The Need for Resistance in Six Pack Abs Workout
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A big mistake I see on a regular basis is people doing too many reps when they work on building six pack abs. A common misunderstanding is that the more pushups you do, the stronger your abs will get. This mistake is something we picked up at kids gym where all the six pack exercises we knew was crunches. We were thought that the more reps we did the stronger out six pack abs would be.
There is not much different exercising your abs and exercising your six pack abs. If you want stronger abs you increase the resistance on the weights. By increasing the weight when doing bench press you will need to use more energy and more muscles to lift it. Same thing with six pack abs. If you want to reach new levels, you need to increase the resistance.
How many reps should you use when exercising your six pack abs? I use to aim for 12 and typically end up between 10 and 15. I use 3 reps on each exercise. I have talked to people that only use 8 reps per set, although these people often do 5 sets per exercise.
There are several ways to increase the resistance in your six pack abs training. When doing crunches you can put some extra weight on your chest. Hold a dumbbel on your chest when working out. You can also lift the feet from the ground. A declining bench will also increase resistance.
You should always combine different exercises when doing six pack abs training. Focus on exercising all the different areas of your mid body area. This includes your lower back and the muscles on the side. You also have several different abdominal muscles that need to be trained properly.
A common belief is that your abdominal muscled can be exercised every day. This is simply not the truth. Like every other muscle area of your body the abdominal muscles needs time to rest and to grow. We now know that when you work out your legs or other muscle groups we destroy that muscle group. The body then uses proteins to rebuild the muscles and make them stronger so that they are more fitted to handle a similar situation at a later time. This process takes days. If you work out your abs every day you will only end up destroying them. Two times a week is more than enough abdominal workout time.
A great set of six pack abs is only great if they are not hidden behind a layer of fat. A good diet combined with cardio exercises on a regular basis is way more important than any six pack abs exercises. You need to build up the body metabolism to gain the results you want.
