The small room on the second floor of the Wildcat Recreation Center, dedicated to free weights, is packed with young ladies as usual.

I grab a mat and begin my ritual of abdominal exercises until I can’t lift my upper body anymore. A young woman doing sit-ups turns to me and said, “It’s just not fair, is it? Guys don’t even have to try, but we try so hard and we still can’t get abs.”

She got me wondering if it really is harder for women to get abs, or whether I’m doing something wrong in my workouts.

There may be some truth in the statement that it’s more difficult for women to get a six-pack or even a toned midsection. Women’s bodies are supposed to carry more body fat compared to men. And with less body fat, more muscle will show.

But regardless of gender differences, it’s difficult for anyone to acquire a six pack. It requires a lot of exercise and a very strict diet.

A Women’s Health magazine article, “The Best Abs Workout: Get Six Pack Abs in Weeks,” provides a routine you can try.

Next time I’m doing ab workouts at the WREC, I won’t just be doing sit-ups and crunches. But as I do reps until I can’t anymore, I’ll still silently be cursing men for their seemingly instant abs.

Five steps to get a toned and taut midsection:

1. Eat healthy foods, and don’t skip meals. it is important to consume the right kinds of fats to give your body fuel.

2. Burn more calories than you consume.

3. Give yourself a day to recover between ab work outs.

4. Do ab exercises before cardio work outs.

Risa Johnson can be reached at [email protected] or @risapisa on Twitter.