Six Pack Abs

So you want 6 pack abs? Done and done. (If only it were that easy!) But seriously, as long as you are working CORRECTLY and eating well (translation NOT starving yourself or eating a bunch of crapola) you too can have a ripped stomach. Confession time...I never had defined abs until this year. In my dancing days I was just lucky to be a naturally tall, thin girl. There were times when I was unhealthily skinny, but I still never had definition in my stomach muscles. I always wanted that 6 pack, but no matter how little i ate, it just never seemed to show. If only i knew then what i know now!! Here is the secret: you MUST eat. 6 pack abs are made in the kitchen, my friend. Well, admittedly you have to do abdominal toning work too, but you can do crunches til the cows come home and if you aren't properly fueling your body, ain't nothin' gonna happen. I will make another more in depth post on basic nutrition, but for right now i'd like to share my top 3 rules for abdominal exercises:

1. SLOW DOWN.
My number one pet peeve whenever I see people doing ab exercises is the speed at which they are going. Of course ab exercises aren't rainbows and lollipops and we just want to get them over with faster, yet doing 500 fast, sloppy crunches does practically nothing for you, whereas 25 slow, controlled exercises can be 100 times more beneficial. For example, when doing bicycle crunches (laying supine on the floor, fingers interlaced behind head, one leg extended out in front of you hovering above the ground, other leg in reverse table top, elbows wide and drawing opposite elbow to knee) hold for 5-10 seconds on the first side, 5-10 seconds in the middle, 5-10 seconds on the second side, and repeat that cycle a few times before doing about 10 more a little quicker to each side. Your belly will feel it so much more that just blasting from side to side 50 times (I see people doing this all the time at the gym, and inevitably going so quickly makes you lose proper form and you end up pulling on your neck and not really getting any work done!)

2. HIT EVERY MUSCLE GROUP
Your 6 pack, or rectus abdominus is only one part of your core. In order to get that 6 pack to show you need to work ALL the muscles in your core. This includes: the transverse abdominis, external + internal obliques, and the rectus abdominus. (Back muscles need to be included in this too, but we will get to that later!) Here's a quick anatomy lesson:

Many more posts to come on excellent exercises that target each of these groups :)

3. WORK UNTIL FATIGUE, THEN REST
Work those abs in a mindful and controlled manner and it won't take long until you feel the burn. Keep going until you just about can't take it anymore and then stop. You have broken the muscle fibers in your belly down and they need time and fuel (proper nutrition!) In order to repair themselves (i.e. get bigger so they can withstand more trauma, or exercise, and the result is defined abs). Without proper rest and nutrition, your muscles will actually end up eating themselves for energy (catabolism) and all your work will go to waste. See later post on what to eat post-workout!