Absolutely Ab-ulous!

The six pack.

The sex pack.

The Holy Grail of fitness buffs around the world...

...and a guaranteed provocateur of eyes, both leering and lusting. 

Personally, I prefer a mid-section that is simply flat - one that is toned, but not necessarily crazy-chiseled...not to say, however, that a ripped stomach isn't a thing of wonder and a wonder to be admired - it takes enormous focus and dedication to training and diet to achieve...unless, of course, you're genetically predisposed - in which case you're an a*****e and I hate you. Seriously.

The variety of ab exercises are as vast as my friend Ryan's little black book - which is something comparable to the New York City Yellow Pages. Seriously. So, to pick out a few exercises that will slice n dice your stomach for one blog entry is kinda futile - for that, I'll come back to you periodically with fresh ideas, suggesting exciting new ways to nail your abs. Instead, I'm going to offer you tips and suggests, truths and myths, about sculpting the midsection of your desires:

1. NO AMOUNT OF SIT UPS WILL HELP YOU REDUCE FAT AROUND YOUR MIDDLE - yes, your abs will get stronger, but there is no such thing as 'spot- specific' fat reduction; in that fat is lost throughout the entire body and not just localized areas. Moreover, if you do just ab isolation exercises, you are merely developing a stronger midsection underneath the layers of fat, but doing nothing to reduce your body fat percentage - this happens through cardio and diet.

2. SPEAKING OF SIT UPS - a hundred, a thousand, even a million a day won't give you a six-pack. The traditional sit-up primarily involves muscles other than the abs (ie the hip flexors). It does not isolate and stress the ab muscles to produce total development.

3. YOU NEED A BALANCE BETWEEN STRENGTH TRAINING AND CARDIO - while cardio, and interval training specifically (see previous entry: ON...INTERVALS), is a great way to burn calories and achieve your six-pack, you must lift weights, as well. Muscle is an active tissue that consumes calories while at rest, therefore the more muscles you have - (and I don't mean masses upon masses, ladies - see previous entry: MYTHOLOGICAL LADIES) - the more calories you will burn naturally. 

4. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY - as I said in #3, you can do as many repetitions as you like, but if you do not perform the exercise correctly, if you do not focus on each and every repetition and if you do not feel every contraction, then you will not see the results you want...if you do focus on quality over quantity, trust me, a small set of hanging straight leg raises will be most effective.

5. THOSE PEOPLE ON THE COVER OF THE MAGAZINES ARE NOT REAL - ok, well yes, they're real people, but their midsections do not look like that of an adonis year round...unless, of course, they're one of the said-genetically-predisposed-a******s.  To achieve cover model physique, they may go through strict pre-photo shoot routines that are severe and involve questionable practices. Moreover, immediately after the pictures are taken, they return to a more normal appearance - mind you,  a more normal appearance that is still incredibly sexy and admirable, but not as extreme as the photo. Lesson learned: don't be so hard on yourself for not yielding the same results as the guy in the photo-spread.