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 ab exercises 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 favorite 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 >>> http://get6packabs.com/

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

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