Having six pack abs is about the ultimate goal for anybody that wants to work out. However, it also seems to be the hardest to achieve. 
Defining any other muscle seems to go ok, but when it comes to those six packs, we can crunch and pull, push and bend as much as we want, yet nothing seems to happen. There are so many different types of workout machines available that focus specifically on working the six pack that we often don’t know which ones to get anymore. Luckily, you will be happy to know that there is no need to buy any complicated machines anymore (although some of them do work and are actually very good), and that all you need are the following workouts to develop that amazing six pack ab once and for all.
The Preparation Work
Before you start to do anything, you have to first burn the fat that surrounds them, toning up your abs rather than defining them. Once you have done that, you can start thinking about defining your abs and making them stand out.
There are 2 different types of exercises to get abs. There are exercises to get abs to show, and there are exercises to get abs toned.
These require different types of exercises. For instance, to get them toned (which you need to do first), you can do push throughs, sit ups, planks, mountain climbers, bicycles and a range of hanging exercise. In fact, hanging exercises are generally the best ones for your abs and may start to do some work towards actually showing and defining them. Consider knee raises, leg raises, hip thrusts and windmills, all from a hanging position.
Once you have done this and you have started to tone, it is time to work on actually showing those abs. There are loads of exercises that you can do, including squats, high knees, push ups, burpees, body rows and box humps to name but a few. As you can see, it is a fallacy if people tell you that only the sit up will help your abs. Let’s take a look at some specific exercises you could do to really get that burn going.
Ab Wheel Rollouts
Ab wheel rollouts are absolutely fantastic to build amazing abs. They have been recommended by fitness guru Cory Gregory.
The ab wheel just might be the king device of abdominal movements. It’s one of the few cases where the $5 Wal-Mart special pans out. Ab roll-outs involve heavy spinal flexion, anti-extension, and intense transverse abdominis stimulation. It’s an all-out war on your core. After you complete 25 reps, immediately move to the next exercise.
A lot of fitness experts are recommending taking very little breaks between burst of exercise, thereby not giving your muscles the time to cool back down, instead forcing them to stay active and burn more fat. Whether you are able to cope with this depends on your own abilities. However, it is also something you can build up to, thereby increasing the difficult of your workout.
Vertical Leg Crunches
Vertical leg crunches are amazing, because you can work on them and make them slightly different to target specific areas of your abs.
Lie on the floor and extend the legs straight up with knees crossed. Place your hands behind the head for support, but avoid pulling on the neck. Contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor, as though reaching your chest towards your feet. Keep the legs in a fixed position and imagine bringing your belly button towards your spine at the top of the movement. Lower and repeat for 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps.
The way you can change this exercise is by placing your legs in a different way. For instance, you can place your legs vertically straight, or you can lift them to the right or the to left, thereby working on different parts of your muscles.
Resistance Exercises
Some say that the exact movements you do don’t really matter, so long as they involve resistance training.
To get the best results you should train your abs with resistance exercises. No one trains their chest with 50+ rep sets of bench presses with an empty bar, so why do so many people train their abs with 50+ rep sets of crunches.
Hence, you could consider incline bench sit-ups, leg raises, cable crunches, hyper extensions, and side bends.
The Reverse Crunch
If you have ever tried to workout your abs, you will probably have done crunches. And, if you are like everybody else in the world, you will absolutely hate the crunches. Effective though they may be, they are so dull and boring that you are more likely to completely give up on your exercise regime and never achieve those gorgeous six pack abs. However, why not alternate the crunch with the reverse crunch?
This consists of you lying on the ground on your back with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle and your legs held together. You can also keep your hands at your side, or even behind your ears, whichever is more to your liking. Contract your abs as you concentrate on lifting up your hips in towards the rib cage. Take a breath in while you contract, and exhale as you go back to the starting position. This exercise also works on the muscles of your thighs.
The best thing about this is that you can combine the regular crunch with the reverse crunch. That way, you no longer have to get totally bored with your routine, which makes it so much more likely that you will fail altogether. Instead, you can keep things exciting and interesting. Best of all, because the reverse crunch works on your thighs as well, you will end up with not just that amazing six pack on your abs, but also with well toned and defined legs. Considering summer is nearly upon us, it means you can get your swimming trunks out and know you will look great.
