Why Obsessing over Abs Workouts Is a Total Waste of Time

The popular misconception out there is that doing chest exercise burns fat off your chest, glute exercise burns fat off your glutes, and exercises burn fat off your stomach.

These facts are misleading because you can’t spot and reduce any particular body fat.

Fat loss results from staying in a calorie deficit over time, burning fat throughout the body as a whole, but you can’t identify which part of the body the fat is pulled from.

When you maintain a deficit and consistently burn more calories than you are taking in, your entire body will lean down in general, but you have no control over the order that fat gets burned.

And some stubborn fat areas are hard to burn and take a longer time to lean down. The stomach is usually one of those areas.

So when you do these ab workouts, what you are really doing is targeting the abdominal muscles underneath that layer of fat in order to grow those muscles and make them pop out more visibly.

But at the end of the day, no amount of ab training alone is going to get you a six-pack.

The primary purpose of an abs workout is to get you lean enough in your entire body and to grow basic muscles in the abdominal area.

My point is the abs workout doesn’t just build the abdominal muscles alone. Every other muscle in your body grows as well.

And the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

What exercises work the abdominal muscles

As far as ab selection exercises go, there are usually few exercises you could choose from, and they must not be intensity training exercises.

Abs training exercises that target the abdominal muscles are basic crunch exercises, which should be the main go-to workout because the primary function of the rectus abdominis is spinal flexion.

In those with low body fat, it is clearly visible beneath the skin forming the six-pack.

Regular crunches can tighten the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques, and transversus abdominis). And some of my favorite ab exercises include:

Machine crunch

The machine crunch exercise targets the abs and obliques.

It involves sitting upright on the machine and bending your torso toward your chest at a preset resistance level.

This exercise reduces the spare tire around your gut and progressively overloads your abs.

Kneeling cable crunch

The kneeling cable crunch is a very effective isolation exercise for your abdominal and core muscles.

Using a cable station allows you to add weight by pulling on a pin, and the constant tension you get from the cable means your abs have to work hard at every point in the exercise’s range of motion.

Include this exercise in your abdominal routine as it is a great muscle and strength builder.

Bicycle crunch

Bicycle crunches are a classic when it comes to achieving flat abs and building a six-pack.

Bicycle crunches can help tone your abs and slim your waist.

Since bicycle crunches require more leg movements than standard crunches, they’re also great for improving stability, flexibility, and posture.

Weighted crunch

Adding weight is a common form of progression used to make bodyweight exercises like the crunch more challenging.

The primary muscles activated during a crunch are the rectus abdominis, the muscle fibers of the trunk.

Other muscles used include the obliques, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which are the muscles that connect the thigh bones to the pelvis.

Reverse crunch

The reverse crunch is when you lie on your back, contract your abs, lift your hips off the ground, and then draw your knees toward your chest.

A reverse crunch is one of the most basic abdominal exercises. It helps strengthen your lower back, hips, and spine — making your abs stronger and more flexible, and also helps improve posture.

You don’t have to do all of these workouts. You can choose two or three of these abdominal exercises that will make you feel great and engage your abs — will definitely do the job.

In conclusion

You have to stop thinking that doing a 15 minutes abs routine or particular exercise is going to magically reduce your belly fat and give you six-packs.

These dedicated time-constrained workouts must be done over an extended period to build your muscles.

And some of the workouts in Youtube abs training sessions do not specifically target the abdominal muscles, which is a waste of your time.

Getting lean around your midsection can be tricky because things like genetics, gender, and stress can all play a part in weight loss.

It requires a combination of a healthy diet, sleep schedule, stress management, genetics, and exercises to build up the ab muscles and get them as visibly as possible.

About author

Jessey Anthony is a motivational speaker, fitness coach and relationship expert who helps people become confident in themselves in any challenges they face in life. Sign up to my newsletter & more cool stuff.

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