The Killer Ab Workout

What is the Killer Ab Workout?

When most people ask the question “What is the killer ab workout?”, I suspect the answer they are looking for involves high-intensity and fast-paced ab exercises designed to instantly transform their abs to that “six pack stomach” or chiseled washboard look. The reality is that, however effective the ab workout routine you choose, your overall success will also be dependent on the consistency of your workouts, variety of ab exercises, exercise form and most importantly control of your diet.

Gettting Your Ab Workout Down

The reason why many try and fail at getting ripped, sculpted abs is that they fall into one of two categories where ab exercises are concerned: They either over-work their abs or train them inconsistently. To achieve the best results, ab exercises should be performed at least twice a week, with a day or two of rest between each routine.

Learn the Movements

In order to get the maximum effect from any ab exercise, the exercise should be performed correctly. By doing so, you not only achieve greater
results with less effort, but you lessen the risk of injury. For example, when you are doing movements that task the spinal cord such as sit-ups,
it is of utmost importance. Ask anyone that has experienced a bulging disk or herniated disk. Besides being no fun to deal with, they can be
immobilizing.

Reduce the Stomach Fat

The problem with most people that are trying to shed excess pounds is that they are conscientuous when it comes to working out, but lack discipline when it comes to diet. One reason that a diet that promotes weight loss is often neglected is because there is a misconception that you can “cancel out” or “neutralize” the effects of overindulgence with exercise. This strategy usually does not work. Why? The answer is that most people are consuming far too many calories that can reasonably be expected to be burned off with exercise. Consider this: A large-sized big mac meal is approximately 1350 calories. In order to burn this many calories through exercise, a 175 pound man would have to do approximately five and a half hours of moderate-paced walking!. The reality is that most people are not able to devote the time and energy to devote to such a large calorie burn.

Variety of Your Ab Workouts

Essential to establishing your killer ab workout routine is to focus on all the muscles that girdle the spine and by targeting them at different angles. This cannot be accomplished with just one exercise. Take for example, the sit-up exercise. If your routine consists of just this one exercise, the “six pack” muscle (rectus abdominus) is utilized very little. In fact, your hip flexor muscle is doing most of the work during this movement. Also, your oblique muscles are almost completely ignored. A variety of exercises should be incorporated into the routine to prevent yout ab muscles from growing complacent. Some exercises are more effective than others. The argument can go on and on about the best ab exercises or best ab workouts to most effectively work your abs, but personally I would prefer scientific proof. The best method that exists today that can measure effectiveness of a particular exercise is by monitoring muscle activity using electromyography equipment. The American Council on Exercise sponsored a study performed by San Diego State University and ranked 13 of the most common exercises for the  rectus abdominus and the obliques. For strengthening the rectus abdominus, the 13 exercise were ranked most to least effective:

1. Bicycle maneuver
2. Captain’s chair
3. Crunches on exercise ball
4. Vertical leg crunch
5. Torso Track
6. Long arm crunch
7. Reverse crunch
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Ab Roller
10. Hover
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

For strengthening the oblique’s, these 13 exercises were ranked most to least effective:

1. Captain’s chair
2. Bicycle maneuver
3. Reverse crunch
4. Hover
5. Vertical leg crunch
6. Crunch on exercise ball
7. Torso Track
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Long arm crunch
10. Ab Roller
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

Based on the ACE study, the captain’s chair, the bicycle, the vertical leg crunch and crunches on an exercise ball are excellent choices to focus on the abdominus rectus and oblique’s. The importance of hard work and consistency cannot be overstated when it comes to developing a stronger and better-looking abdominal region. When an athlete uses these four basic tips as guides, he can better design his own killer ab workout and finally have the chiseled stomach he desires.