So here is the truth about obtaining abs, if that's what you're looking for. Well the truth is just this: We all have a flat stomach, 4-pack, and a 6-pack, they are called the rectus abdominus. Unfortunately, even though we may have these abs, some of us can't see them. Many people have never seen a flat stomach, but its there. Underneath layers of fat, our perfect washboard abs await discovery. Depending on your current health situation, bringing these abs out may be a difficult task. If you are overweight, and you have a significant amount of weight around your mid section there are a few things you should and shouldn't do.

You should not train you abs with heavy weight on a abdominal crunch, or oblique twist, or any machine for that matter. First thing you should do when train your abs is start with little or no resistance (your own body weight will be plenty) and high repetitions. I realize that you want to bring your abs out, but using heavy weight is not the way to go. Making your abs bigger when they are already under layers of fat will only make your entire stomach look bigger.

You should do cardio. Doing cardio is going to help you lose fat throughout your body. You can not point to a place and try to reduce fat in that area (spot reduction). After all, wouldn't you rather lose fat on your entire body, not just on your stomach? By doing the right amount and time of cardio, you can help the process of bringing your abs out easier. Its is possible to lose fat through cardio and to train you abdominal muscles, but it requires the right balance of cardio and resistance training for best results.

If you are extremely obese, don't run. Running is a good source of cardio but morbidly obese individuals need to find other methods for cardio to go along with the mid-section training because activities like running can put too much pressure on the knees. Low impact aerobics, the elliptical machine, walking and the stair stepper are all good alternate paths for losing weight for those abs. Remember, if you have a layer of fat over your abs, you have to have a mix of the right diet, then cardio and resistance training for the abs.

*REMEMBER: Don't be discouraged when trying to achieve that flat stomach. 1 pound of is equal to 3500 calories. If you have a lot of weight around your core, imagine how many pounds you need to lose, furthermore, how many calories must be burned. *Muscle helps to burn calories, so don't be afraid to use the weights. 1 pound of muscle increases the body's metabolism. So putting on lean muscle mass is good, and yes, you can get stronger not bigger.