Building Award-Winning Six Pack Abs

One of the hallmarks of complete physique development is having six pack abs. You can pound away at the weights but if you have weak ab development or a coating of fat around it, you won't be winning a bodybuilding contest anytime soon.

The ability to get "ripped" is mostly a function of diet, with some aerobic training usually thrown in but that is not the focus of this article. We are going to concentrate on what it takes to build the muscle necessary to display great ab development.

If you think back to gym class in grade school or high school, you may remember doing dozens of situps in an effort to "burn off fat" and strengthen the stomach muscles. Unfortunately, these old school methods are wrong on many counts.

First of all, since the ab region is comprised of one of the smaller muscle groups in the body, doing endless sets and reps of situps and crunches will burn an insufficient amount of calories to lean you out. You are far better off using a routine consisting of compound exercises, especially ones where the legs are the main muscle being used. The reason for this is the legs require far more energy during training because they are the body's largest muscle. Thus, they burn more fat.

More Muscle = Less Fat

The more muscle you carry on your body, the less fat you tend to have. Muscle burns a lot of calories both when its working and when at rest. Even while relaxing muscle burns many times more calories than other tissue. So a sound strategy is to build as much muscle as possible when you are younger and preserve as much as possible as you age. If you begin bodybuilding when you are older it is still possible to add a good amount of muscle to your frame, so don't feel you are late to the game. Train hard and get plenty of rest and good nutrition and you will succeed.

Misconceptions About Ab Muscles

A common misconception regarding abs is they are endurance muscles, and as such, must be trained using high sets and reps in order to grow larger and stronger. This is not correct, in fact, they need to be trained in much the same way as other muscles. All muscles grow as a result of the correct amount of stress, or stimulus, put on them during a training session and respond during periods of rest. This necessitates the use of moderate weights and reps. A good rep range to use is 12-20. Vary the reps with different exercises as each rep count affects the abs in a different way.

Keep in mind that you don't want to add too much mass to the abs because that will give you a thicker waist appearance, something you want to avoid if you desire the much-sought after v-taper. Train the entire abdominal area including the upper and lower abs, serratus and obliques so you end up with complete development.

Abdominal Training Routines

Beginner

Ab Crunches-1x20
Leg Raises-1x20

End all sets 1-2 reps before muscular failure. Rest one minute between sets.

Intermediate

Ab Crunches-1x20
Leg Raises-1x20
Ab wheel-1x10

End all sets 1 rep before muscular failure. Take a 20-30 second rest between sets depending on conditioning.

Advanced

Reverse Crunch-1x20

Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Place your hands at your sides by the floor for support. Slowly bend your legs at the knees bringing them towards your chest. Once the knees are by your chest, raise your shoulders and torso as far as possible from the ground in a curling movement without raising your back from the floor. Return your legs to the starting position and bring your torso back to the floor.
Hanging Leg Raises-1x12

Do these while hanging from a chin-up bar, preferably using ab straps for support.

Weighted Side Bends with Dumbbell-1x20 each side

Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your side. Lean as far as you can to your left side. Reverse direction and lean as far right as you can. Repeat until unable to complete another rep.

Training Details

All sets are to be taken to total muscular failure; that is until no more reps can be completed. Do these exercises as a giant set- as soon as you complete one exercise go to the next one without any rest. Since you are at an advanced level of High Intensity Training, one set of each exercise carried to muscular exhaustion is all you will need to build and strengthen all musculature in this region.

As you can see there is a natural progression from beginner to advanced. The beginner ends sets 1-2 reps before failure because the main focus is on learning proper exercise form. The intermediate bodybuilder finishes his/her sets just shy of failure, continuing to emphasize proper form and adding additional resistance to the exercises to facilitate gains in strength and development.

The advanced trainee is ready to safely push himself/herself to the limit and has gained the ability to focus the resistance on the muscle. Because of a heightened level of strength and ability to apply greater intensity to the abs, three sets is all that is needed.

The usual time-frame from beginner to advanced bodybuilder is: beginner progression to intermediate three months of training, intermediate to advanced an additional 3-6 months of training.

Keep in mind there are other great exercises to train this area, I have outlined a few of the most common to get you started.


David Groscup has over 35 years of training experience in HIT, or High Intensity Weight Training. He is certified as a High Intensity Trainer by the IART/Med-Ex Group.

He has authored several books on the subject, which are available at: http://www.amazon.com/author/davidgroscup

You can read his blog on High Intensity Training at: http://drhitshighintensitybodybuilding.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/David_R_Groscup/1799078

The 7 Step Plan To Get Sexy Six Pack Abs In 21 Days

Trying to get those sexy six pack abs? In this article, I'm going to give you the 7 step plan to get sexy six pack abs in 21 days.

Step 1:

Are you ready? Are you willing to commit and never quit? If not, do not read on. In order to get six pack abs, a lean muscular body, and lose weight, you must be willing to commit...for life, not just a few days, weeks, or months. That is the first step to losing weight, improving your health and getting a great body. Ever so often do we all speak about something we want to accomplish, but never do what it takes to succeed.

Step 2:

Water. You have to drink plenty of water if you want to form your body into a lean, muscular, fat-less sculpture with ripped six pack abs. Your body needs water to build lean muscle and burn fat. Drink ice cold water as an added benefit since your body will burn fat to warm the water to body temperature.

