Are you looking for the complete guide to building awesome abs? Abs are the one muscle group that almost everyone wishes they had and that almost everyone wants to make more impressive. As a result, we often consider the abs among the sexiest muscle groups and signify that a person is slim, toned, and athletic.

Building great abs gives you strength and performance benefits that can bleed into every other aspect of your physical ability. That is because the abs are your core and give you the strength to stabilize yourself during other movements.

But the problem is that many people do not know how to build their abs. With that in mind, read on, and we’ll explore what makes the difference between a six-pack and a beer belly.

Body Fat

The first thing to recognize is that you need to reduce your body fat percentage if you want visible abs. You can have the strongest muscles possible, but they still won’t be visible if you don’t lower your body fat percentage.

Note that you can’t target fat loss. Also, one of the essential keys to building visible muscle is to make sure that you incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to burn fat. Almost everyone agrees that weightlifting and HIIT training is the most effective way to burn fat and keep it off. However, while we need some cardio for athletic performance, it does not offer the best long-term results.

Finally, burning stomach fat comes down to eating less and moving more. Thus, eating foods high in protein and fiber increases your metabolism, keeps you full longer, and provides better health and fitness. Your diet is the most crucial factor with any fitness goal because you are what you eat. However, not all foods are equal. Unhealthy foods sabotage your fitness goals, while healthy foods help you reach your goals faster.

Engaging the Abs

Another thing to recognize is that you need to engage your abs during exercise. Many people will perform abdominal exercises but don’t train their abs as much as their hips. The hip flexors can perform a very similar job to the abs by folding the body in half, but they don’t have the same visual appeal (if you ask most people).

In short, if you perform sit-ups and leg raises so that your body folds at the waist, you are not training the abs. Instead, you need to roll the abs and curl your stomach round through the movements. Also, you can work with Choe, Ayda, or other celebrity fitness trainers who focus on training the abs. Finally, select a good abs workout to focus on the abs when following the proper form.

The Different Ab Muscles

Making life more confusing is that you have different muscles in the midsection. As many of us think about them (the six-pack), we define the abs by your rectus abdominis, the muscle plate that sits on the front of your stomach and has the six indentations we all want to achieve.

Meanwhile, though, you also have the transverse abdominis. Also, this muscle aims to provide support for the lower spine and hold in the stomach. Therefore, training this muscle is crucial for performance, but it also helps you create flatter abs.

You can hit this muscle by using the myotatic crunch (a crunch performed over a Bosu ball so that your back arches) or by using the cat vomit exercise that involves sucking your abs in a while on all fours to create an abdominal vacuum.

Finally, you have the obliques. These sit on either side of the rectus abdominis and give you more definition and the ability to torque. Again, train them using twisting sit-ups and similar movements. Also, we recommend compound exercises to work the muscles, bones, and nervous system as a team. Thus, this will burn more calories and build muscle, leading to fat loss.

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Conclusion

So there you have it–the complete guide to building awesome abs. We hope you found this information helpful and that you are now inspired to hit the gym and start working on your six-pack.

Remember, diet and exercise are essential for seeing results, so work hard and stay consistent. Also, combine isolated and compound exercises into your workout to get the best results because you can target stomach fat.

Don’t forget to get 8 hours of sleep because that is when you burn the most fat. You can’t eat while you sleep, which is the most significant factor in burning stomach fat and creating six-pack abs.

Finally, set goals using a fitness calculator, so you stay motivated and track your results. And have fun with it! Building muscle and burning stomach fat can be challenging but rewarding, so enjoy the process and see how far you can push yourself. Are you excited about getting started? Let us know how your journey goes in the comments below.