Because of tradition, abdominal exercises are often executed in long sets of 50, 100, or even 200 repetitions. Friends even turn it into a contest:
– “I did 4 sets of 200!”
– “Really? I did 6 of 300.”
Who would get the best results from their abdominal exercises in this scenario? No one. Here’s why.
Long sets of abdominal exercises are not optimal if you want six pack abs. It’s basic physiology: muscles grow better on heavy, medium-repetition (about 8-12) sets. Would you train your chest using 4 sets of 200 repetitions? I thought so. Abdominal muscles are no different, and they need to grow if you want them to show.
But let’s say you can do 12 crunches. Do you stop there (since sets of 8-12 work best)? Of course not. You need to make the crunches harder by increasing the weight you lift every repetition. But how? By positioning your arms differently. Following are 3 arm positions you can use with all abdominal exercises to make them harder and more effective at building six pack abs.
1. Arms along your sides. Can’t get any easier.
2. Arms crossed across your chest....