How to get six pack abs

Looking to impress some ladies this summer or just want to be able to open a can of beans with your gluts (buttocks)? Well... i can't promise anything (especially the can cracking) but I do have some earnest methods that can develop your abdomens, thighs, and of course, the gluteus maximus!

Step 1 Warmup

First and foremost, DO A WARMUP! I see people all the time walk into the gym and just start lifting... if you are one of these people, you deserve a slap. Cold muscles don't stretch, cold rubber doesn't stretch, cold rubber snaps, muscles can snap too...

Even a 7 minute slow jog is better than nothing, but if you've got time then get a good 15 minute jog in. Your muscles will thank you in the morning and your heart will be pumping blood faster which makes every body part sing in harmony!

As far as stretching goes, I'm sure theres plenty intructables already out there on the subject. personally, I prefer stretching after my workout, but it's not too necessary as long as you stretch once every 2 or 3 workouts.

Comments

[Cr4zy_Dud3_0n_F1r3]

Question:
Should I make a calendar listing body parts to exercise and list them randomly so I use muscle confusion? This way I don't tolerate the drills as fast and build muscle faster?

Thanks in advance, Cr42y Dud3.

[professor awsome]

No that would be a bad idea I know that you put this on awhile ago and if you are doing that I'd andvise you to stop for several reasons.
1) doing that increases the chances of overuse injuries compared to a well planned schedule.
2) If you do that you will most likely overdevelope one part of your body compared to its opposite (EX triceps and biceps) which will cause muscle and joint pain.
Although muscle confusion is a good idea it is best to be more organized about it and also your muscles dont start to get affected negatively by doing the same workout until roughly 2.5 weeks. my advice would be do the same strength workouts for 1 week then change to a different strength exercise for 1 week then go to the original workout but lower the weight so you can do more than 12 reps to make it into a endurance workout than do the same for the other set of workouts and repeat.

[borges0105]

Can any body tell me what I should be doing cause, I really want to have a better body now, I am 6'2 168lbs skinny looking, but I just dont know where to start from, the article gave alot of tips and I wanted to find out what I could do more(like exercises, and how many per set)...THX

[professor awsome]

What you need to do if you wand to bulk up is do higher weight and lower amount of reps. if you want to increase strength do 8-12 reps and if you want to increase endurance do more. another thing for abs there main purpose is to keep the spine in its neutral position so instead of doing curl-ups you can keep your back straight and that will increase your abs activation by almost 30%. But an important note is to stretch if you dont it really sucks later in your life. As far as exercises go don't do the video trainers as much. The major dynamic exercises to do would be push-ups, plank, pull-ups and curl-ups. Probably the best machine to have for you would either be a rowing machine or something like a bowflex (I have one and it is highly recommended). I hope you found this usefull and have a good day (or night depending on time zone).

[DannytheGreat]

ive always called six inches to crunches "lemonsqueezes"

[robertjames]

we do this athletics every week for ten minutes

[Cr4zy_Dud3_0n_F1r3]

I've been doing some research:

But to burn the fat to make the six pack visible, you need to do aerobic exercises. I learned about glycogen, its what the body uses for exercise, for energy. This usually lasts about 30-45 minutes, there are a lot of factors that affect this, but this is usually how much time it takes for the average person to use up all of their glycogen. After all of the glycogen is used up, then the body starts to use the fat supply. So you need to exercise for at least an hour.

This is why some people exercise in the morning, because its been 7-10 hours since the person last ate, the supply of glycogen is lower (since we burn calories in our sleep). You have less glycogen which means that you will turn to fat supplies sooner.

[artlife1]

A pregnant man on the last photo. He must work hardly to get six pack abs.

[steve_tupper2010]

This is an excellent routine, thank you for putting it in Instructables. There is far too much hype (and far too much sales rhetoric) in this area of health: it is a great pleasure to see something practical, effective and - dare I say it - inexpensive for me to use.

Only suggestion is that I tend to add something for a twist in the waist as well, but that's maybe because at my age (nearing 60) it is isn't just my abs I am fighting to preserve, but my general mobility and flexibility as well.

[imapimp]

these are hard to do for a minute!!

[Cr4zy_Dud3_0n_F1r3]

Ditto! Just did my first 7-minute workout, and the only thing I can think of is: THIS IS WORKING!!!

[KottonKandy]

O nice! I did plank for a little over 5 min ( i timed it) and when I was done I was all shaky lol didnt rlly hurt the next day tho.

[JohnJY]

Pictures.

[alitewithlite]

which way do you face your hands when doing six inches? palms to the floor or palms on your butt?

[riiod]

First of all, thanks for the great explanations!

I'm trying to get into shape, and this method does look pretty convicing, However, I was wondering - usually in strength training, the advice is not to work the same muscle group two days in a row; should I really do these every day?

