There are few things in the modern world that are gossiped about as often as abdominal exercises. It seems like every expert, guru or personal trainer you come across has a different story to tell about what abdominal exercises you should be doing and which ones are a waste of time. There are those who swear their products will give you the abs of your dreams and others who say you don't need to worry about ab exercises at all.

So, what's the truth? It is actually a lot simpler and easier to understand than you may think. Consider a quick list of facts about abdominal exercises:

While some abdominal exercises can give you ripped abs, that is not their primary purpose. They can also strengthen your abdominal muscles and help them function better as stabilization and support for surrounding muscles and the spine.

In order to enlarge your ab muscles and get that ripped, chiselled look your body fat needs to be reduced. Just doing abdominal exercise will not help if you have too much body fat stored in the abdominal region or in general.

You can have strong abs and still not have six pack abs. Because you have excess fat covering your muscles doesn't mean they are weak or useless.

Getting great abs requires focus on your entire body, rather than just on abdominal exercises. You cannot force your body to lose fat just around the stomach or midsection, so you have to work the biggest muscles in your body to burn the most fat in the shortest period of time. That is what will trim your waistline for a chiselled, lean look.

Focus on burning fat and toning the entire body and you will have much better abs than if you only spend time doing excessive abdominal exercises.

Your genetic makeup may determine where your body sheds fat from first. Some people are lucky enough to lose from the abs first while others will lose everywhere but the abs first. Rest assured, if you stick with your exercise program and eat correctly your body will eventually start letting go of fat around the waist.

It should be clear from these facts that abdominal exercises should be considered a supplement to a well rounded workout program that targets the entire body. If you work all of your major muscle groups on a routine basis and slip in some cardio as well, you should have more defined abs that you'll want to show off in the summertime.

Of course, getting noticeable abdominals isn't just about exercise. You need to eat healthy foods and watch your portion sizes as well. It is important to put fat loss in perspective and know that you will have to sacrifice and work hard if you want the perfect body.

If you can change how you think about your abdominals and see them as a functional part of your body, you will be much happier while waiting for that well-defined six pack. Try to improve the function and tone of your ab muscles, rather than just focusing on a perfectly flat stomach or a six pack.