Many women find that the most attractive part of the male body is the beautiful definition of six pack abs. Six pack abs are not only sexy, but are a symbol of a fit and healthy man.

Women are instinctively drawn towards physically fit men. So it’s no wonder that in every gym, you will see men of all ages doing crunches, leg raises and sit-ups religiously in the hope of obtaining the much coveted six pack abs. Unfortunately, most men will never get to see their finely defined abdominal muscles because they tend to sabotage their progress.

The seven six pack abs tips below will make sure you don’t become your own worst enemy in your quest for ripped abs:

1. Avoid Fast Digesting Carbohydrates. Fast carbs spike insulin, which halts fat burning and boosts fat storage, particularly on top of your abs. Carbs to avoid our white bread, white potatoes, regular sodas, sports drinks, table sugar, etc. Instead, choose whole wheat, rye or sourdough breads, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, quinoa, legumes and brown rice. One exception: You can eat fast digesting carbs right after workouts when they’ll be put to work at boosting muscle recovery and growth.

2. Include Isometrics. I like to refer to this as the ab vacuum. Essentially, this means flexing your abs and holding that position. To do this, tense each muscle for 6-10 seconds, then relax for 6-10 seconds. Repeat for 10-20 sets. This is a great way to hit your abs while sitting in your car, on your couch or at your desk.

3. Remember To Breathe. When you perform an ab exercise such as a crunch, exhale when you reach the finish or top position. This is important because it helps you better contract your abs. Holding the position for a second or two will maximize muscle-fiber involvement.

4. Don’t Stop. You typically train in specific rep ranges, such as 8-10 or 12-15 reps per set. Yet when doing bodyweight ab exercises, you can’t alter the weight to match a predetermined number of reps. Therefore, rather than doing crunches or hanging leg raises for a set number of reps, do as many reps as possible until you come close to failure.

5. Use Weights. Ab muscles are just like biceps, so they need definition and separation to stand out. Include some weighted movements in the 8-10 rep range for optimal ab development.

6. Don’t Do Abs First. The abs, obliques and transverse abdominis work together to stabilize the core, which allows you to produce greater force. Training abs first fatigues them, which lessens your core stability and weakens your base, as well as your ability to generate force. Therefore, you should end your workout with abs training to ensure optimal performance in other areas of your workout.

7. Train Your Abs At Different Speeds. When conducting abs routines, change up your rep speed from slow and controlled to fast and explosive, allowing you to utilize more fast-twitch muscle fibers to build more power, strength and size. The fast reps will help recruit more muscle fibers in the midsection and turn the crunch, which targets the rectus abdominis into an effective oblique exercise.

Ladies love hard bodies. These six pack abs tips will help you lose belly fat and show off your six pack abs with a slim waistline to boot. Click the link below for additional free tips on building a lean, mean attraction machine.

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Many fitness trainers have explained to people that sit ups are damaging the spine. But how did they get that idea? You would imagine that you see many crippled athletes with great abs. Do you see so many people like that, with great abs but damaged backs? I haven’t seen those people.

Actually, I have done some research and I found out that “never do sit ups on the ab workout” saying was developed in a lab. The EMG studies showed that sit ups are stressing the spine more than the crunches. But what does that mean? Just because it is harder to do and it involves a bigger stress we have to sit on cotton balls and forget about sit ups? How do we know the truth? Isn’t it right that every sport exercise is stressing the body? Isn’t that what sports is all about?

I think that sports are about stressing your entire body so that it pushes the muscles and the spine and everything else, in order to stay fit. There are no easy workouts because just by lifting one hand and then the other you will not lose weight or stay in shape. You need to make an effort. The stress you apply on the body, within safety limits, is the one that gets your body stronger and fit.

Let’s investigate the sit ups more. The involvement of the hip flexors in the sit up motion is the thing that makes some people say that sit ups are bad. They also suggest that this activation leads to compressive forces on the spine. They say the movement should be avoided by I think that is just an overreaction.

Athletes and fitness people have been doing sit ups for ages now and they have reached amazing goals. In all the history of the fitness industry, for over 16 years, there isn’t a single case where sit ups have caused back injuries.

Some trainers also say: “since the crunches do not affect the spine, why not use only the crunches and forget about the sit ups?” But eliminating a perfectly good move is not the correct way of thinking.

