For many people, hours spent doing crunches and planks can return little to no results when it comes to carving out that ripped abdomen.

Although some people might get disappointed and think that washboard abs simply aren’t in the picture for them. However, this isn’t the case. Most of the time, a lack of results can be because of these simple mistakes:

You’re Skipping the Weights

If you’re simply relying on gravity to help you get your muscles going, you could be doing yourself a huge disservice. Resistance is what stimulates the muscle fibers in the body and promotes muscular growth.

Most people don’t use the weight of their arms to increase their biceps, why use the weight of your core to train your abs?

If you also incorporate weights into your exercise you can reduce the amount of time that you’re working out. Try out a medicine ball throw while lying on a Swiss ball. Shoot for 12 to 15 repetitions. Complete a total of three to four sets.

You’re Overworking Your Abs

Surprisingly, one of the biggest things that could be keeping you from a six pack is even more sit ups. Even though abs recover relatively quickly due to the fact that they’re essentially our “core,” that doesn’t mean they don’t need a break too.

When you have to work sore muscles, you’re not able to do work quite as effectively. This means that one workout done on sore abs could be only as effective as half of a workout done with rested muscles.

By giving your abs a break, you could be increasing the results you get from every workout.

You Don’t Get Off the Ground

When most people think of six packs, they think of sit-ups, crunches and planks that keep you rooted to the floor. However, laying down on the job doesn’t produce results.

Exercises that require you to stand, kneel, twist, turn or lift will place more emphasis on stability and balance, in turn stimulating more muscle fibers.

If you’re really serious about changing the look of your abs, try these three tips and see how they can maximize your workouts.