Six-Pack Abs - The Power Core

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Not only do abs look great, they're really important in providing stability to our whole body.

Even gentler forms of exercise like pilates and yoga have a strong focus on building up abdominal strength.

That's because our abdominals stabilize our back, and by extension, our whole vertebrae. Strong abs help our posture, and can actually prevent injury to our back by helping us work-out in the right way.

But it's six-pack abs that everyone wants. No doubt about it - rock hard abdominals look great.

As a bodybuilder, it's tempting to focus on one group of muscles when we really want to shift them into high gear. But our whole bodies still need to be trained. It would look a little strange to have great abs and the rest looking a little ordinary.

Fortunately, there are some strategies that can speed up the process of getting your very own six pack abs.

tips for getting six pack abs Here are some things to remember:

Regular crunches are great for keeping weight off if they're done every night, but it won't give your muscles a whole lot of definition. At least not in the league of those athletes and bodybuilders with a rippling torso.
You need to up the ante. It's no coincidence that when movie stars need to get into shape for a role that requires a strong physical presence, they're off at the gym for hours every day. It does take sweat equity and intensity. Getting six pack abs is no different.

The secret to great abdominals is intensity. Each day, you should work them out just a bit more. You don't want to stay at a plateau.

There are a few ways you can increase the intensity of your workout: .

Do your ab crunches on an incline. By working against gravity, you will work the muscles out that much more.
Add weights to your ab routine. It will help give them definition, and can really skyrocket results. Weights have another advantage in that they help keep fat off, creating a lean, ripped look.
When you're ready, combine weights with an incline. You'll really feel it when you do crunches then, and the beauty is that you can scale it up when you get stronger.

Skip the ab machines you see on television. - Not only will you save some money, but you won't waste your time on a workout that doesn't give you enough intensity to really get six-pack abs.

If you're a beginner, these machines can be great. They do have a lot of benefit then, and if that's what it takes to get started, then go for it. This is also true if you need to lose weight, as you'll be able to do a lot of reps and burn off some calories. But for serious bodybuilders, they just don't have enough resistance to up the ante every week.

As an alternative to an ab machine, use one of your pulley machines to lift as you do crunches. Make sure you're raising the stack of weights one or two inches and load it with enough weight so that you are only able to do about ten reps. Each day, intensify your workout by adding around 5% more weight to the stack.

If you're unable to do this, you may need to have a longer rest period between ab workouts. Muscles need to repair after exercise, and this is especially true when you're working out intensely. That's actually when the real growth happens.

With these approaches, it shouldn't be long before you see six pack abs looking back at you in the mirror in the morning.

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