Best Ab Exercises for Building 6-Pack Abs

I believe that men and women can lose their belly fat and get flat lower abs with fast fat loss workouts. I even believe you can "spot reduce" and lose your tummy fat with a specific type of exercise -- and no, it's not ab crunches. Plus, specific abdominal exercises can flatten your lower abs.

The classic ab crunch is generally a waste of time because the ab crunch doesn't work the entire main ab muscle (rectus abdominis). There are other better, unique ab exercises that men and women can do to flatten their lower abs.

And if you want to lose belly fat, forget about doing long, slow boring cardio for fat loss. You'll get more results in less time in your fat burning workouts by using interval training for fat loss. This was proven by a research study from Australia, who found that only interval training helped women lose belly fat, while doing cardio for twice as long did not!

Some of my favorite abdominal exercises can be done with just your bodyweight or need only a common exercise ball.

Here's a list of just a few of my favorite total body ab exercises that will help you get a flat stomach (provided you combine these exercises with interval training for fat loss):

Exercise Ball Ab Rollouts

Kneel on a mat and place your clasped hands on the top of a medium sized ball. Brace your abs and slowly lean forward and roll your hands over the ball while the ball moves away from your body. Keep your body in a straight line and go as far as you can with perfect form. Contract your abs and reverse the motion to return to the upright position.

Hanging Leg Raise

Hang from a chin-up bar using an underhand grip. Brace your abs. With a slight bend in your knees, curl your hips back and raise your legs up in front of you until they are parallel to the floor. Don't use momentum. Go slow and controlled both ways.

Side Planks

Raise your body in a straight line so that your body hovers over the mat. Keep your back straight and your hips up. Hold your abs tight. Contract them as if someone was about to punch you in the stomach, but breath normally.

Plank with Your Arms on the Ball

Place your clasped hands on the top of a medium sized ball. Keep your body in a straight line from shoulders to toes and keep your abs braced.

Plus, if you have access to a commercial gym, here are my favorite resistance exercises for your abs -- to help you build a set of 6-pack abs -- include:

Cable Chops

Stand sideways beside a cable stack with your right shoulder closest to the stack. Attach a handle to the highest pulley position. Grasp the handle over your right shoulder with arms extended and a slight bend at the elbow. Your knees should be slightly bent and your hips slightly pushed back. Prepare for the exercise by bracing (contracting) your abdominals from top to bottom. Without bending at the elbows any further, bring your arms down and across the body using your abs to initiate the movement. Focus on working your abs and obliques. Bring your hands across to your left hip pocket and then slowly return to the start. Perform all reps for one side and then switch.

Kneeling Cable Ab Crunches

Attach a rope handle to the top of a cable pulley system. Kneel in front of the pulley and hold the rope behind your head. Brace your abs, and curl your torso forward. Your arms should remain above your head during the crunch. Slowly return to the start position.

Do two exercises twice per week, and do intervals 3 times per week for best results.

Discover the shocking top 5 fat loss myths at Turbulence Training and uncover all of the Turbulence Training Transformations in the Fat Loss Forum Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and fat loss expert who writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines. Ballantyne shows you how you never have to do slow boring cardio again!