How Many Crunches A Day To Get A Flat Stomach?

Judging by the number of infomercials for gimmicky exercise equipment, it seems that a flat stomach and tight abs are at the top of everyone’s wish list.

Hopefully, most of us know these products do not work. The best way to achieve a flat stomach is to use the tried-and-true abdominal crunch.

Many readers are probably wondering the obvious question, “How many crunches a day to get a flat stomach?”

How Many Reps?

There’s a common misconception about crunches that has been around for ages. Many people think, “If doing twenty crunches is good, then doing two-hundred crunches is great.” Nothing could be less true.

The abdominal muscles are no different than any other muscle in the body, which means only moderate reps with added resistance will make them grow.

Think about it: no one would bench press a broomstick two-hundred times to build bigger chest muscles! Ideally, no more than twenty crunches should be done at once.

If you can do more than twenty reps, try holding a book behind your head as you crunch for added resistance.

How Many Sets?

The idea of performing crunches in sets is to allow the abdominal muscles to rest before working them again. One set will consist of twenty crunches, with thirty seconds in between each set for rest.

Now our original question, “How many crunches a day to get a flat stomach?” will likely become, “How many sets a day for a flat stomach?”

Surprisingly, an individual muscle group only needs around six sets of training at a time to grow.

Therefore, the answer to the original questions is this: around one-hundred and twenty crunches, but broken up into six sets of twenty.

How Many Sessions?

Although it will be tempting to exercise more for faster results, abdominal exercises should only be performed about three times a week. More than that and the muscles will not have time to rest and repair.

Remember: exercise does not build muscle, exercise destroys muscle; it’s during the rest periods that the body repairs the torn muscle fibers, making them bigger and stronger.

No rest equals no muscle gain.

Cardio and Diet Tips

Now for the part no one wants to hear: crunches alone won’t give anyone ripped six-pack abs. That’s because the abdominal muscle won’t be visible if they’re buried under stomach fat! To get the most out of abdominal training sessions, consider integrating cardio exercises in between sets of crunches.

That way fat is being burned at the same time the abdominal muscles are growing. For instance, try doing twenty crunches, followed by a minute of jumping-jacks, and repeat.

On days that the abdominals are not being trained, consider performing low intensity cardio for thirty minutes. This can be as simple as going for a walk. Eating a diet lower in fat and overall calories will also greatly help the process.

Combining all of these tips together is the ultimate answer to our original question, “How many crunches a day for a flat stomach?” Obtaining a flat stomach requires hard work and discipline, but nothing worth having is ever easy!

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