Abdominal Workout

Abdominal Workout

Whether you want to hit the beach and have abs that really turn heads or you just want to feel good when you look in the mirror, abdominal muscles are a point of fixation for many! The problem is that we need to have a very low body fat percentage in order for our six pack muscles to really show, so only having a killer abdominal workout won’t be enough.

In fact, your body fat needs to be probably below the 10% mark in order to look like you have super ripped abdominals!

Now one thing worth mentioning right away here is that most body fat calculations made by machines in gyms these days are extremely inaccurate. These machines can have a percentage of error as much as 18%. In other words, it can give you a reading of 10% but you may actually have 28% body fat!

The golden standard for body fat calculations actually involves x-rays (known as DXA) so the point I’m trying to make here is that you shouldn’t rely on the machines at a gym or even a body-caliper calculation by a trainer. I will make an effort to write a more detailed article on this topic in the near future!

Ok, so body fat calculations aside, what we all want is to have those abs show so let’s take a look a quick look at what is causing us to have the layer of fat which hides the abdominals.Then we’ll jump right into the abdominal workout.

Bad eating habits – skipping breakfast or having 3 large meals a day keeps our metabolism low. Better to aim for 5 smaller meals throughout the day with healthy snacks (such as fruit, nuts, yogurt, smoothies). Also, try and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.

Being lazy – not getting to the gym regularly and sitting at a desk all day are big culprits which make us extremely lazy. Try to aim for at least 30mins of some kind of sweat-inducing activity daily (and yes vacuuming, cleaning and gardening do count!).

Poor sleep patterns – sleep is our body’s recovery period so not having regular sleep for 7-8 hours a day weakens our mental willpower to eat healthy and exercise at our highest intensity.

Abdominal Workout Routine

The above was a quick and simple review of what is causing us to not have sweet looking abdominals but what about a killer abdominal workout routine?

Try this abdominal workout twice a week and increase your core strength including your abs, hips and lower back muscles.

3 sets of the following exercises with 12-14 repetitions:
Abdominal crunches on a stability ball (view image)
Side plank (30 seconds each side) (view image)
Abdominal wheel extensions (view image)
Back extensions with stability ball (view image)
Balance board knee tucks (view image)
Hanging leg raises (view image)
Woodchopper with medicine ball (view image)
Deadlift with dumbbells (view image)

Add a 10 minute high intensity run at the end of this abdominal workout and you will start seeing great results with your abs in 3-4 weeks time.

Recommended Supplements to Boost Your Abdominal Workout

Want to make your abdominal workouts really work? Then you may want to include these supplements:

Thermogenic Fat Burner Stack (Try: Basic Fat Loss Stack)
Appetite Suppression (Try: Muscle Pharm Shred Matrix)
Whey Protein for Lean Muscle Production (Try: Optimum Platinum Hydrowhey)
Omega 3’s for Fat Oxidation (Try: AllMax Nutrition Omega 3)
Natural Pre Workout Energy Drink for Motivation & Maximum Force (Try: Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer)

Have any questions or feedback about this abdominal workout? Please leave a comment below: