How to Take Your Ab Game to the Next Level

If you feel like you work out your abs but just aren’t seeing the sort of results that you want, it might be time to make some tweaks here and there.

Watch Your Carbs

It’s not that you shouldn’t be eating carbs at all, you just want to make sure that you’re eating slow to digest carbs as opposed to highly processed ones that break down too quickly in the body. When you eat carbs from sources like white bread, sugary drinks, etc, they spike insulin levels that prevent the body from burning fat and leads to the storage of it, particularly in the ab area. Instead go for unprocessed oats, whole wheat breads, and fresh fruits, which will not halt fat burning capacities and have tons of other health benefits. If you are eating fast to break down carbs ever, it should only be immediately following a workout.

Add in Some Isometrics

In addition to your normal ab workouts, adding in isometric ones can help to change your results. When you perform isometrics you essentially flex the body part and hold for a period of time before releasing. Go for ten seconds on and ten seconds off. The thing about isometrics is that they can be done anywhere, and don’t need to be saved for the gym. You can perform isometrics while you’re driving in traffic or even while you’re sitting at your desk. Remember to keep breathing through it since breathing out completely helps you contract your ab muscles even more.

Forget the Rep Numbers

Often when we’re training muscle groups we pay attention to the rep amounts that we’re doing to time our breaks, but with your abs you don’t necessarily need to do this. It might be more effective to simply keep going with reps until you can’t go anymore. If you stick with a set amount you might not burn out by the time you reach that amount.

Don’t forget to add weights into your ab routine either. Adding weight isn’t going to make your abs get bulky and look thicker in the waist area. Just like other muscles your abs will benefit more from having weight added than just doing resistance exercises alone. The abs look better when they are defined and the weight is going to accomplish that.

Save Abs For Last

Some people suggest doing abs at the beginning of a workout to ensure that you don’t forget about them, but the thing about that is that doing abs at the beginning will fatigue your core and make it more challenging for you to remain stabile during other exercises. Save abs until the end to get the most reps out of your other moves and keep the proper flow.

Do Change Up Your Rep Speeds

One thing that can make a big difference in your ab workouts is changing up the rep speed. If you incorporate both slow and fast moves it will use more of the fast-twitch muscle fibers that will ultimately add to the strength and size of the muscles. For example, the faster you move the more you engage your outer oblique muscles, so changing it up will ensure you hit everything.