How to Get Washboard Abs? No More Crunches! Perform Plank Exercises
Are you tired of doing endless crunches, day after day, waiting for those six-pack abs to appear – then it’s time to shake things up with a new routine. So, how to get washboard abs is the question. It’s time to move on to plank exercises. Doing the plank exercise is going to help you get your washboard abs. You might think this workout is not very sophisticated because planks are basically used in yoga. However, plank exercises are an extremely effective way to get those six pack abs and are part of the best ab workout.
I’ll explain the benefits of planks further on but first I want to look at the problems you’ll encounter if you just do crunches. The first thing to note is that if you want to get washboard abs, you can’t spot reduce belly fat by performing crunches or any other exercise. The only way you can drop enough fat to get six pack abs, you have to follow a high intensity interval training workout and follow a strict eating plan.
Moreover, I believe that crunches do not work well as a ab workout. Ab muscles are designed to help you keep your balance and your backbone straight. They are an essential part of your core. Crunches, on the other hand, require you to keep flexing your spine and bend using the weakest point in your back. As such, it adds tension to the lower part of your back and your posture gets worse.
Situps are an exercise that help remedy this issue because your back should remain straight as you do them. But, situps do not target the abs and only focus on the muscles of the lower part of the back. As a result, your posture will get worse and you might even feel some discomfort in your back. If you’re still not convinced, think of the age old advice of how to lift a heavy object. Bend at the knees and use your legs. If you bent straight over, you would likely strain your back.
On the other hand, plank exercises will work your abdominal muscles and that’s why they’re on of the best core exercises and women. You make your body stay still in a single position, which means both your back and ab muscles are getting stronger. A crunch only works the rectus abdominus muscle, while planks also work the transverse abdominus (the support for the rectus abdominus) so you’ll find that your six-pack abs may finally start to appear. Because the crunch only works the one muscle, you’ll develop a strange profile view where your abs appear to be sticking out.
But with several plank exercises available, you can develop all the core muscles and avoid all these problems. If you’re just starting off, then a good place to begin is the standard plank. Lie down as if you were preparing for a pushup, but instead of resting your weight on your hands, fold your arms and place the weight on your forearms. You hold your back completely straight while trying to hold your abdominals in. I’m sure you’re thinking this sounds easy, but the longer you try to hold the position, the harder it becomes. Begin by holding the plank for 30 seconds at a time and build up to holding them for between 2 and 3 minutes each.
Just perform this routine 2-3 times per week at most. Remember to rest your abs just as you would any muscle in the body. Plus you use them during other exercises such as pushups.
If you prefer to do more ab training, you can incorporate further core strengthening and abdominal exercises such as renegade rows or leg raises (a great prison workout exercise). To perform renegade rows, get down as if you are going to do a push up and execute a one-arm row as you keep yourself steady. You can also do hanging leg raises or lying leg raises. Done slowly, these focus on the muscles in your lower abs and back.
Building a strong core is the best way to get washboard abs. If you really want to have a good core and sexy abs, plank exercises as part of the best ab workout are one of the most effective ways to get there. You can strengthen your core by doing these between 5 and 10 minutes at a time, 2 or 3 times every week. You do not need to do crunches any longer, except if you want to get back discomfort, bad-looking abs, and a slouch. Instead, spend more time on fat burning workouts so that you will be able to see your abs.
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