Though we wouldn’t quibble with Patrick Bateman in the arenas of business card design, his workout needs a tweak. That washboard stomach is in spite of, rather than thanks to, a 1000-crunch-a-day regime that’s more likely to leave him with lumbar problems than a six-pack.

It’s faulty logic that sees a sit-up as the abs version of a bicep curl. It’s an understandable mistake; you curl a weight to pump your guns, so surely it’s the same if you want to get a six-pack? But that ignores two important truths: one, your core is designed to hold you upright, not flex back and forth; two, everyone has a six-pack – it’s just buried beneath your gut.

And we’ll let you in on a little secret: a six-pack is, as the name suggests, not one muscle. So it needs more than one exercise to reap results. “Some of the best six packs I’ve seen in the gym are carried by those who have not done a single crunch in their life,” says Peter Gaffney, founder of PGPT, London’s leading mobile personal training service.

“The answer, in short, is doing sit-ups has a very low calorie burn. Focus on nutrition and get those big compound movements going to give you that Baywatch six-pack look.”

Here’s how to switch up the traditional sit-up for the moves proven to deliver that six-pack – without trading in your PT for a chiropractor with this ultimate diet and exercise guide.

The Six Pack Diet

Sadly, no matter how much the dedicated attendees of ‘Abs Blast’ classes want to believe, you can’t melt fat away from specific areas. When you burn calories, your body finds fuel from everywhere. And – sorry gents – men’s bodies choose to stockpile that extra energy around the middle. Right where your six-pack should be.

That’s why if you want to burn fat and show the world your abs, a good diet is as important as exercise, if not more so. “They do say that abs are made in the kitchen for a reason,” says Sandy Macaskill, Barry’s Bootcamp co-founder and master trainer. “You could have the best abs in the business but if they’re covered by a layer of fat, nobody’s going to know about it.”