OK, you want to get a set of six pack abs. So you do tons of crunches, planks, and other ab work.

And your abs don't show up. What went wrong?!?

You had all the right enthusiasm, but it was misdirected. To get your abs to stand out, whatever you do, don't do tons of ab work.

Weight lifting is the real key to developing a ripped set of six pack abs. Why? Well...

• Big Lifts Burn More Calories Than Small Ones -

Use lots of big, multi-joint lifts when you're weight lifting. The squat, clean, bench press, and shoulder press all fit this bill perfectly.

These lifts burn tons of calories and force your body to do really hard work. Your whole body will get stronger and more muscular.

Smaller exercises like crunches, side crunches, knee raises, etc. all focus on a relatively small muscle group. This means that by doing tons of ab crunches you won't burn nearly the calories you could with bigger lifts.

• Weight Lifting Increase Your Muscle Size -

Getting all your muscles bigger is a great effect of weight training. You get all around more ripped, not just in your abs.

Also, as your muscles get bigger they'll consume more calories just sitting around, resting. So you'll have an easier time keeping your ripped physique as you gain more all round muscle.

The more muscle you have, the more effortless it is for you to show it off. Cool, huh?

• You Should Work Your Abs Like Any Other Muscle Group -

If you wanted to get a stronger squat, you wouldn't squat five days a week. You'd start with 3 days a week, and do other lifts as well.

Your abs may be special, but they're not special enough to warrant their own 5-7 routine. Once you've been exercising for while and have the fortitude, then you can work them almost every day. Until then, you'll just be fatiguing them too much to make progress.

But how will you work your weight lifting into a complete six pack abs plan with correct diet and cardio? Well, it's pretty easy to find out...