Six Pack Shortcuts – Good Exercises for Abs

Sunday, October 9th, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Six Pack Shortcuts

Good Exercises for Abs to Get You Started

If you have been salivating for that muscle bound body, do remember that, just like everything in life, there are no shortcuts. When trying to get a six pack shortcuts are not an option.

If you want a six pack of hard, well-defined muscle and the complete torso to match, you will need to be disciplined throughout. You will need to watch your diet ensuring it is both healthy and nutritional and of course you’ll need to be doing some good exercises for abs. Above all else you will need to be committed and determined if you are ever to achieve your goal of having hard rock abs.

Needless to say that to have great six pack abs, you will need to do plenty of training and good exercises for abs are top of the list. However, no matter how good your exercise routine is you will never see your abs if you do not reduce your body fat percentage, especially from around your tummy area.

Low to medium intensity cardio, or HIIT (High Intensity Intermittent Training), combined with a healthy low fat diet is the best way to achieve fat loss, but that’s another story…

Good Exercises For Abs

The Six pack shortcuts program provides you with everything you need to know about the exercises required to build muscle efficiently but for those of you who want to get started on your own, there are a lot of good exercises for abs that you can do, including crunches, sit-ups and pull-ups.

However, one of the best workouts for your abs is the Captain’s Chair or the vertical knee raise. It is recognised as one of the best if not the best exercise for working the abs.

1. The Captain’s Chair:

Although there is a relatively simple piece of exercise apparatus available to perform this ultimate abs exercise you can perform a version of it using a chair with a good solid foundation. (check out the image at the beginning of this article!)

To do a vertical knee raise, sit on the chair with your back vertical and your feet flat on the ground. Hold the the edge of the seat of the chair either side of your hips with your palms resting on the seat and have your elbows slightly bent, this is your starting position.

Start the exercise by lifting your knees up towards your upper body this should be done in a controlled fashion whilst exhaling. Ensure you keep your back as straight as possible, do not roll or lean backwards. However, It is inevitable that you will lean backwards slightly until your abdominal strength is improved so don’t worry if this is the case.

Once you have lifted your knees up fully hold the position for two seconds and then slowly lower them back down to the starting position. To start with three sets each of ten reps apiece is a good splace to start, take 5 minutes between each set and increase the hold time or number of reps as your abs become stronger.

As I have said, this version of the captains chair exercise is ok, but is nowhere near as effective as those done using the specifically designed gym apparatus, and you can check out this apparatus below.

2. The Bicycle Crunch:

Another good exercise for abs is the bicycle crunch, also known to some as the Pilates Criss cross. Unlike the Captain’s Chair , there is absolutely no need to use exercise equipment. Simply lie flat on your back; put your hands to your head and bend your knees to form a 90 degree angle with the floor. Start a pedal motion by tapping left elbow to right knee, although actually touching the knee and the elbow isn’t actually required and then alternate each side. Do repetitions of at least 10 to 30 times and at least three to four sets.

I have previously written a post about the bicycle crunch in far more detail which also includes some video instruction and you can check it out here when you have finished reading this post:

Six Pack Shortcuts – Why is The Bicycle Crunch Exercise Fantastic For Your Abs?

Gaining a ripped body and ripped abs isn’t easy, sure these good exercises for abs with help but unless you have an awsome program that will guide and motivate you along the way, as well as giving you great dietary advice to follow you will find it to be a difficult task…this is why the Six Pack Shortcuts Program will help you succeed.