Common Myths About Getting Ripped Six Pack Abs

The assumption that if you have fat over your abs, exercising the abs muscles will burn the fat that sits over the top of them is often repeated. Whilst exercising the muscles will help increase strength and endurance, it won’t necessarily burn off fat in that area.

The body draws energy from the entire body when exercising, it doesn’t localise it to the part being exercised. The only way to burn fat from your belly is by reducing overall body fat. The only way to do this is to create a calorie deficit. This is done through cardio, weight training and flexibility training alongside a healthy low-calorie, high-nutrient diet.

Ab Muscles Are Different from Other Muscles in The Body

A very common mistake people make is to work their abs excessively, day in, day out, way more than they exercise other muscles. They usually do this in the hope of burning stomach fat (see point number 1), but they should be trained like any other muscle. That means strength training 2-3 times per week between a variety of exercises to target different areas.

Ab Work Means Repetition

The key to strong abs is quality, not quantity. A lot of people fall into the trap of attempting to perform hundreds of ab crunches every day. No body part should be put under so much pressure as to perform the same exercise hundreds of times a day, this will simply end up in an injury.

To make strength gains, you need to overload your ab muscles – just like any other muscle. If you are feeling the need to perform hundreds of reps, then it’s a sign you aren’t working them hard enough.

Training your abs should coincide with the rest of your exercises, so never concentrate on one part of your body too much over the rest. If you are training for running events, chiselled abs may not be the best way to help yourself: focus less on what your body looks like, and more on what it can do.