by Chun-Lam Samuel Lo

Created on: March 28, 2010

Who else wants those killer abs by doing sit ups and crunches? Getting a 6-pack or even an 8-pack is like a lot of athletes dreams. Sit ups and Crunches can get you there but it is not the entire story.
 
Everyone can develop a strong core and get nice looking abs, but the reason why they aren't showing is because of the layer of fat that is covering it.

Getting rid of this fat around the belly requires you to eat properly and do lots of exercise. You need to be lean and at your tip top form before anything reasonable can be seen. A lot of people have a layer of fat in front of their abs which prevents your abs from showing.
 
Doing sit ups or crunches helps develop your core muscles which helps you in all your sporting activities. The importance of developing your core can not be stressed enough. It helps in reducing back problems and also in your day to day activities.
 
There is a right way and a wrong way in doing sit ups or crunches. I will teach you the way that I learnt at high school. This way takes 5 minutes to do 100 sit ups at 3 seconds a sit up. The sit up is broken up into three parts. The three parts are up, hold and down. Each part takes a second to do.
 
The correct starting position when doing a sit up is to lie down on your back with your knees bent at roughly 100 degrees. Place your hands out front and on your thighs. Keep your back straight and you neck tucked into your neck. This is the down position. Sit up and make sure your hands are still out stretched. Your hands must not past the top of the knee caps. Back must be straight and you should feel your core muscles tense up. This is the up position. Hold this position for another second which is the hold position. Together these 3 parts combined form a sit up.
 
Remember to stretch out your core muscles before and after doing sit ups. The development of your core muscles by doing sit ups or crunches is very important, but you should make sure that your technique is spot on. You don't want to develop poor posture or back pain. Proper positioning is a must when doing sit ups and crunches.

Learn more about this author, Chun-Lam Samuel Lo.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.