Abdominal exercises may shrink your middle and zap body fat, but there are some myths you should disregard if a six pack is your goal.

First, no apparatus can help you work your abs any better than you can do yourself – forget that myth.  Such machines are absolutely unnecessary and often useless so please do not spend any money on them.

 The myth that you cannot get a six pack unless you do hundreds of crunches is also untrue.  Not only do crunches not train all of the abdominal muscles, the muscles that are exercised are only very lightly stimulated.

Another myth is that starvation diets work to get fat off your abdominals.  When your body doesn’t get energy from food, it takes energy from fat and muscles – so starvation diets do not work.

The final untrue myth says a pill can help you lose fat and get a six pack.  There is no such fairy tale pill, don’t waste your money because of fancy advertisements.  If you eat right, get enough sleep, and workout well you will get the body you want.

Now that these myths are exposed, how do you get the flat abs you want?

There are many muscle building and/or fat loss plans that will help you lose your belly fat and build your abdominals.  See these reviews for The Truth About Six Pack Abs and Turbulence Training.  There are many other programs out there – if you think you need some assistance beyond this article, find a program that is right for you.  The most important thing in any program is that it fits your lifestyle so you will do it.  For right now, let’s concentrate on the main components of a six pack ab workout.

Fat loss will not reveal a six pack if the pack is not there – only a good workout plan will build your abs so they can be seen once the fat is gone. To grow your abs, like any other muscle, you have to exercise the muscle fibers then allow them to recoup and grow.  work them even more after the rest period.  You will get the best results if you do this routine in the correct sequence and frequency.                                         

Sequence

When you plan a exercise routine, you should plan to work the muscles that are most important to you first.  So, if you want strong abdominals, do your abdominal exercises first to get the most out of your high energy level.

Frequency

Muscles need more rest when they have been trained more intensely.  Abs will only get large with a very intense workout, so you should do high intensity workouts only a few times a week.  A day or two of rest in between intense workouts should be enough for growth and recouperation, so plan on doing only 2 – 4 ab workouts each week.  Remember to really see a six pack, you should work all of your ab muscles: upper abs, lower abs and obliques.

For more information on which body movements train each abdominal group, see Get Washboard Abs.
 

Tags: six-pack abs, washboard abs