The Truth About Abs

In today’s fitness world there’s probably no body part that’s the focus of more obsession - & more misunderstanding – than the abdominals.

If you’re anything like me, getting a decent six-pack is one of your main goals, a kind of indicator of when you’ve finally ‘made it’ in your fitness program.

And if you’re anything like me you’ve seen all the devices, diet, videos & programs which will give you so-called washboard abs, a six-pack, a flat stomach or ripped abs.

Problem is that many people are just desperate for short-cuts & quick fixes. You know the score - you buy into the hype & shell out hundreds of dollars for the latest gadget. Within a week you’ve grown bored of it or become disillusioned by your lack of results.

Worse still your disillusionment’s often so strong that you give up your quest for abs completely & promptly fall back into your old unhealthy ruts.

So instead let me give you a few tips on how to approach your ab workouts. I guarantee that just being aware of these tips will save you countless hours of ineffective effort & gym wasted sessions.

• Your abs are just like any other muscle in your body & should be trained as such. To effectively build them you’ll need to apply the same gradually-increasing resistance concepts you use for growing, say, your biceps.
  




• Spot reduction is impossible so no matter how many crunches, sit-ups or bicycle kicks you do, you will not get rid of any excess fat around your mid section. If you need to lose excess belly fat, your best bet is to go on a healthy diet and get the right combination of strength and cardiovascular training to maximize fat loss while increasing your metabolism.
  




• Like any other muscle, you should not train your abdominals every day and should wait at least 48 hours in between training sessions of that muscle.





• In order for a muscle to hypertrophy (break down & then regrow stronger), significant external resistance is needed with a rep range of about 8-15. So if you’re able to do hundreds of crunches, you’re better off either finding a new exercise or to find a way to add resistance.

In the world of abdominal training, there seem to be hundreds of new claims being made every day. The best advice in sifting through it all is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Find yourself someone who really knows what they’re talking about & stick with them.