Can You Get a Six Pack with 500 Sit-Ups a Day?

Doing 500 sit-ups a day is not the way to get six-pack abs. Sit-ups only work the middle and upper front of your stomach. To achieve the six-pack look, you also need to work the muscles of your lower stomach, sides and waist and your deep stomach muscles. Overtraining, like by doing 500 sit-ups every day, also won't give your stomach muscles enough time recover and build. Your muscles need at least a day of rest between workouts to recover and develop properly.

Work smarter, not harder to get six-pack abs. (Image: Jacob Ammentorp Lund/iStock/Getty Images)

Six-Pack Muscle

A six-pack is built from four ab muscle groups. (Image: Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images)

The four muscle groups you need to develop for a six-pack are the rectus abdominis, which are the upper, middle and lower-front stomach muscles; the external obliques, which are the muscles on your sides and lower waist; the internal obliques, which are underneath the external obliques and move in the opposite direction of them; and the transverse abdominis, which are the deep stomach muscles. An effective ab-building workout will target all the ab muscle groups three days a week, with three sets of about 25 to 50 repetitions of each exercise. Standing twists with a weighted bar work the external and internal obliques and the transverse abdominis. Lying triceps extensions with leg lifts work the upper, middle and lower rectus abdominis muscles.

Show Your Muscle

Reduce body fat to reveal defined stomach muscles. (Image: Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images)

For a ripped six pack, you not only need to build up your abs, you also need to remove any fat that may be covering your stomach muscles. Regular exercise that burns more calories than you consume each day creates a calorie deficit that causes you to lose fat. Reach your goal faster by cutting empty calories from your diet. Eat low-fat protein and complex carbs -- like fruit, vegetables and whole grains -- to fuel your workouts and build muscle. Lower your fat intake to two servings -- about two tablespoons -- of healthy fats, like nuts and olive oil each day.