The Best Exercises to Get 6-Pack Abs |

As a personal trainer, one of the most commonly asked questions I get asked is, “what are the best exercises toget 6-pack abs.” Most people think that I am going to respond with some type of crunches, leg raises, or some other ab exercise.

That’s why most people are shocked when I inform them that the best exercises to get 6-pack abs are not even ab exercises at all.

Here is how it works.

Everyone has a set of 6 pack abs, but the problem is that most people can’t see their ab muscles because they are buried under layers of belly fat. In order to see your abs you have to get rid of the belly fat that your abs are hiding behind and lower your body fat percentage low enough to be able to see your ab muscles.

Women usually need to get lower than 17 percent body fat and men under 12 percent body fat. These numbers will vary based on the individual, but you get the point.

Ab workouts only help to strengthen your core, which something that is real important because of all the benefits related to having a strong core. But, in reality there is no such thing as spot reduction, so I can’t just tell you to go and do 10,000 crunches and you will lose your abdominal fat. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t work that way.

Ab workouts only are a small part of the overall picture.

The best exercises for losing your belly fat and getting 6 pack abs are multi joint exercises; like squats, dead lifts, lunges, presses, pull ups, rows, Olympic lifts, Ect…….

It takes a lot more energy for your body to perform these multi joint exercises because there are many different muscle groups involved in each movement and as a result they cause an increase in your body’s metabolic activity. The increase in your body’s metabolism causes your body to burn more calories, even at rest.

So if you want to get 6-pack abs you need to be doing total body workouts using all multi-joint exercises.

Here is an sample workout:

DB Squat to Press

Pull Up

Dead Lift

Push Up

Reverse Lunge w/ curl

Burpees