By Vince
DelMonte
When it
comes to
getting
a solid
six
pack,
doing
the
right ab
exercises
is
crucial.
You can
spend
hours
doing
needless
sit-ups
that
aren't
really
going to
have all
that
much
benefit,
much to
your
disappointment.
Taking
the time
to
choose
smart ab
exercises
will
save you
not only
gym
time,
but a
great
deal of
frustration
as well.
In this
article
we will
discuss
the best
lower ab
exercises
and the
best
home ab
exercises
as well.
The
best
movements
for the
abdominal
muscles
are
going to
be ones
that
reduce
your
overall
stability.
The
reason
for this
is
because
this
will
require
all your
muscle
tissues,
even the
ones
deep
within
the
core, to
contract
in order
to
maintain
balance.
When you
perform
regular
sit-ups,
for
example,
they are
really
only
going to
target
the more
superficial
muscles;
one that
will
still
help,
but not
get you
near the
results
you
could be
seeing.
So
what ab
exercises
are ones
that
reduce
your
balance?
Basically,
anything
done on
an
unstable
surface
is going
to get
the job
done.
This
would
include
movements
such as
walking
across a
balance
beam,
performing
one leg
squats,
one arm
shoulder
presses,
or bent
over
dumbbell
rows
standing
on one
leg and
of
course,
utilizing
an
exercise
ball for
any
laying
abdominal
movement
you
perform.
Working
on a
BOSU
ball and
stability
ball ab
exercises
are also
excellent
options.
As long
as you
have a
set of
free
weights
and
stability
ball
then
these
would
qualify
as your
best
home ab
exercises
as well.
By
far the
most
effective
lower ab
exercises
are
hanging
leg
raises
while
you use
your
lower
abs to
rotate
your
pelvis
which is
the
secret
to
performing
this
effectively.
Lying
leg
raises,
lying
leg
raises
on a 45
degree
incline
and
cable
crunches
are also
rock
hard ab
exercises.
Another
area you
might
want to
venture
into
with
your
lower ab
workouts
are
those
that
utilize
heavy
weights.
While
this
will not
necessarily
get you
'cut' so
that all
your
individual
muscles
are
showing
- that
takes
having
low
levels
of body
fat,
what
weighted
movements
will do
is help
further
build
the
muscle
tissue
and make
your abs
"pop".
The
more
muscle
mass you
have,
the
faster
your
metabolic
rate
will
then be,
so in an
indirect
way,
that
could in
fact
help you
burn off
excess
body
fat.
Furthermore,
doing
weighted
movements
will
also
increase
your
strength
greatly,
reducing
the risk
of
injuries
from any
other
type of
exercise
you may
attempt.
Weighted
ball
crunches
with a
stability
ball on
your
chest is
my
favourite
home ab
exercises.
When
choosing
when to
perform
your ab
exercises,
if you
are
looking
for
performance,
do them
on a
separate
day from
all your
other
work.
Just
like any
muscle
group,
you want
to be
fresh
when you
do them.
If,
on the
other
hand,
you are
more
just
doing
them to
help
build
some
strength,
but more
to round
out your
exercise
program,
then you
should
be doing
them at
the end
of your
workout
session.
This
will
prevent
them
from
fatiguing
early,
because
they are
going to
be
predominately
used in
all the
other
lifts
you
perform
(heavy
squats
for
example).
In
many
cases
this
rule can
be bent
though.
For
example,
if a
client
comes to
me and
their
abs are
the
weakest
muscle
group
then
performing
them at
the end
of the
workout
makes no
sense
because
they
will be
pre
fatigued
from the
workout
and you
will not
be able
to train
them as
intensely
so
prioritizing
your abs
at the
start of
the
workout
can
become
the
exception
in this
case.
So,
next
time you
are
creating
your
workout
and are
picking
out ab
exercises,
keep
these
points
in mind.
Having
good
dedication
to
performing
these
exercises
on a
regular
basis
and then
following
a clean
diet
based
around
raw
vegetables
and
proteins
are the
two main
components
to
developing
that
six-pack
you're
hoping
for.
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About
the
Author:
Vince
DelMonte
is
the
author
of
Your
Six
Pack
Quest
found
at
www.YourSixPackQuest.com
He
specializes
in
helping
chubby
guys
and
gals
get
six
pack
abs
without
gimmicks,
supplements
or
dieting.