Which ab workouts are the best?  Do you want ab workouts for 6 pack abs or is losing tummy fat most important for you?

If you’ve been wondering, don’t worry, it is something that lots of people are curious about. Unfortunately, there isn’t just one exercise that will work well for everyone. The secret to real success is to regularly do a variety of exercises that will work out your whole body. You can develop your ab muscles with many core exercises, but until you do something that helps lose tummy fat, your ripped abs will be invisible.  Ideally it is a combination of a healthy food menu and regular, consistent exercise.

Obviously there are some exercises that are created just for your abs and you need to make sure to include them if this is a particular area that you want to focus on. We’ll be looking at a few of these below.

Some of the best ab workouts require no equipment, and you don’t have to leave the house to do them.  Situps used to be the ab workout of choice, now crunches are quite popular.  Another ab workout I recommend is the “plank” – keep your body straight, toes on the ground shoulder length apart, elbows on the floor – elbows directly under your shoulder.  See how long you can stay in that position.  30 seconds is a good start.  gradually increase the time until you can stay there (without arching or sagging your back) for 2 minutes or more.

The floor is your friend for ab exercises.  try lying on your back, and keep your arms and legs straight – lift your legs and then your back off the floor and touch your toes.  if your hamstrings aren’t that flexible, you can bend your knees slightly, and over time, straighten your legs … repeat until your belly starts to shake.

Believe it or not, bike riding is an ab exercise you can do – every time you do an upstroke with your leg, you are working your abs and core. There are great benefits to riding a bike and while there are stationary bicycles at the gym, you can also work out in your own home that basically copies the motion of pedaling bicycles. Just lay on your floor or (better) on an exercise mat. Bend your knees at a forty five degree angle, put your hands behind your head and start “pedaling” and while you do touch your right knee to your left elbow and then your left knee to your right elbow and then repeat while you pedal. Do this exercise slowly first and then build up the speed of your repetitions over time.  You can also do this exercise standing up with your hands outstretched and elbows bent laterally – try to touch your right knee to your left elbow, other side, repeat … try doing positive self affirmations while dong this – it will lock in a powerful new mindset for you.

Here’s a secret ab workout that will help you get great results:  tighten up your abs and obliques any time you are lilfting weights, doing the dishes, sitting at your desk, etc… if you aren’t sure what I mean, pretend someone is going to punch you in the stomach … there, feel that?  Just hold that tight pose for 30 seconds periodically throughout the day and you’ll be looking fine on the beach in no time.

Another inexpensive tool that work well for ab workouts is called an ab roller. These are small devices that are easy to store and transport. An ab roller is simply a wheel with handles. You kneel in front of it, holding the handles and roll it away from you as far as you can go – be careful not to hurt your lower back – and then back again.  This motion is wonderful for your ab muscles.  If you want a simple and not very costly exercise machine to help you with your ab workouts, this is a great choice.

There are many machines that help you with ab workouts, but if you look at them closely you’ll find that most of them have you do an exercise that’s similar to traditional crunches in one form or another.

This is because the “crunch” motion is what will work and stimulate the ab area best though the exercise or machine you choose will most likely vary the target between your upper and lower abs. Weighted crunch machines, like you will find at gyms, no matter what brand they may be, are good because they let you control exactly how much resistance is there and you can work your way up to heavier weights.  Be sure to do the lateral movements to get your obliques as well – for example, crunch your right elbow to your left knee, then left elbow to your right knee, repeat … also you can lay on your back with your knees bent and twist your torso from your waist side-to-side, keeping your shoulder blades on the floor to get your side muscles exercised.  This can also be done standing up with dumbbells.

I hope you enjoyed these fitness training tips and ab workouts for 6 pack abs … now be sure to do these exercises – they are great for losing tummy fat and can be a great ab workout for 6 pack abs you’ve been wanting for a while!

This entry was posted on May 18, 2011 at 7:58 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in Ab Workout for 6 Pack by Jim Kaspari Comments Off on Ab Workouts for 6 Pack & Losing Tummy Fat