You spend time almost everyday at the gym, doing your abs workout routine as faithfully as you could. You perform as many reps as you can, expecting some toning and definition to appear maybe a month or two after your intense workout. However, when you check yourself in the mirror, you see that the results are not what you expect them to be. We know how disappointing it feels. However, you do not need to be discouraged at all. You might be something wrong during your routine or on other aspects outside your workout. Find out if you are guilty of these mistakes.

Wrong Form

One of the most common reasons for a failed abs workout is a sloppy form. For instance, abdominal crunches must be done in a slow, controlled motion. Often times, people use momentum to pull themselves up. This defeats the purpose of crunches, so does pulling on your neck. Other improper forms to watch out for is hip sagging while planking and not pulling it in when doing ab exercises.

Skipping on Cardio

What does cardiovascular exercise do to your body? Apart from keeping your heart healthy, cardio also helps burn fat. It does not matter if you run, brisk walk, cycle, swim, dance or do aerobics. What matters is you do it for at least 20 minutes to ensure that your body will burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Strengthening and resistance exercise alone will not remove the fats. It will just develop the muscles, but the fat will still remain if you do not burn it with cardiovascular exercise.

Targeting One Muscle Group Only

Our abdominal muscles are not only composed of one group. Most people only target the rectus abdominus (the six pack) but fail to develop the obliques, the transverse abdominus beneath it and even the serratus anterior. If you want to see a well toned abs, your routines should be diverse enough to include all of these muscles. You routines should be varied in terms of dimensions and angles.

Hurrying Through the Workout

The purpose of doing slow and steady movements is to ensure that more muscle fibers are recruited when doing exercises.  That means quantity should not be the main focus. There is no need to do hundreds of repetitions for ab crunches. One to three sets of crunches is enough, as long as you do each movement methodically.

Failing to Take It to the Next Level

Our body adapts fairly well to resistance subjected to it. Once the body adjusts, the muscles will get used to it quickly. For this reason, it is important to progress your exercise or vary it regularly. You can increase the resistance or weight and lower the number of repetitions, or you can also vary the combination of routines that you do each workout. How do you know when it is time to switch routines? Once you do not feel sore after a workout, then it is time to take it to the next level.

When it comes to abs workout, or any other exercise programs, quality is the key. Although quantity may matter, it is still important to consistently perform each routines as accurately as possible.

Photo credit:  mariachily