The Best Ab Exercise

"The Art And Science of Getting Abs"

Choosing the right ab exercise, for your abdominal training workouts can be a trying ordeal. With thousands of abdominal exercises and routines flooding the internet, it can be hard to figure out exactly where to begin.

While building abdominal muscles can be a frustrating experience (especially if you don't get the right information in the beginning), getting abs (and keeping them) can be boiled down to a simple easy to follow process. Read on and uncover the best ab exercise to build your abdominal muscles, how to structure you training routine to burn more fat and how to put it all together to get amazing six pack abs.

Before we dig in too deep here, let me say it loud...

Getting abs - The art of building abdominal muscles and stripping away fat to expose six pack abs...

  Is not something that can be accomplished in only a few days. Building abdominal muscles (or any other muscle group for that matter) takes some time.

  Is not easy to get a great looking six pack! Understanding the fundamentals of building a solid abdominal training program are not that hard to understand. This does not mean that they are easy to implement. There is a huge difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it!

  There is no way to get six pack abdominals by simply taking a fat burner pill or supplement. Consistent body fat loss takes real work and dedication.

  Simply performing the greatest ab exercise in the world over and over again with no structure to the madness, will not result in great looking abs. Regardless of how effective the ab exercise actually is, building abdominal muscles requires a systematic approach to lowering body fat levels, and properly training the muscles of the abdominal region. 

The Best Ab Exercise For Awesome Six Pack Abs

There is no absolute "best ab exercise" when it comes to training your abdominals for a six pack. In order to build and strengthen your abdominal muscles to the point of breathtaking abs, you must target the different sections that make up your mid section and perform ab exercises that specifically target each of these areas.

The abdominal region is made up of a few very important muscles. Listed below is a run down of each muscle of the abdominal region and the ab exercise that best targets that muscle.

The Transverse Abdominis -

• The transverse abdominis is the deepest of all of the abdominal muscles.
  
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• You cannot touch this muscle from the outside of your body. It wraps around the torso (mid section of your body), supporting your lower back.

The Internal Obliques-

• The internal obliques are a pair of abdominal muscles that are located on each side of the mid section.
  
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• They are the next deepest of the abdominal muscles. (the transverse abdominis is the deepest)
  

The External Obliques -

• The external obliques are a pair of abdominal muscles located on each side of the torso.
  
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• The external obliques are located closer to the surface of your body than both the transverse abdominis and the internal obliques.

The Rectus Abdominis-

• The rectus abdominis is the abdominal muscle that is located closest to the surface of your body.
  
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• The rectus abdominis is the muscle responsible for classic six pack abs.

When training your abs, it is also important to strengthen the stabilizer muscles of the lower back, as well as the deep underlying muscles of the abdominals. While this will not help you get six pack abs directly, it will prevent you from injuring your lower back, hip flexors and abdominal muscles, and allow you to attain good posture.

If you have ever seen someone with a defined six pack, yet distended and "puffy" abdominal region, it is usually caused by over taining the rectus abdominis and ignoring the underlying stabilizer muscles of the lower back and abdominal region. These muscles work together to keep things where they belong on your body. If you over-train or under train any muscle group, you will force your body out of proper alignment and open yourself up to muscular imbalances and injuries.

When putting together your own abdominal workouts keep these tips in mind:

1) When starting out, perform 3 sets of 8 - 12 repetitions of each ab exercise.

2) Select ab exercise that targets each muscle group in your abdominal region (not only the rectus abdominis!). As mentioned before this is not only critical for achieving an esthetically pleasing six pack, but also to prevent muscle imbalances and injury.

3) Don't perform your ab training routine more than 2 times each week. There is simply no point in performing more than a few ab workouts each week.

4) Rest for 2 - 3 minutes between ab exercise sets.

Now you have a good idea of what muscles make up the abdominal region. Use this information to put together you own comprehensive ab workout making sure to pay attention to lowering your overall body fat levels. Before you know it, you'll be walking the beach with your own set of ripped washboard abs!