If I write a post that has the word "Abs" in the title, it invariably becomes one of my most well-read entries for the day. This comes as no surprise, really, since it is this part of the body that people seem most interested in shaping. Obviously, other exercise magazines are aware of this, too, which is why almost every issue of every health publication has the word "Abs" splashed across its cover. Well, I know you don't read those magazines or visit this website to be given the inside scoop on marketing tactics, so I'll turn the attention to why you do: Because you want to learn how to shape your abs!!

As I've said dozens of times before, the real trick to whittling down your waist has less to do with ab exercises and more to do with diet and cardio. You could work your abs to exhaustion several times a week, but if you don't reduce your overall body fat, you'll never see them. We'll call that Lesson No. 1.

This, of course, is not to say that you shouldn't do any ab exercises until you've reduced your body fat percentage. Go ahead with your bad self, do those hanging leg raises, bicycle crunches, and so on. This way, your abs will be properly built and ready to shine once you strip away those extra layers of fat. This brings me to Lesson No. 2.

There are certain parts of your body that are very stubborn, chief among them being your calves and your abs. This is mainly because these parts of your body are used to a heavy workload. Think about it; every time you walk, lean, jump, run or step, you're using your calf muscles. So, when it comes time to try and shape them with exercise, you have to go above and beyond the amount of work they are already used to from your daily life. This also applies for the muscles in your midsection; you use these core, stabilizing muscles in just about everything you do. These muscles help keep your body erect, constantly battling against the force of gravity. Therefore, this same exercise tenet applies; to work your abs most effectively, you have to hit them hard and you have to hit them frequently. Short but intense ab workouts, performed three days a week should be plenty.

And now onto Lesson No. 3. When trying to tone and firm your obliques (the muscles that run along the sides of your stomach), you should not use heavy weights when performing side bends. This is a very popular exercise for this part of the midsection, but it is also one that is oftentimes done with the use of heavy dumbbells. As a matter of fact, you may not want to use any added weight at all. Here's why: Lifting heavy weights helps build muscles bigger and stronger. Since your goal is to shrink your waist, bulking up the oblique muscles will actually work against you. So, if you choose to perform side bends, either do them with light dumbbells or, as already stated, without any added weight at all.

Well, that's all I've got for the time being. Best of luck with sculpting those six-pack Abs!!