Most of us would love to have a flat stomach with sexy six pack abs but are still trying to figure out how to accomplish this!
The best ab workout would involve a combination of abs exercises to work the different abdominal muscles.

Abdominal muscles

The correct combination of cardio exercise, weight training activities and a healthy balanced diet can improve your shape, overall health and help you get a great six-pack.
Keep in mind that while Abdominal exercises are important since they build your six-pack muscles and shape them, you will be able to feel the results in a few weeks, but you must burn fat from your stomach if you actually want to see results.

For more information about abdominal muscles, please refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_abdomen

Postural Guidelines for Ab Exercises:

Exercising in proper postural alignment will increase your workout’s effectiveness and substantially decrease your likelihood of injury. Therefore, correct posture should be maintained at all times during your abdominal exercises. Follow the simple guidelines below to improve your posture.

Postural Guidelines for Abs:

1. Make sure your head is horizontal to the ground and centered over your shoulders.
2. Bring your chest up.
3. As you bring your chest up, your shoulders must relax and not go up. Therefore, relax your shoulders down and back.
4. Tighten your abs by pulling your belly button to your spine.
5. Align your knees with your second and third toes.
6. Make sure your knees are not locked. There must always be a slight bend in them.
7. Lay with your feet spaced comfortably apart (usually hip width).

Below are some great abdominal exercises for the best abdominal workout.
Some can be done at home without any equipment and some requires some equipment purchase or a gym membership.
A good abdominal workout will contain 4-8 abdominal exercises from the following list (follow the instructions on each page in order to build the best six pack abs):

1. Ab Rocker (or Roller) exercise
2. Bicycle crunch exercise
3. Captain’s chair exercise
4. Full verticul crunch exercise
5. Long arm crunch exercise
6. Plank on Elbows and Toes exercise
7. Reverse crunch exercise
8. Swiss ball crunch exercise
9. Torso Track exercise
10. Vertical leg crunch exercise

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The vertical leg crunch is another effective move for the rectus abdominis and the obliques. Follow these precise guidelines to get the best bodybuilding routine abdominal workout:

Vertical leg crunch exercise

1. Lie face up on the floor and lift your legs straight up with knees crossed.
2. Contract your abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor, as though lifting your chest towards your feet.
3. Keep your legs in a fixed position and imagine bringing your belly button towards your spine at the top of the movement.
4. Lower and repeat for 2-4 sets of 10-20 reps. Do this abs excercise 2-5 times a week in order to build six pack abs.

Vertical leg crunch exercise video:

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The Torso Track is a tough exercise because it can hurt your back if you’re not careful. Follow these precise guidelines in order to get the correct bodybuilding routine abdominal workout:

Torso track exercise - starting position

1. Grip the handles of the Torso Track and pull your abs in without holding your breath (as though bracing them).
2. Exhale and glide forward as far as you comfortably can. If you collapse in the middle and feel it in your back, you’ve gone too far.
3. Contract your abs to pull your body back.
4. Add tension by using more tension chords.
5. Repeat for 2-4 sets of 10-30 reps. Do this abs excercise 2-5 times a week to build six pack abs.

Torso track exercise - end position

Not the best video, but it’s the only one that I found for the Torso Track exercise:

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The Swiss ball is an excellent tool to strengthen your abs . Follow these guidelines for a correct bodybuilding routines abdominal workout:

Swiss ball crunch exercise - starting position

1. Lie face up with the ball resting under your mid/lower back.
2. Cross your arms over your chest or place them behind your head.
3. Contract your abs to lift your torso off the ball, pulling the bottom of your ribcage down toward your hips.
4. As you curl up, keep the ball stable (i.e., you shouldn’t roll).
5. Lower back down, stretching your abs, and repeat for 2-3 sets of 5-15 reps. Do this excercise 2-5 times a week in order to build six pack abs.

Swiss ball crunch exercise - end position

Swiss ball crunch exercise video:

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It may seem like the reverse crunch is for the lower abs but, remember, the rectus abdominis is one long muscle, so you can’t separate the upper abdomen from the lower abdomen. Follow these guidelines for correct bodybuilding routine abdominal workout:

Reverse crunch exercise

1. Lie on the floor and place your hands on the floor or behind your head.
2. Bring your knees in towards your chest until they’re bent  90 degrees and put your feet together or cross them.
3. Contract your abs to curl your hips off the floor, stretching your legs up towards the ceiling or towards your head.
4. Lower and repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-25 reps. Do this excercise 2-5 times a week in order to get six pack abs.
5. This is a very small movement so try to use your abs to lift your hips rather than swinging your legs and creating momentum.

