Who doesn’t want rock hard abs and a classic six pack? Pretty much everyone who takes their training seriously is trying to reach the perfect set of abdominal muscles. If you’re struggling to achieve a six pack it could be that you’re training in the wrong way.
The stumbling block to getting a six pack is rarely not training enough, it’s training incorrectly. As with many fitness goals, people tend to think that it’s always about exercising more. But the time you spend working on your abdominal muscles has relatively little impact on the length of time it takes to get a six pack.
Quality of your training is more important than quantity
Just like training any other muscle group, it’s all about the quality of your reps, not the quantity. Smaller amounts of key exercises that properly target the area will get you there faster. Another common error is forcing out extremely high sets of reps under the impression that’s the only way to get six pack abs. The reality is, the longer your workout lasts, the harder it is to keep up the consistency needed to maximise the development of your muscle mass.
Here’s how to develop a six pack safely and effectively. Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to the six pack you’ve always wanted.
1.Engage the abs properly
Your abdominal muscles are properly called rectus abdominis and their jobs is to extend and flex your spine. It’s important to understand this before you start your crunches, as it’s common to focus on the wrong muscles when training. Many people who think they’re working their abs are actually engaging their hip flexors.
Abs are a muscle group, in the same way as the chest, back or quads are muscle groups. They should be trained in the same way. You should lengthen the muscle in the first instance, hold tension in it and then contract to the shortest position. The best way is to work to improve the range you can handle on a specific move before you start adding in resistance.
2. Improve the range of movement in your abs
Many people naturally have quite a poor range of movement in their abdominals. This means they don’t properly engage the right muscles. And this is why you should go back to basics before you start your hardcore abs routine.
The most effective abs workout includes exercise you execute perfectly, getting the most out of every expansion and contraction. Start with a small number of key exercises, include an abs crunch over a gym ball, incline bench reverse crunches and barbell rollouts. Take your time perfecting these exercises before moving on to any more advanced exercises.
3. Master the movements properly
Start with a gym ball crunch and spend a week just lying over the ball working on your stretch. You’ll probably find you shake when you are stretching, which stops you achieving the full contraction. After a week move on contracting halfway for seven days, and so on through the whole movement. If you perform these movements slowly and carefully you will get the proper benefit from them.
You’ll know you have the movement mastered when you stop shaking so much and it becomes easier to contract. When you are ready and can consistently form crunches using proper form, start adding weight. For example, you could hold a light weight across your chest as you perform the crunches.
Progression is key, and you must always be feeling tension in your abdominals. When you lower your body, you should feel your abs lengthening until it’s not possible to go any lower. This is when you should contract your abs hard to return to original position.
4. Don’t swing your hips
Before you move onto more advanced exercises like the hanging leg raise, start with the incline bench reverse crunch. This will make sure you focus on your abs and stop swinging your hips. Most people performing abs crunches of all kinds are swinging too much. This stops them achieving a meaningful contraction of their muscles.
5. Be consistent and get the reps right
How often you train is important, and the best way is to train your abs twice a week. People new to ab training should stick to foundation exercises, while regular exercisers can do the more advanced crunches and exercises.
The majority of people aren’t strong enough to train their abs in the correct way for lots of reps. Start with three sets of around ten reps. The important thing is to keep total and constant tension on the abs. The speed should be quite slow, and you should take about three seconds to lower and raise. This ensures the abs are going through the movement correctly.
6. Lose weight and get lean
No matter how much work you put into your abs, if you’re not lean enough, you won’t see a six pack. Lots of people train their abs hard but fail to achieve their coveted abs, because of the layer of fat over them. If you are training this hard, then you should put the same effort into losing the fat so that you can see it pay off.
About Surya G. Iacono
Surya Iacono is a fitness and wellness expert and blogger based in London, UK. Surya’s fitness blogs are aimed at keen gym-goers and exercise fans already well into their journey and looking for tips, tricks and ideas to take it to the next level.