Learning how to get abs can seem daunting at first. You're either confronted by so much conflicting information that you don't know what to believe, or you're taught that it all comes down to genetics and it's physically impossible for you to accomplish your goal. Most men are stressed and frustrated with their abdominal training routine but don't know how to change it.
The massive amount of information out there leads to nothing but confusion. That's because most of it is conflicting, causing the individual to deem things 'too confusing'. There are many outdated beliefs still being touted online, which lead nowhere. These include but are not limited to:
* Doing 2000 crunches per day is effective.
* Being small muscles, you need to hit your midsection every single day.
* These muscles don't need weights.
These things promote poor abdominal routines which, despite the person's determination to build a six pack, lead absolutely nowhere. Instead, you'll often see these individuals plodding through overly long, dull routines which are based around the belief that doing 2000 sit-ups per day will get them the results they want.
Simply put, the false beliefs above are outdated and ineffective.
In fact, you can generate better results by spending less time training this muscle group. You just need to get more specific with your exercises, allowing you to hit each part of the muscle with pinpoint accuracy. This takes less time, but will give you a superior end product.
Try the following three-step routine:
1. 20 x Abdominal Crunches with a Swiss Ball
2. 20 x Reverse Crunch
3. 20 x Straight-Leg Crunches with feet on a Swiss Ball
This should be performed as a circuit instead of straight sets. This means you do all reps for each exercise in quick succession, without rest. You can go back round the circuit four times to maximize results.
But why will this relatively short workout outperform long, 2000-rep workouts?
It hits all of the different muscles within the abdominal region effectively. Leg raises, target the lower abs, which is an area that most people store fat but have no idea how to target on the gym floor, whereas crunches target the upper region instead.
Furthermore, the high intensity required during a circuit-style workout raises fat loss by up to 900%. It may feel like cardio and the burn is intense.
However, if you harbor ambitions of developing a lean torso you need to pay particular attention to the following word, otherwise you will fall into the biggest trap most guys make in the gym. That word is variety. Even if your existing workout is good, it will not stimulate fresh results forever. The body is a clever machine built only to progress when it is physically incapable of performing it's tasks in it's current state. You must continue adding new exercises and changing your approach to keep it guessing.
Learning how to get abs is not as difficult as it once was. There is quality information out there and I encourage you to go find it in your own time. Look to develop your routines even further by adding weighted exercises into your workouts. Ignore the myth that weighted exercises will give you big, bulky, unattractive abs - the reason bodybuilders have bulky abs is the fact that they are using human growth hormone, which causes the intestines to bloat up and push their abs out, it has nothing to do with using weights during their abdominal workouts.
The massive amount of information out there leads to nothing but confusion. That's because most of it is conflicting, causing the individual to deem things 'too confusing'. There are many outdated beliefs still being touted online, which lead nowhere. These include but are not limited to:
* Doing 2000 crunches per day is effective.
* Being small muscles, you need to hit your midsection every single day.
* These muscles don't need weights.
These things promote poor abdominal routines which, despite the person's determination to build a six pack, lead absolutely nowhere. Instead, you'll often see these individuals plodding through overly long, dull routines which are based around the belief that doing 2000 sit-ups per day will get them the results they want.
Simply put, the false beliefs above are outdated and ineffective.
In fact, you can generate better results by spending less time training this muscle group. You just need to get more specific with your exercises, allowing you to hit each part of the muscle with pinpoint accuracy. This takes less time, but will give you a superior end product.
Try the following three-step routine:
1. 20 x Abdominal Crunches with a Swiss Ball
2. 20 x Reverse Crunch
3. 20 x Straight-Leg Crunches with feet on a Swiss Ball
This should be performed as a circuit instead of straight sets. This means you do all reps for each exercise in quick succession, without rest. You can go back round the circuit four times to maximize results.
But why will this relatively short workout outperform long, 2000-rep workouts?
It hits all of the different muscles within the abdominal region effectively. Leg raises, target the lower abs, which is an area that most people store fat but have no idea how to target on the gym floor, whereas crunches target the upper region instead.
Furthermore, the high intensity required during a circuit-style workout raises fat loss by up to 900%. It may feel like cardio and the burn is intense.
However, if you harbor ambitions of developing a lean torso you need to pay particular attention to the following word, otherwise you will fall into the biggest trap most guys make in the gym. That word is variety. Even if your existing workout is good, it will not stimulate fresh results forever. The body is a clever machine built only to progress when it is physically incapable of performing it's tasks in it's current state. You must continue adding new exercises and changing your approach to keep it guessing.
Learning how to get abs is not as difficult as it once was. There is quality information out there and I encourage you to go find it in your own time. Look to develop your routines even further by adding weighted exercises into your workouts. Ignore the myth that weighted exercises will give you big, bulky, unattractive abs - the reason bodybuilders have bulky abs is the fact that they are using human growth hormone, which causes the intestines to bloat up and push their abs out, it has nothing to do with using weights during their abdominal workouts.
About the Author:
You writer: You can learn how to get abs with the complete workout clip from Russ Howe PTI. Russ is an in-demand trainer who answers tough gym myths such as should you train abs with weight and more on his free personal training blog each week.