3 Effective Ab Workouts - 5 Minutes a Day to See Results

You don't have to work your abs out for an hour a day to get that six-pack or that flat tummy you want. You don't have to do 50 different moves either, or even 10! You only need a few effective ab workouts, done properly, that target your entire core to get the results you want in only 5 minutes a day.  If you don't have the proper form and technique you render your exercises and hard work useless. If you are doing workouts that only target one muscle group, you will never get the stomach you want.

4 keys to proper form:

1. Keep your muscles tight the entire time (don't ever relax your muscles between movements)
2. Don't arch your back (this is dangerous and makes the exercises ineffective)
3. Never ever use momentum (this makes your workout pointless)
4. No pain no gain, work through the muscle pain rather that stopping when it starts to hurt (This is when your muscles are breaking down and getting an effective workout, stop here and your workout is a waste of time. Take very short breaks between sets)

3 of the most effective ab workouts many people don't know:

1. Jackknife: With your stomach on an exercise ball and hands on the floor walk out to a plank/pushup position until knees or shins are on the ball (the farther out you walk the harder it will be). Exhale and draw your abdominals up and in pulling the ball with your straight legs towards you, tailbone goes up to the ceiling until you are in a V position with your feet and/or lower shins on the ball. Hold for 2 seconds and inhale as you extend your legs back to plank. Repeat 15 times and do 2 sets. Because of the difficulty of this exercise, it is one of the most effective ab workouts out there.

2. V-Ups: Lie on the floor with arms straight above your head. Exhale as you raise your arms and legs simultaneously, reaching towards your feet, taking your back off the ground until only your butt is on the ground and your body is in a V position (The straighter your legs the harder it is). Inhale and lower. Repeat 15 times. Do 2 sets.

3. Mason twists: Sit on the floor and hold a medicine ball in front of your squeezed stomach with arms at 90 degrees. Extend your legs into the air (the straighter your legs the harder it will be). Twist your entire core as much as you can , holding the ball in front of you and having it move with your body to the side until the ball lightly touches the ground. Go back and forth until you can't possibly go any longer!(20-50 times depending on ball weight and your fitness level)