Six pack exercises mainly develop the rectus abdominis -- the muscles in the front of the abdomen. For the muscles to show good definition there should be no excess fat that will hide the shape of the muscles. The best way to lose fat is to limit your food intake to a level that doesn't give you excess calories. There are many ways to do this but they fall outside the scope of this article. Before discussing six pack ab workouts some words are needed about exercises that aid weight loss.
The best way to exercise for weight loss is to do some sort of interval training. This is where you work really hard for a short period and then do less strenuous work for a length of time until you can do the really strenuous activity again. An example would be sprinting for a short distance as fast as you can, and then walking or jogging until you have recovered enough to sprint again. You do this a certain number of times. As you become fitter, you reduce the time spent walking or jogging. This type of exercise is the very best for fat burning. Much more efficient than long periods of slow jogging. I wouldn't advise that people go running if they want to lose weight, though. Most people run on hard surfaces in cities and towns and the constant jarring that occurs when your feet hit the ground can play havoc with the knees, hips and spine.
If you are not training for a race there are better types of exercise you can do that can be used as six pack ab exercises. You can incorporate core training exercises into your interval training sessions and you'll find that they'll not only help you to develop your abdominal muscles, they will also aid you in your quest to lose fat. If you use weights and circuit training, you will find that there are many exercises that will help you develop your abdominals and other core muscles. These can be tailored to interval-style training. If you want a strong core there are exercises to do that will work the abdominal muscles together with other muscles of the core. What exactly constitutes the core seems to be different with everyone you ask. Most will include the abdominals, the gluteals and hamstrings, and lower back muscles and those in the pelvis. Some will include the muscles at the front of the thigh, also the latissimus dorsi and the spinal erectors. It doesn't really matter for most people if they know exactly what the core muscles are. You just need to know what to do to exercise them. Exercised properly, they will develop the six pack and burn lots of calories. They will also help to protect your back from injuries that can occur in daily living and in sporting activities.
And you don't need to spend a total of an hour each week lying on the floor doing boring crunches. These really aren't the best exercises to do. They will develop the six pack muscles if done properly, but most people don't do them properly -- they come up too far, which lets the hip flexor muscles take over the work. If you have a damaged lower back, this can make things worse. Nor do they burn nearly as many calories as other exercises could do in less time. It is better to do exercises that don't just target the abdominal muscles.
Yes, you want to develop these but you would do better to develop them in partnership with other muscles. They are designed to work in partnership with these other muscles -- the muscles of the whole core, which provide a link between the arms and legs -- so working the whole core together is much better. Whole-body, compound exercises are the way to go. Many of them involve doing standing abdominal exercises. These are exercises that use many muscle groups at the same time, instead of trying to isolate just one set of muscles. That is a much better way of burning calories so that the abdominals will stand out more when the excess fat has gone. I'm not saying you shouldn't do crunches, but only do them as a complement to the more effective exercises -- bearing in mind the damage they can cause if done in the way most people do them.
It is important to seek medical opinion before embarking on any strenuous exercise programme if you have any concerns about your fitness to start exercising. Remember, getting fit, losing weight and building muscles, is not easy. It can be and is enjoyable, though. But it takes effort and commitment. You can't take a pill for these things. If you want to change your body -- and you can -- you need to make the effort. It is well worth it because your whole life could be improved as a result of doing six pack ab workouts and other core strengthening exercises.
Exercising your core muscles in the right way will also develop your six pack muscles and will help to burn more calories. As well as that, exercising the whole core synergistically and correctly will help you to improve your posture, could allieviate lower back pain (depending on what the cause is), make you stronger or better in sporting events, and make daily living easier by countering the effects of sitting for long periods or doing other activities which put undue strain on the spine.
With the right exercises you will also be working your legs, back, arms and shoulders. This will increase the size and strength of those muscles. Those bigger muscles will help with fat loss because muscles burn calories very efficiently. So, you will strengthen your core, lose fat, put on muscle and have a well-defined six pack stomach. Better than boring crunches, eh? As they say in the US: 'More bang for your buck.' Or, as they say in the UK: 'More quantity for your quid.'
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