Are you aiming for a certain fitness goal or are you just wanting to look good in that swimming gear for summer? One goal that is shared by many is achieving the set of sculpted six-pack abs.
Achieving six-pack abs requires you to be very motivated, determined and ready for a lot of hard work. If you’re considerably overweight you may want to consider having some liposuction first. Don’t panic that you don’t need to become a professional bodybuilder or go to the gym seven days a week to achieve those abs. Just by adding a few exercises to your daily routine can be enough to produce some serious and long-lasting results.
Here are the best exercises that will help you get those abs you have dreamed about:
Cardio
Also known as aerobic exercises, cardio is a form of exercise that will increase your heart rate. By regularly incorporating some cardio into your daily routine it can help burn away that extra fat you don’t need and get you closer to a set of abs. Studies have shown that cardio is very useful when you want to reduce your belly fat, which will make the muscles in your abdomen more visible. Cardio exercise will bring your waist fat down and give you long term results. It also has the added benefit of helping your mental health.
Exercising the abdominal muscles
Rectus abdominis is a long muscle that goes along the length of your abdomen. It is most well-known for its job in producing the appearance of having a six-pack, but it is also needed for bowel movements, coughing and for breathing. Your other muscles, like the internal and external obliques and your transverse abdominis, are the key to increasing the muscle mass in your stomach.
Doing planks
To do planks, you need to lie on the floor and prop yourself up on your forearms in the position of a plank on wood. You need to ensure that your elbows are lined up right underneath your shoulders, and your hands are in a fist. Your forearms need to be lined parallel to each other. Try and hold this for 10 to 20 seconds each time. The key when doing planks is to squeeze your entire body core, back, fists, glutes and quads as much as you can while you are taking in diaphoretic breaths. It doesn’t matter how many times you do planks the exercise is only as hard as you are willing to make it. If you really want to avoid a tummy tuck and man boobs surgery, then you could try the plank-to-pushup exercise. Moving to a push up from the plank with have amazing results on your core and chest.
The dumbbell side bend
Here you need to stand with your feet being hip wide apart holding a dumbbell in one hand with your palms facing in towards your torso. Try and keep your back straight while you activate your core and then bend to one side as far as you can. Only bend at the waist. Hold that position for a few seconds at the bottom of your range of motions and then return to do one rep. Aim for up to 20 reps per each set. Be smart when you choose the weight. You don’t want to make it feel impossible. Try and use a reasonable weight amount that will help you to maintain focus on trying to keep the abs tight throughout the exercise. Ensure you keep a slow and relaxed tempo.
Barbell back squats
With your feet spread apart shoulder width, you need to lift a barbell and centre it across your shoulders. This exercise is designed to target the core so you want to make sure you are using a lower amount of weight than you would for a back squat. Use your glutes like you are lowering yourself down into a chair while bending at the knees as deep as you can. You need to press through the heels to return to the starting point for one rep. Aim for 13 reps per set. Once you have the movement mastered, then you can add more weight to the barbell. Increase the weight and repetitions in small increments in order to stay injury-free.