Ab exercises can be made harder or more difficult with simple understanding of gravity, bodyweight and levers (our joints are levers!). Here's an example: Too often, I'll see Knee Raises being performed for hundreds of repetitions led down. Here's an easy progression of the same exercise to increase difficulty - Lying Knee Raises > Lying Leg Raises > Vertical Knee Raises > Vertical Leg Raises. Remembering that our joints are levers, DO NOT move a large weight closer to the pivot-point in order to perform hundreds of reps, as it will make the exercise EASIER! I.e. Sit-Ups with 50kg in your groin or full-stack Cable Crunches with the weight pulled close to your groin. If you move the load FURTHER from the pivot-point, the greater the required force by you, therefore, if you perform say Cable Crunches with the load in front of your head, the force required to shift the same load will be that much greater. Think of a Seesaw and how whether you move closer or further away from the pivot-point affects the other person.
So, for six pack abs, we need to lose body fat and strengthen and grow our Abs. To achieve this, we need to bring about a further energy deficit, incorporate heavy functional movements within our training, and perform Ab exercises with greater efficiency.
The above statement is not the whole story. Whilst it's true for developing your Abs to their best, once you've succeeded, you may not actually have a six pack. In fact, I have a perfectly symmetrical 8 pack. A paired muscle, Abs run vertically parallel and separated by a connective tissue called the Linea Alba. The most common genetic structure of the Abs is in the configuration of a six pack and is rarely symmetrical. However, it can be present in a different arrangement, such as a 10 pack, 8 pack, or 4 pack. Your Abs can look impressive whether you develop a 10 pack, 8 pack, 6 pack, or 4 pack, and whether symmetrical, or not!
The above statement is not the whole story. Whilst it's true for developing your Abs to their best, once you've succeeded, you may not actually have a six pack. In fact, I have a perfectly symmetrical 8 pack. A paired muscle, Abs run vertically parallel and separated by a connective tissue called the Linea Alba. The most common genetic structure of the Abs is in the configuration of a six pack and is rarely symmetrical. However, it can be present in a different arrangement, such as a 10 pack, 8 pack, or 4 pack. Your Abs can look impressive whether you develop a 10 pack, 8 pack, 6 pack, or 4 pack, and whether symmetrical, or not!
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