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What can I add to my work out to get chiseled abs?
Let me make one thing perfectly clear; everyone has abs but you will never see them unless you loose the body fat that covers them. Most people have spent years putting on useless layers of fat that adds thickness to their mid sections. In other words you need to get leaner and they will appear like magic. This means you will need to focus on three things: weightlifting, cardiovascular training and a proper diet. It sounds like you may be missing the last two components-cardiovascular training and a proper diet.

You will still need to work your abs three to four times a week however you may want to add three to five sessions of cardio to your weekly training schedule. Make sure these sessions last at least thirty to forty five minutes because it takes about thirty minutes before your body depletes its energy stores and begins to burn fat. Anything more than forty five minutes will burn muscle. As far as diet goes lets save that for another article.

How many repetitions do I need to complete?
Whenever I ask someone how many crunches they can do I get a variety of answers. When they tell me that they can do over a hundred crunches without stopping, I know that they are probably not doing them correctly. In other words make sure each repetition is strict and you won’t have to do that many. Most people swing up and down using momentum in order to complete each repetition. The end result is that they put more pressure on their lower backs than their abs ever get. In order to complete a proper crunch you will need to lie on your back and put your feet flat on the floor. Crunch up slow, pause at the top and lower your body down without ever letting your back completely touch the ground.

Try doing three different exercises in a row for two sets of fifteen to thirty. If your abs feel like they are on fire then you will know you did them correctly.

Where should I put my abdominal training in my work out?
Your abdominal training should be immediately after your weightlifting and before your cardiovascular training. This will insure you the best results possible. If you do abs before you start your weightlifting you will fatigue smaller stabilizer muscles needed to do compound movements such as lunges or squats. This could cause you to get injured. If you do your abs after your cardio you won’t have the energy to work them properly. You can also do abs on your days off from weightlifting and cardiovascular training.