The one-exercise abs workout

Okay, here’s a question. You want to transform the flab across your waist into a great-looking six-pack but you don’t want to waste time doing endless abs workouts. What is the one exercise that you can do and get closer to your goal? Yes, you read it right. There is one catch-all exercise that you can do to urge your abs to take the coveted six-pack shape. But before I tell you what it is, here’s a word about abs.

You can’t get a six-pack by doing exercises for your middle alone. If you think a hundred crunches—no matter how assiduously done—will give you rippling washboard abs, banish the thought. The flab around your middle is immune to crunches—they can do very little to burn fat. Moreover, you cannot reduce fat from just one part of your body in isolation.

Fat loss is a holistic process—you can exercise to burn your body’s overall fat levels but not target one part or another. It’s quite the opposite when it comes to building muscles—where training muscle groups in isolation is often the key to building those muscles.

If that be so, how do you build fab abs? It’s a three-point programme. First, you need to burn fat by burning calories. For that, choose an intensive cardio-vascular regimen—like running, cycling or rowing. Three 25-minute sessions a week of high-intensity cardio work will burn calories for you. Second, eat sensibly. Cut down on fatty foods, reduce your intake of carbohydrates, eat more proteins and drink lots of water. The energy burning process of metabolism needs water and 8-10 glasses a day is the minimum you should be drinking. Also, eat smaller meals more frequently than gorging on two or three really big ones.

Finally, exercise your abs as you would any other muscle group. Fix two days a week for abs work (this could be in addition to working out your other muscle groups). And now, for what (I hope!) you have been reading this far—the ultimate abs exercise. It’s the hanging knee crunch and it may seem easier than it sounds. Grab an overhead chin-up bar with both hands, palms facing outward and hands a bit wider than shoulder width; pull your knees up so that your thighs are parallel to the floor; now, flex your hips and try to touch your torso with your thighs by raising your knees toward your shoulders; hold for two seconds and then slowly return knees to the starting position where the thighs are again parallel to the floor. This is one repetition. You should try to do 15-20 for a set and three to four sets. It’s a tough exercise and you will need practice before you can do so many. Proper form is of utmost importance: ensure that your body doesn’t swing forward or backward during the movement and try to focus on your abs when you do it. Try the hanging knee crunch (or raise as it is sometimes called) and let me know what you think.

— Muscles Mani

Write to musclesmani@intoday.com and click here to read Treadmill blogs
Caveat: The physical exercises described in Treadmill are not recommendations.
Readers should exercise caution and consult a physician before attempting to follow any of these.