If you are doing bench press, basically three muscles work in conjunction - the pecs, the triceps and the deltoids. While doing a dumbell fly, you are doing more of pecs in isolation. There are exercises in which the primary muscle won’t do workouts alone but rather get assisted from other muscles. The same is true of the abs. You can’t completely isolate the lower from the upper abs or the abs from the obliques.

Having that said, there are special techniques you can employ to make the lower part of abs do more work than the upper abs. The abdominal muscles are not a single long muscle like the biceps, which has continuous fibers running the entire length from origin to insertion. The ab muscles have a tendinous band in between each section. It is due to this the abs seem segmented.(Btw trying hoodia gordonii is a must for fat loss.)

Now there are two basic crunches:- simple crunches (that draw the upper body towards the lower body) will work on upper abs and reverse crunches (reverse crunches, hip lifts, and leg raises etc. that draw the lower body towards the upper body) will work on lower abs. In both cases the abs muscles do not work alone.

Most people waste countless hours on abs training , crunches , cardios still their belly fat just seems to get stuck out there and they don’t see any results.

Well, the fact is the so called AB TRAINING DOES NOT burn fat off your stomach. And if the belly fat is not gonna get reduced, your abs are not going to be visible. . The myth that ab training burns fat off your abs is highly prevalent in today’s society. Part of the problem is the hyped advertisements that you see regarding all those ab crunchers, ab exercise equipment and so on. It’s a lot of wishful thinking that those equipments could reduce your body fat. It doesn’t work that way

The truth is, getting six-pack “killer” abs has almost nothing to do with training. It has everything to do with low body fat. I know this is going to disappoint majority of people but fact is you need will and determination to cut that body fat out before anything.

Some fitness experts are of the opinion that getting ripped six packs is actually much easier than developong the muscles in the arms, chest etc. Even people who have failed at developing muscle can actually show up abs because it doesn’t require highly intense wokouts or crunches to get the ab muscles strengthened (though it also depends on genetic factors). In fact, most people over train their abs. Training your abs daily or even every other day for hundreds or thousands of reps is totally unnecessary and a complete waste of time. What does require intense workouts though, is the body fat removal. Now, most people go for cardios for body fat removal. While it can be viable strategy for some, for most people it’s an effective way to lose body fat. There are some workouts that make your body do more work and lose more fat. When we talk of ab workout programs, one resource that is highly worth mentioning here is “Truth about Abs”. This program not only provides you some of the best crunches and worouts for your abs, but also contains some extremely effective workouts to remove body fat. I have tried some of those fat burning workouts myself and I was like exhausted within 5 minutes of trying his “Advanced fat busting exercises”. That program is highly recommended.
Now, such exercises are way lot better than cardios who take up a lot of time and do not burn that much calories and thereby fat.

While ab exercises do not burn fat, they do strengthen and improve the size and shape of your abs. The same old basic ab exercises that have been around for years, STILL work – and that means CRUNCHES!

People are going after “Core training”, “functional training” with  devices such a stability balls, medicine balls, core balls, ab wheels, kettlebells, functional exercises, and so on. Perhaps they represent what is trendy and fashionable in fitness training today.

So what’s the deal? Should you crunch or should you ditch this “old” exercise in favor of all the “new stuff?” Well, crunches are not worthless and you can also try more varying crunch techniques. One must also try to include some functional work and stability ball work. These will help develop your core musculature and allow you to work your abs through a larger range of motion.

However, ab development is not rocket science and hopefully will never be and , the “old school” methods are as valid as ever. And that starts with crunching exercises.  The prime function of the abs is to flex the spine and shorten the distance between the sternum and pelvis. When you are doing the crunches you are effectively doing the same. Some fitness guys have also attained those sexy mean lean six pack abs with just simple pure crunches.

Whatever you choose, just understand this one thing that crunches are important , fat loss is even more important for getting those six pack abs.