It ‘s a myth that hard to fall, according to which the exercises for the abdominals would be the best way to get a flat and defined stomach.
In fact the exercises alone will not allow you to burn enough calories to allow a significant reduction in abdominal fat. A belly fat, even if it is supported by a robust scaffold muscle, can never be carved.
The only advantage that you can get from training selective of these muscles is their tone, which helps to form a real “natural corset.” A more toned abdomen, equal to body fat, allows to obtain a slimmer figure and toned, in addition to preventing low back pain, and improve at the same time balance and posture.
The appearance is, however, affected by other factors that are far more important than simple toning exercises. In the first place, of course, we find the genetic because your abs are a muscle in itself very sensitive to what is written in their genetic code. In the population we can in fact encounter many differences, there are those who have symmetric abdominals and who has asymmetric ones, as well as some people have more or less deep muscle insertions. Genetics also influences hormonal balance, metabolism and the susceptibility  to accumulate fat in the abdominal region. Among the factors that you can control, at the first place we find nutrition, closely followed by physical activity, lifestyle and posture.

Will abs workout allow me to see my abs?

We already know that only diet and fitness together can create an outstanding weight-loss outcome. Performing abdominal exercises will do absolutely nothing to remove that layer of fat that is cover your abs. Many people feel that they can just lose the fat around their midsection and leave the fat in other areas untouched, this is impossible.

Should abs be trained every day?

The muscle tissue in the abdominals is the same as the muscle tissue in the rest of your body. All muscles need to have enough time between workouts to allow for recovery. Training your abs everyday will only overtrain your abs and they will not grow and become deeply etched. No one would come to the gym and train legs everyday: should it be different with abs?

 Should abs only be trained with high reps?

As we already explained the abdominal muscles are just like every other muscle. The abdominals are made up of both slow twitch muscle fibers, which respond best to low weight and high reps, and fast twitch muscle fibers, which respond best to heavy weight and low reps. To maximize results abs should be trained with both high reps and low reps (with added weight). As long as there is no fat around the midsection, no type of ab training will increase or decrease the size of your waist. The width of your waist is genetically predetermined. Using weight for ab training will cause the abdominal muscles to grow.

San Diego State University/ACE Abdominal Study Results

At the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University in 2001 Dr. Peter Francis, member of the American Council On Exercise,  investigated the efficacy of 13 different ab exercises performed with or without the use of tools. Through his studies, carried out thanks to a technique that allows us to study the number of motor fibers recruited and their intensity of contraction (electromyography), it was possible to establish a ranking of the exercises more efficient. The traditional crunch was chosen as a reference point and has been attributed to theoretical efficiency of 100%.

For strengthening the “rectus abdominus”, the 13 exercise were ranked most to least effective:

1. Bicycle maneuver
2. Captain’s chair
3. Crunches on exercise ball
4. Vertical leg crunch
5. Torso Track
6. Long arm crunch
7. Reverse crunch
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Ab Roller
10. Hover
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

For strengthening the “obliques”, the 13 exercise were ranked most to least effective:

1. Captain’s chair
2. Bicycle maneuver
3. Reverse crunch
4. Hover
5. Vertical leg crunch
6. Crunch on exercise ball
7. Torso Track
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Long arm crunch
10. Ab Roller
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

Training your abs intelligently, intensely, and being disciplined with your diet is the only way to get an impressive midsection.

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