Here is a secret many don’t know about abs. Your core needs to feel changes in your routine if you want to see results. By doing the same crunches, your abdominal muscles get used to it and soon you will stop
feeling the results. What is needed for those abs is muscle confusion as I’m sure some of you have heard. It is a technique by which you confuse the muscles by doing different types of by constantly introducing new moves to your routine, and keeping your muscles always working. If you keep doing the same old crunches, all you will do is make your abs BIGGER, not thinner as you actually begin to build muscle. It is the same concept in body building. If you want to see size, do low repetitions and high weights. If you want the cuts, it is the high reps and low weights that are necessary. A good point of reference is an exercise program made by P90X which is a phenomenal work out program itself that targets your entire body. Tony Horton leads this intense 12 step work out and is the best at what he has put together.
Finally, the time spent at the gym is very important. Depending on your age, this time will differ for everyone. If you are someone in your early twenties, you should aim to spend approximately 2 hours at the gym at the max (this includes the proper stretching and warm downs). Many people come to the gym, work out for 30 minutes and leave. Then they brag to their friends that they go to the gym on the regular but no results can be seen. Please make sure you don’t push yourself too much, make it a challenging work out, see how you feel that day and act accordingly, it would not be very good for someone to drop on the floor with a heart attack for anyone, neither you nor the gym you attend. Make your work outs push you to the next level. If you are not hurting, you wasted your time.
Next time you head to the gym, grab your mp3 player, a cold bottle of water, and a towel and push yourself, have fun, make new friends, and feel the burn!
