I think the best ab workout is a full body workout because if you want to have great abs, you need to have very low body fat not just strong, defined muscles. When you do full body exercises, you stress multiple muscle groups which causes more muscle growth than just doing abdominal exercises. Muscle burns calories 24 hours a day so the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn and the better your abs and the rest of your body will look.

Squats are one of the best full body exercises you can do to build muscle. When you do a squat, you are stressing the largest muscles in your body, quads, as well as the back, abdominals, and others. You can do squats with just your body weight and get quite a workout. You can also use dumbbells, weighted barbells, kettle balls, or anything else you can hold on to that gives you more of a challenge. The key is to do the exercises with freedom of motion. Don’t use a machine that forces you to lift in a straight line. This isn’t natural for your body and can actually cause injuries. It also takes away some of the challenge because you don’t have to control the weight as much. Traditionally squats are done with a bar resting on your shoulders and a lot of weight on each end. You lower your butt until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor and raise back up again. Keeping your balance and keeping your back straight really challenges your mid section and is one of the reasons you don’t want to use a machine that guides you through the motion. When done right, you will get a tremendous muscle building boost even in muscles you didn’t work.

You can do a couple variations of squats that can help you mix up your workout and give you a bigger muscle building boost as well as focus a little more on the abdominals. The first alternative is front squats. This exercise is very similar to traditional squats, but you hold the barbell on your upper chest instead of your shoulders. The other variation is hold the barbell with weights over your head with your arms extended. Both of these variations are more difficult and force you to use more muscles to stabilize the lift and can really be effective at building muscle in your whole body.

Using these exercises that focus on several muscle groups will really help you get the abs of your dreams. The extra muscle you gain will burn more calories which will make your abs look great. This is why I say the best ab workout isn’t about doing lots of sit ups!

Before you start any exercise or diet program, you should check with your doctor to make sure there aren’t any health issues you need to consider. In most cases, there isn’t anything that will prevent you from exercising or dieting, but you should check to be sure.

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