Obtaining ripped, six-pack abs requires that you reduce your abdominal fat as much as possible while developing the underlying abdominal muscles. No matter how hard you work on your abdominal muscles, your efforts will be in vain if you're not reducing your body fat by a reduced-caloric diet, intense cardio, and full-body weight training. Assuming that you have that part under control, the next key element in obtaining your ripped, six-pack ab look is the specific training of the abdominal muscles.
The abdominal muscle group is no different from other muscles and can be trained 2-3 times per week with at least one rest day between workouts. Each workout should include 2-4 abdominal exercises for 2-4 sets per exercise within a repetition range of 8-20. The abdominal muscles recover quickly between sets and, therefore, rest between sets should be less than one minute. For the best muscular development, abdominal exercises such as Hanging Knee Raises, Bicycle Maneuver, Reverse Crunches, and Crunches on the Ball should be the mainstay of your ab training routines.
If you've been training your abs for a while, then try the following killer routine to get the ripped, muscular six-pack ab look. Perform as a circuit for four circuits with minimal rest between exercises and 30 seconds rest between circuits
Bicycle Maneuver - for 20 reps
Hanging Knee Raises - for 15 reps
Crunches on Exercise Ball - for 12 reps
Reverse Crunches - for 8 reps
It's important that each exercise be performed with strict form and proper technique. Each repetition should be performed in a controlled manner by taking 2-3 seconds to contract the abs and 3-4 seconds to extend the abs.
This routine will thoroughly fatigue the abdominal muscles to stimulate growth while also helping to burn body fat. Add this killer routine to your arsenal of abdominal training techniques.
