By far the most common question out there is what is the best ab exercise I can do to get a lean flat stomach with six pack abs. The answer is a very surprising, none. When you are doing straight abdominal exercises you aren’t creating enough of a metabolic response to burn enough calories to produce fat loss in order to get a lean flat stomach. Basically you are strengthening your muscles underneath the fat, but that alone will not work to produce a six pack of washboard abs. Actually, sometimes it may even produce a bigger belly by making the muscles larger underneath the fat, which will push the abdomen out even further and will seem like you actually have a larger belly.
The best abdominal exercise for a flat stomach in fact is not an abdominal exercise at all. You really need to be focusing your time on getting rid of that fat around the abdominal region. You need to work on removing the fat from the abdominal walls so you can have the chance to show off the abdominal muscles below. Doing crunches and sit-ups are simply a useless waste of time unless you already have a very low body fat percentage.
So if these direct abdominal exercises are a waste of time, then what are the best exercises for a flat lean stomach? This is a fantastic start, because we have arrived at a key question. We need the best exercises for a flat lean stomach. To produce fat loss, you need to do two things, build muscle and burn calories. The best exercises to accomplish this are multi-joint compound movement exercises. Doing these exercises along with interval training exercises for cardio will be the best way to produce results. Here is a list of the best multi-joint compound exercises to include in your workouts:
Instead of focusing on your waistline, focus on building your entire body. There is a theory out there called spot reduction. It is simply a myth that has been made up by the fitness corporations to sell gimmick machines and useless powders and pills. Remember, spot reducing does NOT work. By working on your waist only, you will not burn fat from your waist. You need to hit it from all angles and that means basic compound exercises to build the muscle and interval training cardio to burn the fat!
Fat loss is a genetically predetermined process. Men have the most trouble with their waist and women with their butt and thighs. It doesn’t matter if you work 24 hours a day on those particular trouble spots, you are going to lose fat from other areas instead.
Stop wasting your time working on situps, crunches or leg raises. These will not produce the results you are looking for. Quickly give up your diet pills or even worse, those terrible AB machines that are on all the advertising channels. You need to focus your efforts on high intensity full body work with multi-joint weight training exercises and fat burning cardio workouts. Keep working hard and eating right and that elusive six pack will arrive!
