How To Get A Six Pack

Getting a six pack isn’t just about building up your ab muscles. You also need to lose body fat so those toned muscles can show through. Here are some exercises for both!

Building you ab muscles

Crunches – The staple of building abs, you’ll want to be doing these every day.

1. Lie on your back with your arms crossed across your chest and pull your knees up. You can also put your arms down by your side, but don’t put them behind your neck and pull as this could damage you.
2. Now pull yourself up using your abdomen muscles, as well as raising your shoulders and breathing out. Don’t try and lift your whole back off the floor as this could also damage your spine.
3. Hold for a second, then smoothly bring yourself down to the floor. Without letting your head touch the ground, repeat for however many repetitions you want.

Leg Lifts – A great simple exercise for getting a six pack

1. Again lie on the floor, but this time put your legs straight.
2. Raise your legs until they are at a 90 degree angle with the floor.
3. Hold for a second, then lower your legs. Repeat without touching the floor.

Sit-ups – Another classic six pack exercise, but most people do this one wrong

1. Lie down with your feet flat and knees at ninety degree angle.
2. Cross your hands across your chest.
3. Sit up, with your lower back also coming off the floor (unlike in crunches).
4. Lower slowly down. All the movements should be smooth.

V-ups – A variation on the sit-up but more demanding

1. Lie on the floor with your arms stretched above your head and legs flat on the floor.
2. Bring both your arms and legs up in a V shape (hence the name)
3. Return to how you started slowly and repeat

Fat burning exercises

Jogging – This strikes fear into the hearts of many potential six pack wielders, but is really not that bad. Jogging is a great way to burn off calories to reveal your ever growing abs (if you’re using the above six pack exercises). Start with a short distance and see how it goes, then gradually increase the distance to burn off more calories. You need to be exercising for around 15-20 minutes before your body really starts to burn off fat, so keep that in mind.

Swimming – This can often be a bit more fun than jogging and is a great way to burn fat while at the same time building your muscles throughout your body. Again, start with a small amount of swimming and build up the distance.

Cycling – If you have a bike and a place to safely ride it then cycling can be a lot more entertaining than jogging or swimming. Cycling can actually also help build up your ab muscles at the same time, so is a great six pack exercise.

Also remember to eat the right six pack foods!