OutUK - OutSpoken : In Search Of Ultimate Abs

So with everyone at the gym taking a good look at the body you exercise every week, just how can you achieve that six-pack stomach? For OutUK Martica Heaner goes in search of those ultimate abs.

As if just carrying an extra layer of ab flab isn't enough, many men are suffering from severe ab anxiety-so much so that both men and women have to say no to trendy low-cut jeans.

"For men, having a paunch reminds a guy that he's starting to look like his dad," says Steve Perrine, Editorial Creative Director of Men's Health magazine, the supreme purveyor of how to get a six-pack stomach.

But there seem to be plenty of solutions. Most gyms offer hardcore classes like Ab Lab, Ab Attack, Absolution and Abs Express. Or you can splurge on a so-called "guaranteed" fix-the Abtronics, Ab Energizer, AbDoer or any number of infomercial ab zappers. Should you? Does any of this stuff really work?

30 Minute Ab Classes

Even though most people have tried doing sit-ups regularly and seen minimal results, it's tempting to devote a full half hour to your belly. More ab moves must be better, right? Wrong, says Len Kravitz, Ph.D., exercise physiologist at the University of New Mexico. "Forget that can you work out your ENTIRE body in that time, pummeling your abs with hundreds of repetitions will only improve endurance, but it won't trim fat or build strength," he says. Ab moves burn a couple of calories a minute. You'd lose more fat by walking or running and using up 200-300 calories in that time compared to burning about 60. Over-training these muscles may just cause unnecessary soreness-not a quicker six pack. So do fewer, harder reps-just like you train other muscles, advises Kravitz.

Core Training

Sophisticated exercisers are shunning traditional ab exercises for "core" work -torso training that targets back and butt muscles too. Stemming from physical therapy techniques used to treat patients with back problems, the idea is that a super stable midsection keeps you more protected when you move. Core moves usually involve balancing-by standing on one leg or sitting on a rubber stability ball or the Reebok Core Board, for example. "Core strength is important for life's everyday movements like pushing a heavy sofa," says Paul Juris, Ph.D., Director of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute. "But these stability moves probably won't give you a six-pack. Plus aiming for extreme stability can sometimes cause problems in a healthy spine," he says. "When you jump, your trunk needs to be flexible to safely absorb landing forces." Some "plank" moves (exercises done in a push-up position), keep the body too rigid by taking the curve out of your lower back. "The arch in a normal spine is meant to be there," Juris says. Include a mix of moves-from curls to stabilizing exercises and work with resistance such as cable machines, he advises.

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Having too much mush in the middle (known as visceral fat) may increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases, says James Hill, Ph.D., an obesity researcher at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

"The best way to get rid of it is to lose weight overall since for most people much of the weight loss comes from their midsection," he says.

Here are some ab training tips from the editors at Men's Health.

1. Train abs 2 or 3 days a week-with rest days in between.

2. In the weight room, try squats. The abs work to maintain posture during the move.

3. Train your back as well as your front for muscle balance. Include back extensions or deadlifts.

4. Focus on all-over exercise, instead of just abs. The fitter you are, the leaner you tend to be and the more your muscles will show.

Ab Electrode Gizmos

Turn on any tv channel and you're blasted by ads for electrical ab devices. Before you fork out big bucks to whittle down your waist, check the research. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) funded a study of these muscle stimulation machines at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse. The study used the Body Shapers brand but researchers pointed out that similar devices worked the same way. Subjects used the gizmos three times a week for two months. Each "workout" was 45 minutes (from the time-consuming application of the electrodes)-a far cry from the 10 minute session that many advertisers claim. Plus there were no significant changes in body fat, weight or ab appearance. And many testers found the shocks painful. Why can manufacturers sell these products? They DO work-but only to restore minimal muscle function on patients needing to rehab from an injury or surgery, noted the study. Will they work on a normal, healthy body? Probably not.

Tummy Training Tools

There's probably no other muscle group with as much equipment devoted to it as the abs. You can train with balls, weights, 'rockers', skateboard-like sliders and rubber tubing. Do you really need any of it? "No, but since muscles adapt quickly to all types of stimulus, it's best to vary how you train and different tools can help you do that," says Kravitz. Most trainers' all-around favourite is the stability ball.