People love well developed abdominal muscles. They're the ones around the belly button and the ones attributable to that washboard stomach look. It's one of the highest-ranking terms in fitness and weight loss internet searches. People love to hate belly fat, and smooth or rippled "abs" show that it's gone.
You must do these two things to get nice looking abs:
- lose belly fat
- build up those muscles.
That's what makes for a nice rippling 6-pack, or a smooth set of abs, which may be preferred by some women.
In addition, athletes and sports people need strength in the abdominals and the surrounding muscles -- right around to the back -- to efficiently perform at their particular sport. Even running sports benefit from strong core muscles, which include the abdominals.
Exercises for Building and Strengthening the Abdominals
The first thing to know is that you do not have to target that belly fat with abdominal exercises. Yes, it’s tempting to think that’s how it works, but you will be better off targeting all-round weight loss, which will automatically drop those pounds from the waistline. Attempting spot reduction at any body region is not the way to go.
Second, you don’t have to always do exercises that pointedly target the abdominal muscles. Many exercises are available that require you to contract the abs and work them strongly. Full-body, compound exercises like deadlifts and squats are good examples – and they are important exercises for all-round weight loss as well.
10 Exercises to Give You Great Abdominals
You can’t do better than these 10 exercises when focusing on the abs.
- Crunches
- Situps. Do situps the right way and they are not dangerous. Don't place the hands behind the neck. Do cross them in front of you or slide them along the thighs to the knee. Bend the knees at 45 degree angle.
- Bicycle crunch
- Captain’s chair / hanging leg raises
- Wheel Rollouts
- Fitball rollouts
- Deadlifts
- Squats
- Bent over rows
- Seated cable rows
