Having 6 pack abs is a life long goal for many.
Few would disagree that achieving that nice, toned looked on your stomach area is a universal sign of fitness, health, and attractiveness.
But the sad truth is that most people approach this goal the wrong way.
The marketplace is saturated with fitness programs and ab products that suggest the way to get a nice, toned stomach is by doing hundreds of crunches or situps.
Unfortunately, this information couldn't be further from the truth.
Here are the top 3 reasons why crunches and situps are not effective for getting 6 pack abs: 1) Situps & Crunches Don't Burn Abdominal Fat.
- Situps & Crunches do tone the abdominal muscles, but what they fail to do is burn the fat above the abdominal muscles.
The biggest problem most people encounter when trying to get 6 pack abs is that their body fat percentage is too high.
As long as you have excess belly fat covering your ab muscles, you won't be able to see them.
2) You Can't Spot Train.
- Working a certain area of the body doesn't equal results.
This is true for the abdominal area as well as any other area of the body.
Spot training may certainly tone or build up endurance in the muscle group worked, but it doesn't burn fat, which is the main factor that will prevent anyone from seeing results.
3) Situps & Crunches Can Cause Back Injury.
- When performing situps & crunches, you are actually putting strain on the most vulnerable part of your back.
What most people don't realize is that the bend of the situp is in the same area of the spine that has the most nerves.
Each repetition brings your one step closer to throwing out a disk and putting you at risk for damaging one or more of your nerves.
So what are the best exercises to getting a flat, toned stomach? The answer would be high intensity, full body workouts that include multi-joint exercises.
Multi-joint exercises are exercises that use multiple muscle groups simultaneously, including the core.
These exercises work many muscle groups at the same time and the result is building more muscle.
Lean muscle mass burns fat, so the more you have of it, the more fat you will burn.
Lean muscle mass also causes an increased metabolic rate which is another advantage to aid your fat burning efforts.
Some excellent multi-joint exercises include pull ups, push ups, squats, deadlifts, and lunges.
All of these use your entire body as a whole.
Although each of these exercises targets a certain area of the body, they also work the entire body at the same time, including the core, which works the abs.
These exercises will help you build full body strength and gain a nice looking physique.
Another extremely important aspect of getting defined ab muscles is following a proper nutrition program.
This aspect of getting 6 pack abs is often times not taken seriously enough.
Even if you are doing all the right fat burning exercises, you may never see the results you want to if you are not eating the right foods.
For optimal results, you should avoid saturated fats, hydrogenated oils, deep fried foods, candy and sweets, and all processed foods.
In addition to avoiding these unhealthy foods, it is all important to provide your body with an abundance of vitamins & minerals it needs to rebuild muscle tissue.
Make sure to eat lots of fruits & vegetables, whole grains, and high quality, lean proteins in your diet.