Do you really want to start building great looking six pack abs? What is the fastest way to get abs? The fastest way to get abs like those on the guy at the gym is to be sure to work all the muscles that make up the abdominals. Normal sit ups by themself won’t be efficient.

Working the abs is really simple. They are easy to target and isolate. The body has three main sets of abdominal muscles: The upper abs, the lower abs, and the oblique muscles (the muscles on the sides of the abs.) Once you are performing sit ups and crunches, be sure you balance your routine to cover every one of the three sets.

The upper abs can be worked with a simple crunch- start by lying in a traditional sit-up position and lift up towards the ceiling instead of curving toward your knees. You’ll only be lifting your shoulders 3 inches off the ground. Hold at the peak, then release, then repeat.

Lower abdominal muscles may be targeted by resting on your back with your legs straight in the air, arms at your sides. Lift your pelvis so that your toes head toward the ceiling. Then lower your pelvis back to the floor and repeat. Be sure to not let your upper abs do the work on this; you can feel which muscles are working the most and slow down the rate of the pelvis lifts to ensure the right muscle is working.

The oblique muscles can definitely be the most challenging to isolate but when you find them, working them will be easy. These can be exercised by doing a regular sit-up with hands behind your head and knees bent. The only thing you will do differently is twist to either side as you come up and reach your elbow to the opposite knee. When you reach the top of your lift, squeeze the muscle right before returning to the position you began in.

Start with minimal repetitions, like 25 of each. As you progress, you can increase the number of repetitions. You should always be positive that the targeting muscle is doing the most work. It is impossible to lift your pelvis off the floor (as in the second exercise mentioned above) without using your upper abs to a certain extent. But pay attention to how each muscle feels and concentrate on making certain that the right muscle is doing the bulk of the work. If your upper abdominal muscles feel a little fatigued after executing an exercise that is intended to work the lower abs, then you are not doing it correctly.

It is better to begin performing the exercises slowly and let the correct muscle do its job. As soon as you get a feel for it, you can do the exercise more quickly. An abdominal routine can be done every day and can be finished within 15 minutes. The abs you always dreamed of are only a few crunches away!