Working Abs
1) Concentrate on true ab exercises, in which the ribcage and pelvis squeeze together, rather than on hip flexor movements.
2) Train abs at the end of your workout
3) Training abs every other workout is sufficient.
4) Try to do at least two sets of a crunching movement (for upper abs) and two more of a reverse crunching movement (for lower abs). As you get more advanced you will find you can do a few more sets.

A host of theories have been developed to explain why it is one of the simplest muscle groups to train (countless books have been written on the subject). However, the function of the abdominals is simply to help stabilize the torso and to draw the ribcage and pelvis together in a “crunching” movement. Therefore, any true abdominal exercise has to be, given the nature of the muscles involved, some kind of crunch. Anything else is not a primary abdominal exercise.

People tend to make two mistakes regarding abdominal training. Instead of pulling the ribcage and pelvis together, they think the function of the abs is to lift the entire torso, as in a traditional sit-up. Or they believe the abdominals are connected somehow to the legs, so they try to train abs by lifting their legs into the air in a conventional leg-lift.Both of these exercises,primarily work a set of muscles called the iliopsoas or hip flexors, which attach at the lower back, cross over the pelvis and insert at the thigh. When you do sit-ups or leg-lifts, instead of your abs flexing through a full range of motion, they function instead as stabilizers. Your abdominals can get very tired doing this, but you don’t get the kind of washboard abdominal development that most people hope for from this kind of training.

While hip flexor exercises tend to strain the lower back, real abdominal exercises are one of the main therapies for lower back problems. When you do true crunches you strengthen the abdominals in opposition to the lower back muscles and help relieve them of excess stress and strain.

Get back to the basics..........crunch those abs!