Your abdominal muscles protect your lower back, improve your posture by holding you more erect and provide support for your internal organs. But that’s nothing compared to having a six-pack under your belt.

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Call it vanity, but having a strong, flat stomach really isn’t enough. If you’re sick of attractive women swooning about Brad Pitt’s abs in “Fight Club”, it’s crunch time.

Start with improving your mid-body strength with a variety of exercises. The best exercises for the abdominals will focus on all of your lower middle muscles, including: the lower back muscles, the lower side spinal muscles, and the both the middle abdominals and the obliques.

Crunches, bent-knee sit-ups, trunk twists, back raises and side bends are the easiest and safest exercises. Start off with a small amount of reps and do as many sets as you can. Gradually add more sit-ups to each set. Start with say, 20 crunches, rest, then do 20 more, rest and do another 20. Work your way up to 50 crunches in each set and build up to doing at least three sets.

Rest for 48 hours between workouts. Resist the urge to lack your hands behind your head and pull, which could hurt your neck. Don't hold your breath while doing abdominal exercises, a common fault. Inhale on the crunch and exhale on the release. Maintain constant tension on your abdominal muscles.

Raise your body no higher than about 30 degrees. Remember too that most abdominal exercise can be augmented with a twist to work the obliques.

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