Before we can do anything we need to look at how we are eating. Nutrition is the first step to getting a razor sharp abs. The worst thing that you can do for a set of hard abs is to eat sugar or any processed carbohydrates. In just a few short days you can lose a good percentage of body fat by just eliminating fried food, fruits juices, sports drinks and soda as well as fast food.

The best way to get a set of tight abs is to focus on full body training and circuit routinees that burn more fat. Crunches just hurt you back and research even shows that they are not effective at all for building a strong and tight core. Crunches aren't helpful and neither is slow and boring cardio that is useless for fat loss. If we are after a hard stomach then we need to stay far away from these two things.

Australian research has shown that the best way to get rid of stubborn stomach fat is with interval training. This same research has shown that interval training burns a greater percentage of body fat than slow cardio training.

Abdominal workouts should only begin after you are training hard with full body routines and you are eating right. Some interesting things that you may not know about abs are:

If you are new to ab training the last thing that you should do is jump into crunches and leg raises. Get strong at movements like planks, side planks, dead bugs and birddogs first. These movements will make your ab training so much more effective later on. You want to do core movements that will get you healthy and strong.

Once you've progressed from a beginner to an intermediate then you can start performing more challenging moves like

-Reverse Bent Knee Crunches

-Plank on a stability ball or foam roller, which has been shown to be safer on the back and better on the abs, then a traditional plank

-Stability ball rollouts, which absolutely hits every single ab muscle that you have.

From here you can start training with some unknown ab movements. These movements work multiple muscles but really work the abs hard.

-Barbell Deadlift

-Feet elevated on stability ball push-up

-Hands on stability ball push-up

-Dumbbell pull over

-Lying triceps dumbbell extension

-Front Squat

So the question is now what can you do to really bring out those hard abs? So what's the best way to get your abs to really show? the answer is to train them with weight and stop doing all the crunches that you have been doing. My favorite move is weighted stability ball crunches. This move is without a doubt the absolute best way you can really get those abs to show. Crunches are not needed to get a set of tight abs. Stop wasting your time and start working towards a set of tight abs with proven and effective training methods. You just need to focus on proper nutrition, full body exercises and interval training cardio. That's the recipe for success.

Copyright (c) 2007 Jimmy Smith