Reverse crunch exercise video:

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The plank exercise is a great way to build endurance in both your abs and back, as well as stabilizing your muscles. Follow these guidelines for a correct muscle building workout to give you six pack abs:

Plank on Elbows and Toes exercise

1. Lie face down on the mat resting on your forearms, place your palms flat on the floor.
2. Push off the floor, raising up onto your toes and rest on your elbows.
3. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.
4. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air.
5. Hold for 30 to 90 seconds, lower and repeat for 2-4 sets of 3-5 reps. Do this muscle building abdominal exercise 2-5 times a week to get into a regular bodybuilding routine.

Plank on Elbows and Toes exercise video:

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The long arm crunch abs workout exercise, focuses on the upper part of the abs. Follow these guidelines for a correct muscle building workout which will give you six pack abs:

Long arm crunch exercise

1. Lie on a mat and extend your arms straight out behind your head with hands clasped, keeping your arms next to your ears.
2. Contract your abs and lift your shoulder blades off the floor.
3. Keep your arms straight and avoid straining your neck. If you feel neck pain, put one hand behind your head while keeping your other arm extended.
4. Lower and repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-25 reps. Do this excercise 2-5 times a week to build up regular bodybuilding routine.
5. This abs exercise can also be done with weights as shown in the following video.

Long arm crunch exercise video:

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You really work your abs in a full vertical crunch by involving both your upper and lower body. Guidelines for a correct muscle building workout:

Full vertical crunch exercise

1. Lie on your back and extend your legs up towards the ceiling.
2. Place hands behind your head (lightly cupping it) and contract your abs to lift your shoulder blades off the floor.
3. At the same time, press your heels towards the ceiling, creating a ‘u’ shape with your torso.
4. Lower down and repeat for 2-4 sets of 10-20 reps. Do this abs workout excercise 2-5 times a week to build up effective body building routine and perfect six pack abs.

Full vertical crunch exercise video:

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The Captain’s chair or hanging leg raise station is a workout frame used in many gyms. The two chair arms support your bodyweight while you raise the legs. The exercise targets the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis), the hip flexors (iliopsoas) and the external obliques - muscles that run down the sides of the abdomen, commonly known as the “six pack abs”. A more difficult hanging leg raise can be done while hanging from a pullup bar. Follow these guidelines to build up bodybuilding routines and a  correct muscle building workout:

Captains chair - starting position

1. The Starting Position

• Stand in the captain’s chair frame with arms resting on the chair arms. Grasp the upright handles if there are any.
• Ensure a firm position with the arms because you will be lifting your bodyweight from the floor.
• Breathe in ready for the leg raise.
• Brace the abdominal muscles at the midriff.

Captains chair - End position

2. The Exercise Movement and Notes

• Lift your legs upward while exhaling at the same time. Don’t hold your breath. Inhale as you lower your legs ready for the next leg raise.
• You can either lift your legs with knees bent so that your thighs are approximately parallel to the floor (see picture), or raise straight legs outward, which is much harder.
• Lower your legs to the starting position and do the next one immediately.
• Do multiple raises in a single set. Try 8 to 10 raises in succession before you take a rest. Aim for 4 sets of 10 raises. Do this excercise 2-5 times a week.
• Keep the back straight and pressed against the pad with your head and neck steady.

Captain’s chair video (hanging from a pullup bar):

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The Bicycle crunch exercise is a great bodybuilding excercise to target the rectus abdominis (i.e., the ’six pack abs’) and the obliques (the waist). Guidelines for correct muscle building workout:

bicycle crunch exercise

1. Lie face up on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.
2. Bring your knees in towards your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on your neck.
3. Straighten your left leg out to about a 45-degree angle while simultaneously turning your upper body to the right, bringing your left elbow towards your right knee.
4. Switch sides, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee.
5. Continue alternating sides in a ‘pedaling’ motion for 2-3 sets of 10-30 reps (both sides equals 1 rep). Do this excercise 2-5 times a week in order to get into a regular bodybuilding routine.

Bicycle crunch exercise video:

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