[Yesterday, I felt the burn, today, doing the exercises, I feel the pain...]

[AwesomeOpossum]

You should alternate between things to give them a day of rest every time in case you tore muscles, and to let them rebuild. It's also not good to only work certain muscles because it unbalances your body. I would reccommend alternating between abs, and leg muscles, and pecs, triceps, and biceps. You could do upper body one day and lowerbody the next.

[TheBookie]

The problem with this, as with all ab workouts, is that you have to lose the fat from around your waist in order to see ab definition. This cannot be done simply by working out your abs. You will never "burn" away fat from a certain area by working the muscles surrounding it. This is done through cardio and other aerobic workouts, and aided by weight training. Additionally, a more efficient way for abs to "pop" is by doing weighted ab exercises. The Ab and oblique muscles are no different to any other muscle, and their growth will be stimulated more effectively by breakdown and rebuilding via heavy weight training, than through repetition of movements. With that said, your workout is great for people who want to increase the endurance of their ab muscle. I just want to ensure that people realize if you have even a little extra fat around your waist, this workout alone will not get you six pack abs.

[RED^WINGED^PEGASUS]

That is so true TheBookie. You definitely need to BURN the fat with cardio or other exercises. My question is when you mention ab workouts with "breakdown and rebuilding via heavy weight training" what do you mean by break down and how cna we use weights with these abs workouts??

[thefoodman]

 But muscle burns fat,so...you wouldn't have to do cardio but it would help a lot

[bg1987]

Since muscles increase when they get teared and regenerated themselves to be larger (adapting to the new strain they are exposed to), weighted training is a very effective way to increase muscle mass.
If you find these exercises easy (your abs don't feel on fire after them), you could use weights, in the classic crunches, you can hold weights on your chest to increase the weight you are lifting with your stomach. 
also, doing these crunches on a negative incline training bed (the kind where your head is lower than your legs) increases their effectiveness.

Remember that training with weights should be supervised, and its best to consult a professional trainer and create a training program suitable for you.

[AwesomeOpossum]

Muscles don't just build when they tear. It's called adaptation, like tanning. If you strain your muscles and make them work, they'll get bigger to accomodate. You don't have to tear them. It's like tanning, you don't have to get burned to get a tan. Plus, if you have some body fat, and ab and leg workout is good because the most important thing is your core. Also, a lot of fat is stored on top of the core and legs. Mixing this with aerobic exercise like running would be best instead of weightlifting because your arms don't tend to collect fat as much. Plus, with this, you don't need a gym or anything.

[RED^WINGED^PEGASUS]

HMM got it. It sounds so obvious but thanks for explaining it to me.

[micha3l87]

Agree, the most important thing you can do to see your abs again, Diet! Especially if you are around 18-21 your metabolism starts to slow down for most.

[Scazatron]

I'm a sophmore in high school. Kids at my school in rotc have to do thisfor like 15 minutes! Ypu would feel that for a while.

[l8nite]

HEY it took a lot of work to get this kegger ! Why would I settle for a 6pack ?

[ungsluggerdood2]

hey i have a prob see igot the top four cut lines any help on the lower

[arkho]

The crunch with raised legs works the lower region. Another way is laying flat on your back and find something to grab on to on top of your head. Then raise both your legs straight up at 90 degrees then slowly let it down. You can do this with a partner too. With your partner standing over your head, grab on to his ankle and raise your leg high enough then have him push it back. When he does, control your leg not to hit the ground and pull it back up. Do this at different angle to target the front and sides.

[sheich]

More Penguins! hahaha, happy to know it's coming along well.

[Pie Ninja]

In Australia we call "planks" bridges, and they are horribly painful.

[gold3nwing]

I dont care about my image.

[gamasand]

wow i vow to never have that physic

[Blacksmith Spader]

This is great to build the abdominal wall, however; you will never achieve your full sculpting potential if you do not do a lot of walking to burn the stored fats and calories. ***ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN ABOUT TARGET HEART RATE AND HOW MUCH EXERCISE IS ADVISED FOR YOUR FITNESS LEVEL***

[lobo_pal]

Where's the pure capcasin workout?

[lobo_pal]

I lick to take weights in my hands and do alternating punches every crunch/sit up. It really works your arms. Just doing empty punches at first will get you a little burn.

[cathrynm]

You should warn sensitive types before showing such a scary picture... ;p

[ILIKEPIE333]

is that you in the non-stick figure- picture? From that to abs, in ONE MONTH?

[haroldleighton]

WTF!

[souske25]

hahahaha i call those the rockies to ahahahaha

[imapimp]

that guy is HUGE!!

[imapimp]

these get really hard after a while!