In a sit up, the abs are responsible for the bottom part of the whole movement. The spine is flexed after the “crunch” part of that movement and the flexors take over at the end. This I when the hip flexors provide most of that movement but during that time the abs are working isometrically and the contraction is contributing to the positive training effect.

Also, sit ups are great because they create a caloric deficit. In a sit up you need to move through a large part of the motion and that burns calories. A sit up burns many more calories than the crunches do. If you want those great 6 pack abs, sit ups are the way to do it and not crunches. They will help you lose that unwanted fat in no time because they use more muscle groups and in a more efficient way.

Due to this, all the research that I have done, and all my experience in the fitness area, I sternly recommend push ups as a simple, efficient and great way to shape your body and those six pack abs. So go ahead and do sit ups and have a beautiful body.

The following are ten things to avoid when performing exercise for the abs.

1. Do not use a machine or contraption of any kind to exercise the abs, body weight and medicine balls are more than sufficient. No contraption or machine will ever work as well as a perfectly performed curl-up performed on the floor.

2. Do not pull on your neck with your hands while performing curl-ups this may cause excessive strain on the muscles and vertebrae and prevents the training of the neck flexor muscles. Rather place the fingertips on the ears.

3. Do not hoist your body up by throwing the arms and shoulders forward. Rather imagine having double-backed tape stuck to your spine and the back of your head and peeling the back slowly off the floor. Starting by peeling the back of the head, then the neck and then upper back off the floor. If you find it impossible to curl up to a 60-degree angle from the floor with the fingers touching the ears, try performing curl-ups with hands on the floor by the sides, pointing straight ahead or folded across the chest. Even laying propped up on a gradient of some kind will help, as this moves the center of gravity further towards the muscle origin, making the exercise easier.

4. Do not perform double straight leg lowering exercises for the lower abdominals and never allow them to be thrown down by a partner. This action can strain the lower back and actually stretch the abdominals and make them weaker. Rather perform double-knees to the chest in the lying position: hold the legs at 90 degrees of hip and knee flexion and then gently peel the tail bone off the floor (not the entire back) to cause a posterior tilting of the pelvis. Also, try performing scissor actions with the legs, but only if the low back remains flat against the floor.

5. Do not perform curl-ups with a straight back. This will only focus on the hip flexor muscles (iliopsoas) and may strain the lower back. Keep the spine as round as possible both during the upward movement and the downward movement.

6. Do not perform curl-ups with a “hole” in the lower back – this may strain the back, stretch the abdominals and actually make them weaker. Before starting the exercise, perform a drawing in maneuver and tilt the pelvis posteriorly by pressing the lower back into the floor. (Imagine trying to squash a grape under the low back to make sure the lower back remains flat throughout the exercise).

7. Do not perform curl-ups with excessively bent knees, especially if you have tight hip flexors and an excessive forward tilt of the pelvis. It is a common misconception that flexing the hips puts the hip flexor muscles “on slack” making them less able to contribute to the exercise, and targeting the abdominals more. (This assumption is false since the iliacus muscle spans a single joint and can work quite efficiently even near full hip flexion). Repeatedly, exercising in this manner may cause these muscles to tighten and shorten even more. Flex (bend) at the knee and hip only enough to allow the lower back to flatten into the floor.

8. Do not perform curl-ups on an excessively soft or springy surface e.g. a mattress, trampoline (?) or thick foam mat as this will assist in the exercise or make the flattening of the lower back more difficult.

9. Do not fix the feet under a bed or have anyone hold them when performing multiple curl-ups as this will allow for a majority of the sit-up to be caused by the hip flexor (groin) muscles. If the abdominals fatigue or are not strong enough to hold the back flat, the hip flexors will cause an forward tilt of the pelvis and the development of a “hole” in the lower back as discussed in 6.

10. Do not avoid doing abdominal exercises. Many exercisers are reluctant to perform abdominal exercises because they experience more discomfort in their neck and lower back than in their abdominals. Use something like an electronic abs belt to augment and support your training.

Follow the suggestions and alternatives presented here (and lose bodyfat with a good quality supplement like acai burn) and you’ll be well on your way to obtaining the coveted “six pack” abs.