Muscle Abs

Throughout my career I have encountered many questionable opinions about how to get rock hard muscle abs. This includes the many ab exercise machines that you see on TV. You will also see infomercialss about pills and drinks that have spectacular "before" and "after" photos showing a great set of muscle abs due entirely from the use of their product.

Well, I am here to tell you that there is something that works to get a great set of muscle abs, but there is no magic involved. Some are blessed with genetics that will make it easier to achieve the famous six-pack abs, but unfortunately not all of us are that lucky. As you probably guessed, diet and exercise are the key components.

Now, we all have muscle abs, whether developed or not, but the problem is that they are hidden under a layer of fat. So, we need to attack the fat, and we can do so in a couple of way. First, is your diet. Weight/fat is lost proportionately over the entire body, so forget about the magic pill that specifically targets and removes stomach fat.

There are so many diets available that it just does not make sense to get into the details in this article. I would just like to say that you want to work with a diet that is somewhat more mainstream and with some nutrition/medical science behind it. Stay away from the fad or crazy diets. Remember "no magic pill", right? I go along with the recommendation that has your daily calorie intake at 60% carbs, 20% fats, and 20% protein. Everyone is different, so these percentages are variable, but you should be able to find out how your body reacts to a particular calorie mix pretty quick.

Let's turn to the exercise that will be required to get your muscle abs to where you want them. First, begin you workouts with abdominals exercises. Increasing your metablolism will greatly increase the weight loss. So, second, you must add cardio to your workouts.

There are all kinds of cardio exercise that works great. Common cardio exercise includes running, hiking, biking, rowing machines, and stair climbing. Pick 2-3 that you really enjoy and that fit in with your lifestyle. Where you live and the season of the year may also have an impact. It is best to vary your routine to keep yourself from getting bored as well as so there is less chance of overtraining any single muscle group. I recommend doing cardio five to six days a week.

Now lets talk about abdominal excercisesfor great muscle abs. Abdominal muscles are actually made up of three muscle groups: the obliques, the upper abs, and the lower abs. The obliques are located on your sides. There are a couple schools of thought on how often you should exercise your muscle abs. One group believes you need to do abdominal exercises every day, while the other recommends every other day. I believe there is a benefit to allow the muscles to recuperate, so I side with the folks in the every other day camp.

Working on your side muscles, or obliques, involve twisting motion. Using a readily available broom/mopstick or light bar across the shoulders, you perform simple side to side twists of the upper body. You are primarily looking to tone and firm this area. For this reason, you do not want to use a lot of weight, which would tend to build muscle and end up thickening your midsection.

Standard sit-ups and crunches are proper abdominals exercise for the upper abs. Sit-ups tend to be a bit harder on the neck and lower back, so be extra aware of your form when performing them. Crunches also target the upper abs, and take a bit of the stress away from the neck and lower back. Work you way up to where you can do 3 sets of 30 reps. Work at a measured pace and you will "feel the burn" in no time at all.

Working your lower muscle abs involves leg raises as opposed to lifting your trunk into the air. Reverse crunches are performed by bring your knees up and into your chest. Leg lifts are an alternative, but put more pressure on the lower back and seem to be harder to do the older you get.

Given a little discipline, well defined muscle abs are possible for most people given a combination of cardio work, diet, and abdominals exercise. Stick with it and you (and everyone else!) will see results before you know it. Track your progress to keep motivated and take some pictures so that you can always remember your own set of six-pack abs!