Michael Geary is an internationally known fitness expert and trainer. I am adding one of his articles to the blog that illustrates the point that an abs machine is not the first step to having lean, firm, attractive 6 pack abs.
Be sure to get the free report to learn even more secrets to effectively lose belly fat and start having great looking abs.
Abdominal exercises are one of the hottest, and yet, most controversial topics in the fitness and exercise industry. Hundreds of ab machines, gimmicks, and abs exercise equipment have flooded the market for people looking for sexier and flatter abdominals… that sexy six-pack abs appearance that everyone seeks.
The problem is that most of the ab workouts that are recommended all over the internet, and in magazines, etc, are not necessarily the best method to get that six-pack abs appearance. First and foremost, the most important aspect for great looking six pack abdominals is losing the extra belly fat that is covering them up. To be honest, most people already have decent abdominals underneath, yet the six-pack abs are simply covered up by all of that extra flabby stomach fat.
Instead of focusing so much on ab workouts to make your stomach flatter and more like a six-pack, you will lose much more body fat by focusing the majority of your training time with special combinations of high intensity full-body, multi-joint exercises. The best exercises for losing that abdominal fat are the exercises that work the largest portions of the body at once.
Exercises that work the large muscle groups of the legs, upper and lower back, and chest give you the biggest metabolic bang for your buck in terms of abdominal fat loss. Combining these types of big multi-joint exercises in high intensity super-set, tri-set, or circuit fashion gives you the biggest fat-burning and metabolism boosting response from your workouts.
And that is one of the best kept secrets for flat sexy abdominals that are actually visible as a six-pack!
Now when it comes to abdominal-specific exercises, another mistake most people make is mindlessly pumping away with hundreds of crunches and other meaningless ab workouts that barely give your abdominals much resistance to work against. If you want to actually develop your abdominals to the best extent possible, don’t waste your time with exercises that you can do more than 20 or 25 reps… that means you are definitely not doing an exercise that provides enough resistance to the abs. Exercises that give you enough resistance to get you down into the 6-15 rep range per set works great for the abs.
Generally, higher resistance ab workouts that provide a much larger stimulus to the abs come in the form of exercises that involve raising/curling the legs and pelvis either upward or inward closer to the trunk. A couple great examples of these higher resistance abdominal exercises are hanging leg raises or knee raises using a “pelvic curl up”, or an exercise like lying hip thrusts. Many times, the same people that can do 50 or 100 crunches, can’t even complete more than 2 or 3 properly executed hanging leg raises.
If you really want tighter flatter abdominals that look like a six-pack, remember that losing that extra belly fat is the MOST important factor. Also, when it comes to abdominal-specific exercises, always remember higher resistance exercises that involve curling/raising the legs and pelvis upward or inward are what develops the abs to the best extent possible.
To discover over 27 more abdominal fat loss and metabolism-boosting secrets, go to Abdominal Exercises & Stomach Fat-Loss Secrets to download a FREE report revealing the strategies of the super-lean.
Michael Geary (CPT) is an International Fitness Expert with clients in over 150 countries world-wide, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine, and author of the internationally-popular book, The Truth about 6-Pack Abs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary
[...] Workout equipment and fitness products will always have certain limits. I wouldn’t consider any fitness equipment to be a waste of money, or a waste of time and effort, unless you merely will not make use of it appropriately and do the additional things required for results. A number of the commercials pledge a lot without completely educating people about how the machine ought to be used and about what else you ought to do to have the outcome they are promising. Working hard to lose extra body fat and tone and shape the abdominal muscles is the way you attain ripped ab muscles. Eating habits and aerobic exercise are fundamental to doing away with the extra fat, nevertheless an abs machine could be effectual in helping tone and shape the ab muscles. Developing the kind of abs you would like is absolutely realistic if you are prepared to make the effort and employ the discipline required to your ab workouts. [...]
[...] Work out equipment and fitness products will always have some limits. I would not consider any fitness equipment to be a waste of funds, or a waste of time and energy, unless you just do not make use of it appropriately and do the other things necessary for results. Lots of the commercials pledge too much without thoroughly educating people on the subject of how the machine ought to be used and about what else you need to do to have the outcomes they’re promising. Working hard to do away with excess body fat and tone and mold the abs muscles is the way you get ripped ab muscles. Eating habits along with aerobic activity are fundamental to doing away with the excess fat, nevertheless an abs machine could be helpful in helping tone and shape the ab muscles. Having the sort of abdominals you would like is completely possible if you are prepared to make the effort and employ the discipline required to your ab workouts. [...]
[...] Exercise equipment and fitness products are going to always have a few limits. I wouldn’t judge any fitness machine to be a waste of cash, or a waste of time and energy, unless you simply don’t utilize it properly and do the other things necessary for results. A number of the commercials pledge a lot without completely educating consumers on the subject of how the machine ought to be used and about what else you need to do to have the outcomes they’re promising. Working hard to remove excess body fat and tone and shape the abdominal muscles is the way you gain ripped ab muscles. Eating behaviors and aerobic activity are fundamental to doing away with the extra body fat, nevertheless an abs machine can be effectual in helping tone and shape the ab muscles. Obtaining the sort of ab muscles you would like is totally achievable if you are ready to make the effort and employ the discipline required to your ab workouts. [...]
[...] Exercise equipment and fitness products will always have certain limits. I wouldn’t judge any fitness gear to be a waste of cash, or a waste of time and energy, unless you simply don’t make use of it correctly and do the added things essential for results. A lot of the commercials promise too much without carefully educating consumers about how the piece of equipment ought to be used and about what else you have got to do to receive the outcome they’re promising. Working hard to reduce extra body fat and tone and mold the ab muscles is the way you gain ripped ab muscles. Eating habits along with aerobic activity are fundamental to doing away with the surplus fat, yet an abs machine can be useful in helping tone and shape the ab muscles. Getting the kind of ab muscles you would like is absolutely possible once you are prepared to make the effort and apply the discipline required to your ab workouts. [...]
[...] Training equipment and fitness products are going to always have certain limits. I would not judge any fitness equipment to be a waste of cash, or a waste of time and effort, unless you just will not utilize it appropriately and do the additional things necessary for results. Lots of the commercials promise a lot without carefully educating people about how the apparatus should be used and about what else you have to do to obtain the outcome they are promising. Working hard to get rid of extra body fat and tone and mold the ab muscles is the way you get ripped ab muscles. Eating behaviors as well as cardio exercise are fundamental to doing away with the surplus body fat, nevertheless an abs machine can be helpful in helping tone and shape the ab muscles. Having the kind of abdominals you would like is absolutely realistic when you are prepared to make the effort and apply the discipline required to your ab workouts. [...]
[...] Training equipment and fitness products are going to always have some limits. I would not consider any fitness tools to be a waste of cash, or a waste of time and energy, unless you simply don’t make use of it appropriately and do the added things necessary for results. A number of the commercials promise too much without thoroughly educating consumers on the subject of how the machine ought to be used and about what else you need to do to have the results they’re promising. Working hard to lose extra body fat and tone and mold the ab muscles is the way you gain ripped ab muscles. Eating behaviors and cardio activity are fundamental to doing away with the excess fat, however an abs machine could be effective in helping tone and shape the ab muscles. Having the type of abdominals you would like is totally achievable once you are prepared to make the effort and employ the discipline required to your ab workouts. [...]
Great articles here, all I need to know.