Dispelling The Crunches Myth Secrets To Getting A Flat Stomach

So you´ve decided to work on getting a flat stomach. If you´re like most people you´ll start by doing countless crunches only to be left disappointed with poor results. The purpose of this article is to dispell the crunches myth and show you the real secret to getting a flat stomach.

I know what you may be thinking...how can this be? I thought crunches were the best exercise for your abs.

Crunches are close to last on my list of the most effective exercises for getting a flat stomach.

In fact, you could never do a single crunch again and have the best abs of your life..

The first thing we need to do is look at the basics. If you want to get a flat stomach you need to do two things.

Number one, you must remove the layer of fat covering your stomach. You can´t see your abs if they´re covered up by a layer of fat. That's common sense.

Number two; you must work your core and abdominal muscles to tighten them up. Sounds pretty obvious again right? Unfortunately there's more going on here than meets the eye. To understand this you only need to get a basic understanding of human physiology.

Here´s the first of many reasons why crunches are ineffective at changing your waistline...

If you want to remove fat from your stomach you must burn the fat for fuel. The only place fat can be used for fuel is in a muscle cell. Your abdominal muscles are relatively small and require very little energy. This means they simply cannot burn that much fat for fuel no matter how hard you work them.

This may sound crazy but if you want to lose fat from your waistline and get a flat stomach do more squats, lunges, rows and other total body exercises. The more you work the larger muscle groups the more fat you'll burn from your waistline.

That´s the first secret, if you want to have better abs exercise with more total body movements. The second secret is to NOT do isolation exercises like crunches or any movment done while sitting down.

If you want to get a flat stomach don´t waste your time with isolation exercises or any exercise done sitting down.

The best exercises for your "core" are ones that integrate instead of isolating.

Some of my favorites are medicine ball chops, planks, band rotations, single leg reaches and cable wood chops to name a few.

The primary responsibility of your abdominals is to stabilize your pelvis during movements in which you rotate, flex or extend your back. When you sit down this is not a natural human movement pattern. Sitting down causes your abdominal muscles to naturally relax.

Poke your finger in your side right now and tell me if your abs are contracted. Now stand up on a single leg, bend down to touch the floor and stick your finger in your side again. Feel the difference? Your abdominal muscles will work when they're forced to stabilize. They work together with your low back and pelvic muscles to stabilize and control natural human movements.

The crunch helps with none of these and is an unnatural movement pattern!

The muscles in your body work together as links in one big kinetic chain. Ever notice how yoga instructors have such great flat stomachs? I endorse yoga although I don't do it myself but I've yet to see an instructor with a weak core...

And I've never seen a yoga instructor in the corner of the gym doing crunches.

Success leaves clues. If you train with free weights and bodyweight movements like I prefer simply look to incorporate functional exercises like the ones listed above into your routines for best results.