Are you tired of doing endless crunches, day after day, waiting for those six-pack abs to appear – then it’s time to shake things up with a new routine. How to get washboard abs then? I want to tell you about plank exercises. The plank exercise is a great way to really develop those core areas in place of the usual crunches. It may not be the sexiest exercise for you “manly men,” since planks are a yoga movement, but plank exercises are certainly one of the most effective ab exercises around.
Prior to going into the details of the exercise, I want to talk about why crunches are not the best abs exercise. In order to get washboard abs, you need to know that crunches, or other kinds of workouts, are not going to lower the amount of fat you have around your stomach. In order to see your abdominal muscles, you have to drop the extra weight by combining high intensity interval training workouts with a healthy, low fat diet.
You also need to have an exercise program that effectively targets the abs, which crunches do not do. Abs are part of core muscles that are meant to stabilize your body and keep your spine straight. Crunches involve the exact opposite movement, whereby you flex your spine and “crunch” at your back’s weakest point. All you end up with for all your effort is a strained lower back and poor posture.
Situps solve half the problem since you should be keeping your back straight when performing them. But, situps do not target the abs and only focus on the muscles of the lower part of the back. Once again, you’ll walk away with lower back pain and poor posture. If you do not believe me, you might want to remember the old adage about lifting heavy items. Bend your knees, lift with your legs – not the back. By not doing this, you will be putting undo stress on your back muscles.
Plank workouts, though, are part of the best core exercises and are an excellent method to get washboard abs. You make your body stay still in a single position, which means both your back and ab muscles are getting stronger. A crunch only works the rectus abdominus muscle, while planks also work the transverse abdominus (the support for the rectus abdominus) so you’ll find that your six-pack abs may finally start to appear. Because the crunch only works the one muscle, you’ll develop a strange profile view where your abs appear to be sticking out.
A variety of plank exercises are available to help you meet your goals. The best starting point is the standard plank. Get down on the floor as if you are going to do a push up, but put your weight on your forearms rather than your hands. Once you lift up, you’ll want to hold your back as straight as you can while you keep your abdominals tucked in. I’m sure you’re thinking this sounds easy, but the longer you try to hold the position, the harder it becomes. It’s best to start with 30 second sets and slowly build up to 2 – 3 minute periods.
Just perform this routine 2-3 times per week at most. Abs are like any other muscle in that they require rest. Keep in mind that you will use your abs when you do other workouts too.
If you want to add more ab workouts, you might use other exercises that focus on strengthening your core and abs like leg raises (Convict Conditioning style…just like in a prison workout) or renegade rows. In a renegade row, you’ll go into your pushup position, then perform a one-arm row while you stabilize your body. Other good options are the hanging leg raise and the lying leg raise. If you take your time when you do these, your back and ab muscles will be targeted.
If you want to get washboard abs, strengthening your core is an excellent way to do it. If you really want to have a good core and sexy abs, plank exercises are one of the most effective ways to get there. You can strengthen your core by doing these between 5 and 10 minutes at a time, 2 or 3 times every week. Unless you like having lower back pain and a droopy posture, avoid the crunches and switch to planks. Instead, spend more time on fat burning workouts so that you will be able to see your abs.