Everyone wants to wear the fitness badge of honor – a six pack. The good news is that everyone has it; it's just hidden beneath all the fat. The bad news is that toning the muscles and losing the extra inches off your waist is actually hard work and takes a lot of determination.
"I see people approaching it in a way that rarely yields results," Dustin Bogle, a fitness expert at Fit Body Boot Camp, says. "Performing hundreds and even thousands of crunches in an effort to trim your midsection can be a huge waste of time."
Crunches put too much pressure on your neck and lower back. That's even why they are one of the exercises doctors will never do. Back pain can occur from too much flexion in the spine and from the many repetitions.
The abs and obliques are difficult to tone because of the visceral adiposity. "We carry most of our fat first around the organs to protect them," according to Tanner Schultz, personal trainer and owner at Functional Fitness. "This hides our abs."
Rotational ab work is vital, Scultz says. "Just do a variety planks, crunches, and full range of motion work, like full sit-ups or reverse sit-ups," he says. "Most people do not do enough variety when working the mid-section."
For the complete list of Best Core Exercises You're Not Doing ... But Should, go to TheActiveTimes.com.
More From The Active Times:
-- Easiest Daily Workouts To Tone Up Fast
-- Strength Training Exercises, No Weights Needed
-- Flat Abs Without A Single Crunch, Plank Or Burpee
-- 16 Ineffective Exercises You Should Never Do