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I wanted to give you 6 things you can do starting today that will get you closer to having six-pack abs:

1) Do away with doing only crunches and sit ups. In real life, your abs are used to stabilize your body, so you should train them as such. That means adding more movements to your routine like push ups, planks and squats. Besides, crunches aren't fat burning exercises, so they play no role in getting rid of belly fat.

2) Focus on compound movements. What I'm talking about here is simply doing exercises that work more than one muscle group at a time. Again, in real life, your body works as one integrated unit. Doing isolation movements like crunches, bicep curls and leg extensions that only work one muscle group at a time is not the way your body was made to function. Focus on movements that work more than one muscle group at a time, like push ups, pull ups, sprinting, squats, lunges, step ups, etc. Plus when you work many muscle groups at once, you can shorten your workout, saving you time. Isn't that sweet?

3) Pay attention to what you eat. Concentrate on eating foods that are in their natural state. The fewer ingredients a food has, the better. Eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day and make sure you include breakfast and a meal after you workout that has a carb to protein ratio of about 3 to 1. Your diet should contain plenty of fruits and vegetables, eggs, raw nuts, seeds, lean protein, fish, sweet potatoes, almond butter, olive oil, oatmeal, etc.

4) Ramp up your cardio training. Walking on a treadmill isn't going to cut it. Make sure to add in some interval training alternating between short bursts of high intensity exercise with longer bouts of lower intensity exercises. For even better results, vary your interval training. Try hill sprints, regular sprints, jump rope intervals, squat thrust intervals, treadmill, etc.

5) Train your back. A lot of people only focus on the muscles that they can see, like arms, crunches, chest and shoulders. But what about your hamstrings and upper and lower back? Your body needs balance and these muscles shouldn't be ignored. Some of the best exercises you can do for these are pull ups, back extensions, supermans, stability ball hamstring curls, deadlifts and one legged step ups.

6) Hire a coach. Studies have shown that if you have a coach or a support partner or team, you will be much more likely to achieve your goals. It is important to know exactly what to do and have someone guide you through the process.

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