



Which man, and woman, does not dream of having a sixpack? Or at least a flat and sexy abdomen. Especially when we grow older, the body tends to burn energy slower, and fat accumulates where we want it least. Having a ‘sitting’ job does not make things easier either.

There are two simple exercises, which are very effective in training your abdominal muscles. Having well developed abdominal muscles is important for two reasons. First of all, muscles need energy, meaning that the more muscle you have the more energy your body tends to burn each and every day. Second of all, strong muscles will improve your overall posture, making your stance more upright, more confident, and making you less prone to various health issues.

Crunches

The simple crunch is one of those classical exercises. You will lie down on your back, on a flat surface. Bend your knees and lift them up to a 45 degree angle. Now, cross your arms in front of your chest.

Slowly lift your upper body and shoulders, while keeping your legs and your lower back onto the ground. You can also clamp your feet under some object in order to keep them steady on the ground. While lifting up, you can immediately feel your abdominal muscles at work.

Hold that position for a second, and then lower your upper body, without actually lying down and coming to a rest. You can make about 15 repetitions for a set, and then take half a minute rest, before continuing to the second set. Do 3 or 4 sets.

Alternatively to crossing your arms in front of your chest, you can also take your hands and hold them directly behind your ears. Be careful not to actually hold your head in your hands, or to clamp your hands together. Due to the shift of the weight of your arms, the crunches will become more difficult.

Diagonal crunches

Diagonal crunches is an excellent exercise in order to train the outer abdominal muscles. The exercise is identical to the regular crunches. You will lie down on your back, on a flat surface. Bend your knees and lift them up to a 45 degree angle. take your hands and hold them directly behind your ears. Be careful not to actually hold your head in your hands, or to clamp your hands together.

Now lift up your upper body, but bring your left elbow to your right knee. Hold that position for a second, and lower your upper body. Now, lift up your upper body and bring your right elbow to your left knee.

This exercise can be repeated about 15 times in 3 or 4 sets.

Regularity

The biggest key to building strong and good looking abdominal muscles is regularity. Ideally, you will do the exercises each and every day, at a fixed time during the day. Some people love exercising in the morning before getting up, while others tend to take the time later during the evening.

If your muscles are not trained at all, chances are you will have sore muscles the next day. Although there exist different recommendations about how to handle sore muscles, it is the easiest thing to give it a rest for one or two days. You do not have to wait until the muscle ache is fully gone, but you should not be in pain when doing the exercises. You will likely not experience sore muscles is you do this exercise on a regular basis.