Are You Making These 4 Abdominal Training Mistakes?

Stomach Exercises

Who doesn’t want six-pack abs? But it takes hard work, smart training and good technique to sculpt
enviable abdominal muscles – and it doesn’t happen overnight. Unfortunately, too many people are putting hours of sweat labor into building abs – and not seeing results. If your six-pack abs look more like more like overinflated muffin tops, you may not be working your abdominals properly. Here are four common abdominal training mistakes that can come between you and sexy abdominals.


Abs Training Mistake: Trying to Crunch Your Way to a Six-Pack

Crunches have their place as part of a well-rounded abdominal workout, but hundreds of crunches won’t melt away the layer of body fat that’s covering your abdominal muscles. You may already have the beginnings of a six-pack, but until you burn off the body fat that’s hiding them, no one will know it. Spend some of your crunch time on the treadmill, or do circuit training where you alternate strength training with short bursts of cardio. Focus on fat-burning along with your abdominal training, and watch those washboard abs take shape.

Abdominal Training Mistake: Doing Too Many Reps

The more the crunches and leg raises the better, right?  When it comes to building beautiful abdominals, form is more important than reps. If you can belt out hundreds of crunches, you’re not focusing enough on your form, and you’re using momentum to do part of the work. High reps builds endurance, but they’re not so good for building defined abdominal muscles. Cut back on the number of repetitions you do. Instead, focus on doing fewer reps at a slow, more controlled speed with a focus on good form. Get into the zone and focus on each repetition. When you do the last rep, your abdominals should be fatigued. Do this and you’ll feel the difference. and see better results in six to eight weeks.

Abs Training Mistake: Not Doing a Well-Rounded Abdominal Workout

To get a six-pack, you need to work all of the muscles in your abdominal region and back including the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques and the erector spinae muscles that line the spine. When you focus on crunches, you’re only working the rectus abdominis muscles. Do a focused workout that targets all of these critical muscles, and add variety to your routine by doing Pilates moves. Keep challenging your abdominal and back muscles in new ways. Strengthening your back adds balance and helps to improve your posture so your abdominals look tighter.

Abdominal Training Mistake: It’s Not Just Exercise

This is one of the biggest abdominal training mistakes of all. Building a six-pack is as much about diet as it is about exercise. If you’re eating a high-calorie diet full of high-glycemic carbs and processed foods, you’re thwarting your progress. Cut back on processed foods and replace them with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. Eat a small amount of high-quality protein with each meal to satiate your appetite and keep your metabolism primed. Drink more water to reduce bloating from water retention. It may not help you build a six-pack, but your tummy will look tighter if you’re not distended from fluid retention.
If you make any one of these abs training mistakes, take steps to correct it. It could mean the difference between abs of jelly and abs of steel.