Fitness

Sculpt Your Abs into the Perfect Six Pack


Posted by Simon on 23 March 2008 11:44:30

When we think of abs, we normally mean the rectus abdominus muscle that forms the six pack of the stomach area. However, to get the perfect mid-section you also need to work your obliques and transverse abdominus muscles too.

Rectus abdominus and obliques

The Bicycle

This great exercise works the rectus abdominus as well as the obliques.

  1. Begin by lying on your back and placing your hands behind your head with your elbows out to the side.
  2. Bring your knees in towards your chest and raise your shoulders slightly off the floor. Make sure you don’t pull on your neck.
  3. Straighten your right leg so it’s at about 45 degrees from the floor. At the same time, twist the upper body to the left, bringing the left knee and right elbow together.
  4. Then swap sides, by straightening the left leg and bending the right knee and bringing the right knee and left elbow together.
  5. Keep repeating this pedalling action for 12-20 repetitions.

Stability Ball Crunch

Crunches performed on an exercise ball will work the rectus abdominus (six pack) muscle.

Start with the ball under your lower/mid back, your feet on the floor and your knees bent. Either cross your arms across your chest or place your hands behind your head.

Curl your chest towards your pelvis by contracting your abs, whilst focussing on keeping the ball stationary.

The Plank

The plank is great for building strength in the lower back and core stabilizer muscles. In addition it’ll work your transverse abdominus muscle which acts like a corset around the abdomen. Training this muscle will help prevent lower back injuries and keep your stomach looking flat and trim.

  1. Start by lying face down on the floor, resting on your forearms with palms on the floor.
  2. Raise yourself off the floor onto your toes and elbows.
  3. Hold the position for 20-60 seconds.

Make sure, you keep a straight line running from your head to your feet and keep your abs contracted to stop your bum sticking up in the air.

Hanging Leg Raises

Leg raises are a superb exercise for developing the rectus abdominus muscles. The exercise especially focuses on the lower part of your six pack.

You can perform this exercise either supported in a captain’s chair, or hanging by your arms from pull-up handles.

Begin the exercise by contracting your abs to pull your knees up towards your chest and then lower again to the starting position.

Keep your knees bent as you pull them up because keeping the legs straight focuses the effort more on your hip-flexor muscles rather than your abdominals and this can put excessive strain on your lower back.

Perform the exercise slowly, in a controlled manner. On the way down, your knees should be lowered rather than dropped. This will help to ensure you don’t swing and over extend your lower back at the bottom of the movement.

Reverse Crunch

This is another great exercise for working the rectus abdominus muscle.

  1. Start by lying on the floor, face up with your arms by your sides.
  2. With your knees bent at 90 degrees, bring them in towards your chest.
  3. Curl your hips off the floor by contracting your abs.
  4. Lower the hips and repeat the motion.

The movement should only be very small; focus on just contracting the abdominal muscles.

Build Size to Your Abs

As with any exercise, performing many repetitions with low resistance will build endurance, whilst performing fewer repetitions with higher resistance builds muscle size.

You can increase the resistance when performing crunches by placing a weight on your chest and crossing your arms over it.

Lose the Fat to Reveal Your Abs

Finally, it’s no good having great abdominal muscles if they’re hidden under a layer of fat. You’ll need to strip that away with cardio-vascular exercise, for example running, cycling etc.

Try the interval training technique for a quick way to burn fat and combine it with a low GI diet. You’ll have a six pack to envy in no time at all.

Social Bookmarking: