Kenneth Gardner

If you are doing abdominals exercises with the hopes of developing your six pack and getting a flatter stomach, well you are not alone.

Everybody wants a flat, firm, washboard stomach, but still, a lot of person normally quit before even starting because they donot know where to start. Even with the vast amount of information available about developing abdominals, there is still much more misinformation on the topic. This is frustrating for persons searching for a flatter stomach, and constantly coming up short.

Abdominal exercises alone will never create a firm, six-pack stomach no matter how many exercises or 'reps' that you try to complete.

Here's the key

The key to washboard abs is lowering your body fat.

In simple terms, you need to burn more calories than you consume through cardiovascular exercising (running, jogging, cycling, etc.). A healthy diet is also as important as exercising when trying to develop your abdominals. In fact, a correct nutritional programme accounts for as much as 80 per cent of your success. Someone with very muscular abdominals, who has high body fat will not see any definition. And, someone who has not exercised the abdominals at all with low body fat will see plenty.

In addition, for abdominals to become visible, most men will have to reach at least 10 per cent of body fat or lower, while women must reach 14 per cent or lower. Even the timing of meals and the amount of food consumed is absolutely crucial when developing abdominals.

What abdominals do

The abdominal muscle is a large slab of muscle. It's main purpose is centred on shortening the distance between your sternum and your pelvis. The only way to achieve this movement is by bending your spine in the lower back region. It's pretty simple. Your abdominals are attached to your skeleton in two places: the bottom of your ribcage and the top of your pubic bone. When the abdominal wall is pulled flat it contracts and pulls those two parts of your body towards each other. This allows the lower back to 'round' slightly as you perform the exercise. Regular abdominal work-outs will help to strengthen your upper, lower and oblique abdominal muscles.

Here are some of the abdominalexercises that you can choose from.

1) Basic Crunch

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

Place your fingertips to the side of your head just behind your ears.

Push your lower back into the floor flattening the arch and hold.

Curl up slowly so both your shoulders lift off the floor a few inches.

Hold for a count of two and return to the start position.

2) Reverse Crunch

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

Place your fingertips to the side of your head just behind your ears.

Crossing your feet at the ankles, lift your feet off the ground to the point where your knees create a 90-degree angle.

Push your lower back into the floor flattening the arch and hold.

Your hips will slightly rotate and your legs will reach towards the ceiling with each contraction.

3) Side Bend

Holding a dumbbell in you right hand, stand with feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly bent.

Place your left hand behind your head and slowly bend sideways to your right, lowering the dumbbell down to your knee.

Return to an upright position and repeat for the desired number of reps.