That six pack stomach...
A flat stomach with all those cuts and creases is a big craze now a days. The size of the muscles and the required bulk is quite low, so I consider abs as the easiest body part to develop. You just need to do crunches (to failure) everyday and you get that look in no time. But the actual and the toughest problem to tackle is FAT. Yes. Fat on biceps or forearms make them look bigger and make you stronger. Fat on shoulders widen them and you look heavy and strong. But even the sightest fat on belly will shatter you dreams of the six pack stomach. You'll not only look a couch potato, but you'll feel very bad about it. So, its my advise to all the ab lowers that they should first get rid of the fat. To know the most effective ways to loose fat, read my article on the topic (follow the link at the main page). Once you've got rid of fat, read further. Now, the abs can be divided into upper, lower and sides (obliques) abs. For that six pack look, you need to do upper and lower abs. Obliques don't really help that look. They just make the overall looks nicer and tighter. But ofcourse, bigger obliques will make your middle wider hampering the V-sahped looks. So, work obliques only once in a while, don't take them too seriously.
The main exercises are :
Sit Ups : This is sort of a compound exercise as it works both upper and lower abs. Doing it is simple. Lock your toes at some bar and lie down on your back. Ideally you should lean back as low as possible for stretching. But if you are doing it on floor (etc) its ok to just touch the floor. Now curl slowely up in a controlled way. Don't jerk and be slow. Your body should rise slowely and steadily. Don't let your back take the lead (important). First your head should go up, than neck, than shoulders and so on. Your arms can be behind your head as support or on your chest. If you keep your arms straight up you head (fingers touching), you add some resistance. Its not a good idea to do lots of sit-ups as they mostly strain psoas muscles and doing too much may lead to back problems later. If you do't go all the way down to your knees, you emphasize on upper abs. I personally don't like to do sit-ups as they are not good for back (partially) and they don't fully work the muscles you want to. I like crunches.For complete abs development, you need to do crunches and knee raises. These two exercises are more than sufficient. For crunches, you may use a pulley or do them raw depending upon your level. For lower back knee raises are ok. Don't be tempted to do all the possible exercises if you've something better to do as these are sufficient. You may do hip thrusts but they are not very necessary. You can train your abs at alternate days (gives best results) or daily. If you opt for latter, don't do more then one set (excludng warm-ups).
Crunches : This is sort of isolation as it works upper abs. To perform the exercise, lie on your back and raise your legs so that the thighs are almost perpendicular to ground. Either put your feet on wall or something or put the lower legs on a bench. I recommend the latter as it helps you raise the lower back a little so that it won't get hurt. Now curl the upper body as in sit-ups while squeezing the abs. Wait for a second and come down steadily. This is one of the best exercise for upper abs and is generally enough to develop the cuts. But it in no way helps you loose fat. Do them to failure for best results. If you raise your shoulders up instead of pulling them to pelvis, they are called 1/4 crunches. If you work diagonally up so that your shoulders try to reach the opposite hips, they are called cross knee crunches. They work obliques a little.
Leg Raises : This works on lower abs. Lie on your back and place your hands (palms) firmly on the floor. Now raise your legs about 30-40 cm off the ground. For entire set, you must not come any lower then thate. Now using your pelvis raise them another 15-25 cm. Don't strain the psoas in the process. Although this is a good lower back exercise, but unfortunately its seldom done right. This results in a strained lower back with little abs development. So, I suggest you do them only in proper supervision and in proper form if you must.
Hip raises/thrust : This is sort of another version of leg raises and you raise your hips instead of legs. This is safer on lower back and is a must for a complete abdomen routine. To do this, lie down on back and raise the legs straight up. Now raise your hips a little. The range of motion is quite limited. If you feel strain in lower back, bend your legs a little more.
Machine Crunches : In these, you use a pulley mechanism as the resistance. They are comparatively safer and easier to do because you need to just sit and lean forward. Although they are not required in initial stages but if you are looking for bulk you have no other choice.
Hanging Knee Raises : This is a very good exercise for lower abs. Just hang down and while contracting your abs graidually, raise your knees upto your chest (fully). Don nothing weird to strain your lower back and repeat it to failure. This is a very safe exercise and if you do it improperly, you'll immediately get the signal as the pain in lower back.
Hanging leg raises : In this exercise, you raise your legs while keeping them straigher. This is a stupid's exercise and I never do it and I don't recommned it to you either as it straing lower back.
