Why crunches aren't the answer

Want abs? Good news, you already have them! That's right, under a layer of fat, you have abdominal muscles, they give you stability, balance and spinal flexion. When most female clients tell me they 'want abs' they usually mean they want a smaller mid-section and all the crunches in the world won't produce that. When you perform a crunch, you are increasing the size of the rectus abdominis, the most superficial abdominal muscle, so while you may eventually have a '6-pack', you'll likely increase your waistline in the process. People like crunches because they feel specific to their goal, but abs are more complicated than a single exercise.

Turn your focus to nutrition and core stability exercises. If your meals include many processed foods and few fibrous and hydrating foods your ab workout can't help you. Concentrate instead on making 80% of your daily intake whole foods. Ease into it by replacing two processed foods per day with single ingredient foods like tomatoes, sunflower seeds, apples and plain oatmeal. Find foods you enjoy, you have to like what's on your plate!

Core stability exercises include plank variations, dead-lifts, hay-bailers and prone torso lifts. Most compound, functional exercises involve core strength even if they aren't ab specific. The truth is this; as you find yourself slimming down through a combination of strength and cardiovascular training, your mid-section will follow suit.

So workout, move your body every day. Find food and exercise you enjoy and can stick with because consistency is the only magic pill out there.

Thanks for reading! Questions, comments and topic suggestions welcome below.