Call them what you wish: washboard abs, the six-pack or just a flat stomach. The desire for a lean, tone midsection is often what draws to people to the gym, to spend hours exercising and thousands of dollars on equipment and gimmicks. To whittle down your middle first you need to eat properly and engage in regular cardiovascular and strength training. Then, you can sculpt eye-popping abs with a routine that targets all the midsection muscles.

The Muscles

The abdominal region is home to three sets of muscles that protect the spine and internal organs. Tighten your stomach and poke yourself anywhere from the sternum to the pelvis and you’ll be touching the rectus abdominis, the flat plate of muscle visible on individuals with a six-pack. The internal and external obliques run along the sides of your body and give your torso a V-shape when they are toned. The transverse abdominis is a thin sheath of muscle located deeper along the abdominal wall and is used to help stabilize your spine and pelvis.

Body Weight Exercises

You can effectively train your abs with a body weight routine at the home. Crunches, reverse crunches and knee-ins work the rectus abdominis. Oblique crunches, side bends and side planks tone the obliques. Front planks tighten the transverse abdominis. Some exercises like elbow-to-knee crunches, V-ups, the boat pose and bicycles target all the muscles in the abdominal region. Try a circuit that consists of crunches and reverse crunches for the upper and lower abs, oblique crunches for the sides and plank for the transverse abs. Do three circuits of 10 to 15 reps for each style of crunches, and hold the planks for 30 seconds. Rest for one minute between each circuit.

Ab Training Equipment

Mixing in some equipment will spark your ab routine by providing variety and creating new challenges for the muscles. Stability ball crunches and stability ball knee tucks rank among the most effective moves to tone the rectus abdominis. Perform two or three sets of 10-15 reps of each exercise. The suspension trainer, straps that can be attached to doors, walls or ceilings, will ramp up the intensity of planks. Hold plank with your feet in the straps for 30 seconds, rest and repeat for two more sets. Use medicine balls and dumbbells for resistance to crank up the workload on the muscles.

Training Regimen

The abdominals are tremendous endurance muscles. You can work them all day, depending on intensity, but that doesn’t mean you should. Some people do hundred of crunches and other ab exercises everyday; however, the ab muscles, like all muscles, need time to rest and recover. Give your self a day off between ab workouts, even longer if your abs are sore.

Diet and Fat Burning

If you really want ab muscles that stand out, you need more than just an ab routine. Total body strength training, high intensity interval training and metabolic conditioning routines will stoke your body's fat burning metabolism. Aerobic conditioning will also burn off the fat. Finally, you need a diet that keeps your calories consumed in a range that will help you to lose, or maintain, an appropriate weight.


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About the Author

David Raudenbush has more than 20 years of experience as a literacy teacher, staff developer and literacy coach. He has written for newspapers, magazines and online publications, and served as the editor of "Golfstyles New Jersey Magazine." Raudenbush holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in education.