Six Pack Exercise- Are You Spending Too Long on Exercise for a Six Pack?

If you do your six pack exercise on a regular basis and aren’t seeing results, you may be spending too long on it.  Most people believe that if you aren’t seeing the results you want, you need to do more.  This is not always the case as it’s more about quality than quantity.

When trying to get a six pack, your aim is to build muscle.  If you do a ton of reps that qualifies as endurance training, which does nothing more than convert existing muscle twitch fibers from fast to slow.

You build muscle by causing enough trauma to the muscle.  Your body then realizes that in order to keep up it must adapt and build more muscle.  This trauma is created with high resistance, low rep work.  In most cases, you’ll have to do several sets to completely exhaust the muscle fibers though.  Aim for 20 reps or less with at least three sets for your six pack exercise.

The next point to address is that the “six pack” is a single sheet of solid muscle called the rectus abdominis.  This means, if you have a low enough body fat, your six pack exercise could consist of nothing but crunches and still end up giving you that six pack.  In many cases it may seem natural to argue that you have upper abs but no lower abs.  The truth is that the lower abs are simply one of the last places you lose fat.

Another principle of muscle building that extends to your six pack exercise is that of progressive resistance.  This states that in order to continue making solid gains you must do more each workout.  You’re probably already doing enough reps, so that means you should add some weight.  Just grab something around the house/apartment that can add some weight.  Make sure it isn’t too awkward and hold it on your chest or behind your head for your crunches.

If you’re doing far too many crunches, you may also be doing them wrong.  The upper torso should be moved up, not up and forward.  To help keep your form solid and avoid getting help from other muscle groups, make sure you’re looking up through the whole range of motion.  If you’re holding your hands behind your head, make sure you never see your elbows as that may indicate you’re pulling forward with another muscle group.

It may feel weird at first, but as you get used to this style, you’ll gradually become more aware of your abdominal muscles.  When you do, you’re well on your way to getting that six pack you’ve always wanted.