Welcome to Workout Ab – your source for ab workouts and more.  You’re probably here because you want to firm up your tummy, or lose some weight to eventually show off your six packs abs.  There is a lot of misinformation online about how to get this done.  And although this will not be an exhaustive list of the best workouts, we would like to help you find the right workout for you regardless of your age or fitness level.

Will standard sit ups work for you?  If done properly, they can be very effective.  But there are so many more ab exercises that can be done that can be even better.  The important thing to remember when performing these exercises is to constantly pay attention to your abs during the workout.  Make sure they are engaged.  Hold your tummy in when doing the crunch.  Focus on that section of your body to make sure you are getting the most of your time in the gym.  Don’ use momentum to help your body swing in one direction.  Work the muscle hard.

A common misconception about working out your abs is that you have to work them every day to get a flat stomach.  You don’t.  As a matter of fact, this can be detrimental to reaching your goal.  You wouldn’t work your legs or arms every day, right?  Your abdominal muscles are the same way.  They need time to recover.  When you are building muscle, the process begins with breaking down the muscle first.  That is where the exercises come into play.  For the muscle group to recover, it needs time to heal.  You really need 48 to 72 hours rest between resistance training of any muscle group.

Another misconception is target training.  Yes, you can and should target specific areas to increase strength and definition of the muscle.  However, you can’t work out your abs only to lose belly fat.  The secret really is strength training, though.  You burn many more times the calories lifting weights than you do in a cardio session.  Weight lifting will raise your metabolism for up to 72 hours, whereas standard cardio training may only raise your metabolism for 3 hours after your workout.  The reason weight training keeps your metabolism elevated so long is your body is working overtime rebuilding the muscle tissue your tore will lifting.  Here’s a big tip: your legs are more than likely the biggest key to burning fat and revealing your six pack abs.  Why?  This is the largest set of muscles in your body.  It takes more effort from your body (therefore, more calories) to rebuild these muscles than any other part of your musculature.  This is not to say you don’t want to work your abs.  You do.  But to get the most effective ab workout you really want to target your WHOLE body, and not just your abs.

While some of us have no problem when it comes to our commitment to getting to the gym on a regular basis, where we often times fail is in the kitchen or restaurant.  Diet and food in general are very important to a flat tummy for two main reasons.  Number one: you could have the best 6 pack in the world, but a roll of fat will hide them from everyone!  If you want to show shredded abs, you need to lose the fat surrounding them.  Number two:  you need to fuel your body for proper recovery from workouts.  This can be a balancing act for sure.  You want to lose weight, so you need to cut your caloric intake, but you need just enough of the right foods to supply your body with the nutrients it needs to restore and build your muscle.  You’ll need a lot of protein and slow burning carbs.  Good protein sources would be a protein shake 30 minutes post workout, lean meats, and cottage cheese.  Slow burning carbs would be whole wheat, yams, sweet potatoes, etc.  You can eat as many veggies you can get in you, but stay away from more sugary stuff like carrots.  Another great tip: apples!  Eat between 1 and 3 a day.  They are filling, a great source of fiber, and they activate your digestive enzymes to help you the digestive process.

This should get you started for a workout ab routine.  Check back once in a while as we will continue to post more information to help you achieve your goals of a sexy flat tummy or six pack abs workout, the best ab workout, home ab workout, lower abs workout, free ab workout, whether or not you should use and exercise ball or fitness ball, and maybe even THE best abdominal exercise available.