Believe it or not, three minutes a day, five to six days per week can create an admirable midsection. True, five minutes of abdominal movements would be better, but it can also be worse! In my experience, I've had a few people inform me of their 200- or 600-repetition abdominal routines. It almost always becomes an opportunity to show the individual a way to achieve the same fatigue or more with a fraction of the repetition -- usually 30 reps.

Note: The biggest thing missing is failure to breathe through the range of motion. Training your abs is a lot like trying to write your name with your nondominant hand. The brain just doesn't send a message very effectively. It's about practice and focus.

Try this abdominal routine for a month and I believe you'll see improvement. If you're already in a consistent abdominal plan, implement these techniques into your routine. Put the focus on time rather than repetition. You might be surprised just how many reps you end up completing.

Now, get ready to go. Put on your favorite music and let's jam! Do each exercise for one minute five to six days per week.

Consult a physician before starting this or any exercise program.

Basic Anatomical Crunch

Relax the neck and head into the palms of your hands. Exhale through the up motion -- that's very important. Your natural tendency will be to hold your breath at the beginning of the range of motion. This will help your abs rather than make them work. Press your lower back to the floor as you sink your tummy in every time you lift and breathe out.

Single Oblique Crunch

Similar to the abdominal crunch, this movement should protect the neck and isolate the abdominals. Exhale as you move upward. Reach with the opposite hand to foot for about 30 seconds on each side. You should get about 16 reps on each leg.

Alternating Oblique Crunch

This is the final move. It's time to make it burn. Move smoothly as you crunch and reach with the opposite hand to foot. You'll feel this around the love handles. You can start to increase your tempo at this point. You'll want to expend all of your energy on this final minute. Keep your form and remember to exhale on every up motion.

There you have it, a 3-minute abdominal routine. It's guaranteed to provide that belly-burning sensation that will give you the abs you're looking for. You can progress this routine up to 8 minutes. I like to start people at 3 minutes to emphasize the importance of good form. Always try to create more burn in less repetition or in this case more burn in less time!