** This thread discusses the content article: What's the Best Way to Get 6 Pack Abs? **




 


6 pack abs have been one of the most hotly debated issues in the fitness world. Some people claim that the only way to acquire them is through hundreds of crunches, using weights, and sweat. Others say that you don't need to workout your abs at all, and that the main factor in seeing your abs is to exercise normally and lose weight.


Who is right?


A Brief Understanding of the Abdomen



The abdomen refers to that part of the body that covers your sensitive organs including those that deal with the digestive tract. Within the abdomen, you have the spleen, stomach, kidneys, adrenal glands, small intestine, colon, pancreas, liver, and more. Did I also mention that important blood vessels that lead to the aorta and inferior vena cava are found within the abdomen?


It is one of the most critical points in the body, which is why until very recently, anyone with a gunshot wound to the stomach was considered a dead man due to infection and inability to stop internal bleeding.


The abdomen, along with your lower back, also makes up the core of your body, which supports your midsection and spine. Not only does having a strong lower back and abdomen make you strong, but it also helps prevent back pain and preserves a strong body to age with into the future. Needless to say, the ab muscles are one of the most important muscles when it comes to playing a part in keeping your entire body together.





[Ab muscles...not to be confused with the American Bureau of Shipping & Affiliated Companies...]


Vanity vs. Real World Application


Because the abs play such a critical part in your overall health and body, no matter how or for what reason you're training, you will benefit from strenghtening them. That being said, depending on what you're trying to achieve, the methods you use will be different. The reason for this is because someone who wants rock hard, six pack abs for vanity reasons probably doesn't want the kind of massive abs that slight portrude and can actually make you look fat. If you're just training to look good and be healthy, then isometric exercises, which tone and harden the abs as opposed to growing them, is definitely the best way to go.


For fighters and players in sports with physical contact, it's an entirely different story. As we mentioned earlier, the ab muscles function to both stabilize your spine and midsection as well as to protect some of the most critical organs in your body outside of the heart and brain (which are protected by other structures). Because of this, people who are in a situation where impact on the area is likely, the most important thing to do is to give as much rock hard padding around the abdominal area as possible.


That means increasing the size of the abdomen through exercises like weighted sit ups and crunches. It's also not a bad idea to pad the muscle with a bit of fat to decrease the force of impact, which is why some of the best heavy weight fighters (George Foreman comes to mind) have always had a bit of fat on them. I would like to note that those of you who are training your abs just to stay fit and healthy, isometric exercises are probably the best bet since weighted sit ups and any kind of exercise that has spinal movement has a risk of hurting your back.


Getting a Handle on Training Frenquency


Once you've decided on how you're going to train, the question becomes, "How often should I train my abs?" Personally, if I'm training with isometric exercises, I will at times train every single day unless it feels extremely sore. That is because isometric exercises are tightening the muscle, while not making it grow, so there's no real reason for long rest periods.


If training with crunches and weighted exercises however, I would recommend long rest periods. Depending on who you are and the kind of training you're doing, this can be anywhere from one rest day to only training the muscle once a week (bodybuilder training). Reaching a balance is something you will acquire with experience.


Rafi Bar-Lev is a former combat medic and the founder of Passionate Fitness.



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For me 2 times a week is more than enough! You must be very determined to do more it is really great article, thanks for sharing!

Well, I don't think it's too big a deal to add some planks to the end of each workout(with just a couple of rest days), but if I'm doing L-Sits there's no way I'm going to be training my abs every day.

And it's crucial to understand that there's more at play than just the six pack--there are obliques, and more subtle bands of muscle beneath and behind the six pack that also need attention.

Finally, and perhaps less obviously, you should always train your back so as to offset your abs, balance your body and give your abs something to lever against. Often overlooked, but crucial to maximizing your ab potential!

Yeah, I absolutely agree about the importance of exercising your lower back. A strong lower back coupled with strong abs is the key to a strong core and pain free life.

This is what I regard as a ideal sixpack/body. www.imdb.com/media/rm472029184/tt0144084
I have been working out for a while now but I am still not as toned as christian bale in the picture. How many reps/sets of an exercise to you do to achieve that look? I have been following rusty's advice on strenght training recently, it does'nt work so I have stopped doing it. Also do you think that you can get the sixpck in the picture just from doing planks or do you have to add crunches. I am a little sceptical of rusty now I have found out that his strenght training is not effective but he says that you should developop a six pack by doing crunches and then mantain it by switching to planks.