty reflected that.

During the Renaissance, many classical themes were revived, but the view of feminine beauty was still drawn from Church convention. Most women were depicted as images of saintliness. Icons that were delicate and divine had flourished for centuries, and all artists found it hard to break with the formula.

Going forward again, 2,000 years to Victorian times, bare skin was not only immodest, it was illegal. Only women of the lowest moral character exposed any part of the body below the neck.

With the invention of the modern bathing suit, women had the first real chance in centuries to participate in athletics that were demanding enough to improve the way they looked. Waists got slimmer, corsets came off, and fashion began to emphasize other areas of the body besides cleavage.

Feminine beauty has had many guises, and after centuries of social manipulation, the ideal feminine form has finally returned to the classical. Women with fit abs and cut muscles are the ideal of what is attractive, again.

For the sake of health and appearance, maybe the current trend can stay around for a while.

The crunch is probably the most vital core exercise in an abdominal workout. This is also one of the easiest ways to work abs. The problem is it often is performed incorrectly, which causes pain, strain, and avoidance.

One of the most important things to remember about crunches is that any work your neck is doing is work that your abs is not. The purpose of crunches is to work out your abs, not your neck. You need to be sure that you are letting your abdominal muscles do the work for you and not relying on other muscles or momentum.

In addition to the pain involved in crunches, many people give up on these because they do not see immediate results. If you want visible results for your exercise efforts then the easiest way to work abs is by focusing on your obliques. Oblique crunches are popular for achieving this and will provide dramatic results that others will notice.

An oblique crunch is a traditional crunch with a twist, literally. These may not exactly be the easiest way to work abs, but they do provide the easiest results for your efforts. I consider easy by the amount of effort necessary for the same amount of results and these are by far the most effective abdominal exercises.

If you are one who seriously opposes crunches as the easiest way to work abs, then there are a few alternatives you may find interesting. There is a method of exercising known as the they Matthew’s Method, which includes absolutely no crunches or sit ups. The thing to remember is that you should feel some strain when doing these exercises or you aren’t doing them correctly.

These are not the easiest way to work abs, but they do provide an excellent workout and they deliver results when done correctly. Some of the common Mathew’s Method exercises include: The Oblique Bug, The Oblique Squeeze, The Superman Sling (this is a great exercise for the lower back), The Frog, and The Twisted Frog.

The important thing to remember about all abdominal exercises is that there isn’t one easiest way to work abs. You must find the one that is easiest for you. We all have different issues to address in our workouts. These exercises are a great place to start and use trial and error to find the ones that work best for your particular needs and goals.