Men and women can certainly both do the most of the ab exercises out there. Men have their own problem areas that need extra help though, like the love handles. Yes, the handles we all love to hate!

In this article I'll share 3 powerful ab exercises for men that will help you shred that midsection. These are not necessarily just exercises for abdominal muscles, but also for fat burning in general as this is a key to exposing that six pack.

Forget about abs machines: these exercises will really help you to get ripped.

Ab exercise for the obliques

It's been around in martial arts forever, can cause some real hurt if you end up on the wrong side of it, but it also makes for a super little ab exercise.

Yes, it's the good old roundhouse kick. If you've never been involved in any kicking martial arts this could be a bit of a challenge to do, but with proper stretching it shouldn't take too long to get your muscles accustomed to the movement. Don't force it, just kick at knee height to begin with and then over the next few days or however long it takes work your way up to waist height, which is where you want to aim for the most part.

To really get full benefit from this you should get fit enough to do fifty consecutive waist high kicks per leg. This kick is a great fitness and strength builder and works right from your shoulders down to your abs and legs. Stretch well though, especially your hamstrings.

To shred your midsection

Don't worry that this isn't really an abs exercise, it's going to rip that flab right off your waist and make your abs visible.

High intensity sprinting burns fat like few other activities. For an even tougher and harder workout, run in thick sand or uphill. Actively use your arms and shoulders while running. This natural running motion helps to tone your midsection in addition to the fat burning benefits it provides.

Hanging rotates

This may be a fairly tough exercise depending on your fitness level, so work up to it if you can't do it right away. Hang from a pullup bar. Turn your lower body to the left at a 45 degree angle. Now raise your knees into your abdomen and swing your lower body all the way round until you're facing 45 degrees to the right, then lower your legs. Continue the exercise by repeating the knee lift and just swinging back over to the start again, and so on.

To add more difficulty to this when it becomes easy, lift your legs straight out in front of you instead of bending your knees.

There you have it – three powerful ab exercises for men, and you don't even need a gym to do them.

Next, learn the truth about the ab machines seen on TV, and pick up some more of the best abdominal exercises – absolutely free.