There are a plethora of different abdominal exercises that are widely used in gyms around the world. Things like crunches, planks pose, sit ups, side bends, twists and obliques are probably used by almost everyone who walks through a gym these days. In addition, there are a plethora of new equipment sold on TV that target the abdominal muscles. Each of these devices promise the world in a few short minutes a day easily. We see models, smiles on the faces, just by forcing a few easy movements and somehow, we think it will be the same for us. So why do these exercises and machines do not always work as expected?
It is fair to say that almost every single abdominal exercise there was a certain advantage. They are almost all to strengthen your abdominal muscles, but some are better than others. But after strong abs is not synonymous with having a six pack.
For example, have you ever seen a tough man contest? These men bouncing cannonballs out of their abdominal area, sometimes! Their abdomen is as strong as it gets, but it is almost never one of those people that looks like a ripped body builder. Conversely, take a look at professional athletes, boxers, for example. Boxers have a very strong stomach as well, but you see almost always well-defined abdominal muscles. So what's the difference?
The answer is one word .... FAT. There is a layer of fat covering your muscles you need to take in order to see them! Yes, we all know that fat is the enemy of the realization of this aspect torn. So why is it that almost every fitness magazine focuses on the cutting edge of new abdominal exercises to give you a six pack? We learned that the burn we feel when the execution of many repetitions is a good thing, and partly it is because you work your muscles hard. But the burn is just lactic acid development and is not really something to burn fat.
Sit-ups burn very few calories. This applies to almost every single abdominal exercise. This does not mean one second that these exercises are not absolutely necessary. However, the secret to getting six pack abs is to lose the layer of fat covering them. In addition to food, which means a simple thing, performing exercises that burn fat.
Short burst, high intensity exercises are one of the best ways to burn fat. If done correctly, they can burn up to 9 times more fat in just 4 minutes to an hour of steady state cardio. These high intensity exercise is one of the fastest ways to help achieve a six pack because of their ability to burn fat. Rather than make a very difficult long drive in which you burn lots of calories and end hunger, with a short burst high intensity exercise your body uses fat as an energy source and no carbohydrates. This helps to eliminate hunger felt powerful hours after training.
In short, you are much better to spend about 5 minutes of abdominal exercises and the rest of the time of burning of fat covering them. The next time you think to spend time doing 3000 crunches, think again. Burn fat, see the ABS.