Develop A Strong Core And Six Pack Abs Without Situps!

As a London Personal Trainer I often get asked how to develop a strong core and 6 pack stomach muscles. It seems that so many people are still practicing old exercises and cranking out hundreds of situps on a daily basis in the hope of reducing stomach fat and developing their 6 pack abs.

Doing regular sit ups or crunches will not only give you back problems but doesn’t really help in develping your core and revealing your stomach muscles. Our core / stomach muscles are more complex than you may think and need to be worked in three different planes of motion for optimal results. Doing regular situps and crunches is both unnatural and only addresses one plane of movement, and it’s not very good at doing that.

As well as taking the core / stomach muscles through 3 different planes of movement the body fat covering the abdominals must also be addressed. Forget the old wives tale about spot reducing fat, this simply isn’t the case, hundreds of situps won’t burn stomach fat - fat naturally comes off in layers from all over the body. The only way to reduce stomach fat is with a good total body exercise programme and by eating a healthy diet.

Remember that we all have stomach muscles waiting to be seen under our belly fat but in order to increase their size and make them more visable they need to be trained like any other body part. So, a combination of the correct abdominal / core exercises, a healthy diet and a good all over body routine will bring your 6 pack abs out for all to see.

I have found the following 6 exercises to be the best for stabalising your core and reducing potential back pain whilst bringing your abdominals / obliques to the surface.

Bird dog, Front plank, Side plank, Mountain climbers (front, out and inwards).

For full details of these exercises with photos please visit my site below.

GB Personal Training is run by Greg Brookes a fully certified Health and fitness consultant. Based in Hampstead North London NW3 he offers personal training and advice to people wishing to make the most out of their health. http://www.gbpersonaltraining.co.uk