Step 3:

Sleep. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep EVERY night is very important for not just burning off fat and losing weight, but also your overall health. I know most of us want to see that favorite TV show/movie, etc., which is more than likely the #1 reason people do not go to bed at a reasonable time, but you're going to have to weigh your options here: watch The Late Night Show or Get a Sexy Beach Body??

Step 4:

Weight Training. Cardio alone is not going to do it. You can not burn fat, lose weight, and sculpt a lean body by simply just doing cardio. You have to do some form of weight training. Building muscle will give your metabolism a rocket boost. Make sure that within 15 - 30 minutes after your workout, you have some form of protein to help in restoring your worked muscles.

Step 5:

Rest. I'm not talking about sleep here. I'm talking about resting your body after weight training. Over working your muscles will do more damage than good. The way I workout is that I work a specific body part on each day, therefore giving that particular muscle a full 7 days rest. For example: On Mondays, I work my legs, on Tuesday, I work my shoulders, on Wednesday, I work my back, on Thursday, I work my arms, and on Friday, I work my chest.

Step 6:

Eat a lot. Did I catch you off guard? What I mean is to eat several small meals through out the day instead of the usual 3 course. Doing this will increase your metabolism, which will ultimately lead to burning off a lot of fat, and ultimately sculpt those sexy six pack abs you want. Make sure that the foods you eat are nutrient rich, high in fiber, and high in protein.

Step 7:

The obvious and most popular step - do ab exercises. Although this is the most popular step, it's also the most mis-understood. Why? Well, most think that by simply just doing this step will burn off belly fat and get you those killer abs. Sorry. You must do the previous steps along with step 7 in order to really reap the reward...sexy six pack abs. There are billions of different machines, etc. out there promising hot six pack abs. Doing traditional exercises, from my own and other peoples research, will sculpt six pack abs faster than any device. It's simple. Crunches, side crunches, leg raises....it doesn't get any more simple than that. However, the one misconception, which ultimately leads to lack of results, is quantity. Just by doing a lot of crunches doesn't necessarily mean you'll get killer abs. The way you will sculpt abs quickly is by doing slow concentrated (squeeze your abdominal muscles at the positive point of the repetition - which is when you lift up) repetitions (reps).


Are you ready to start burning off fat and get rock hard, sexy six pack abs? Are you having difficulties in burning off belly fat so that you can reveal those hidden ab muscles? Click Here to find out the additional steps to burn off fat lightning fast, get healthier, and reveal your hidden, sexy, lean muscular body....with those highly desired six pack abs. This program will teach you how to burn fat and keep it off.

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Flat Six Pack Abs - The Secrets

First things first. You may well believe that exercise is the key to a solid flat six pack but, think again. No matter how many hours you spend in the gym your six pack will still be hidden under any excess body fat. So first you need to diet and get your body fat to under 10%. Failing this means that you are never ever going to be able to see your six-pack! You have to focus on the big picture and focus on exercising your legs, back and chest. Training your large muscle groups will help to stimulate your metabolism and the fat burning hormones that will turn you into a lean machine. This will help develop your six pack and put it on show. Maximum definition comes from losing body fat, not exercising your abs.

You need to live a healthy lifestyle that includes eating the right nutritional foods. Living a healthy and fit lifestyle will help to make you confident, energetic, strong and youthful. Making this commitment will keep help you to beat the obesity epidemic and help to minimise the risks such as, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, etc.

There is so much information out there on how to easily achieve a six pack, yet a lot of the information is misleading and will not work. In fact some of the information is dangerous. So please always apply common sense before following what the self proclaimed experts are saying.

The three key points that you should address if you want a solid six pack are;

1. Your diet. You must get this well under control. The media gives out conflicting advice that only serves to confuse people. You must follow a diet that promotes fat loss. You have to get your fat levels under 10% if you want to succeed.

2. Once you have your diet sorted you need to focus on the intensity of your workouts. Do not just exercise your mid region as this is another mistake that many people make. Focus on working your whole body. This will help to get the best metabolic response. This will help you to burn fat. High intensity workouts with short rest periods, working the largest muscle groups of the body, instead of trying to isolate specific small muscles like the biceps, triceps, or calves

3. I have found that too many people make the classic mistake of concentrating on sit ups and crunches. Unless the person is really out of condition this really is a waste of time. Crunches actually provide the least amount of resistance and it is resistance exercises that we want if we are to succeed as this develops and tones the muscles. Probably one of the most resistant exercises that will work your abs are 'Hanging Leg Raises', when performed correctly. Most people do these wrong when they are trying to concentrate the resistance on their six pack. The key to working on your abs is to curl your pelvis up as you raise your legs. I have not seen many people exercise like this. Admittedly this type of hanging leg raise is not for the beginner. A certain amount of practice is called for if you want to do this type of exercise correctly.

Any kind of hanging abs exercises will help, as well as some good floor exercises. The most effective exercises are various forms of swings and snatches, squats, deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, clean & presses, mountain climbers, sprinting, and other full body exercises. If you want great looking abs, focus on those instead of focusing so much on training the abs directly!

Your diet should be natural avoiding processed food that make a diet unhealthy. Processed foods also wreck your metabolism and hormone balance in your body. Whole grain foods are better for you than refined grains. Nuts, avocados, eggs, fish and similar foods. Natural healthy foods are best. Foods that promote lean muscle and not fat.


I do hope that my passion for fitness inspires people to take action and improve how they look and feel for life. Keep your way of life healthy. Make sure to leave a comment and visit my blog where content really is king. I cover some great ab exercises in my free eBook available for free at my blog. http://www.dietnslim.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Suzie_Bang/2182660