Ab Workouts

Target Your Unsuspecting Abs

2008-10-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

Abs. The sad but true fact is that whether you want to slim down a pot belly keg or show off 6 pack abs, you have to do some intensive targeted training on your mid section.

Your abs are notorious for being difficult to target.

To succeed in gaining 6 pack abs or a washboard stomach, you need to couple your fitness program with a low fat, low carb diet and you will have the beach or bedroom body that you desire.

It will take a month to 6 weeks just to begin to alter the landscape of your belly and you have to really, really want it to convince yourself to do the hard yards.

A training technique that will work to develop you abs involves a mixture of resistance training and intensive cardio.

Start with your favourite ab exercise (does such a thing exist?). Be it a crunch movement over a bench or with a rope pull or on an ab machine or a hanging leg lift, start you ab targeting workout with getting the blood pumping to your ab muscles.

It's actually a good idea to vary your ab exercise every few sessions to keep up the element of surprise for your poor long suffering body. You can do ab exercises every day, but doing them every second day gives them a chance to repair and regroup for your next assault.

If you are after a defined stand out six pack, go for heavy weight with 3 or 4 sets of as many reps as you can handle - it should not be many if you are doing the workout correctly. 8-10 is good.

If you want to tone up and get lean, try 3 or 4 sets of 15-20 reps on a low weight.

Either way, make sure you go as slowly as comfortable and pause for a couple of seconds at the peak of the movement before slowly returning to the start position. Keep your abs squeezed tightly throughout (don't forget to breathe!).

To effectively target your abdominals, you have to avoid 2 big mistakes that so many people make in the gym.

1. Each resistance exercise you do tends target specific muscle groups. If you use poor form and support the movement by swinging your body in any way, you are going to minimise the gains you want to make.

Keep as focused as possible on the muscles you are trying to work on. Take your time to adjust the equipment to your body and look in the mirror or have someone reliable check your movement so that your efforts are not wasted.

2. Do the movement slowly. If you race through an exercise, you are relying more on momentum than muscle. It may look very impressive indeed, but essentially it's a sad waste of effort.

You will make excellent gains by taking the time to be precise and unhurried.

After your resistance exercise, get on the treadmill and go for intensive cardio. A fast walking pace or a dedicated jog at a decent incline for at least 40 minutes will burn into your fat deposits, especially around your warmed up abdominals.

Feed your muscles after your workout. Protein shakes or bars are ideal to top up your nutrients and energy levels.

Make sure you eat 5-6 small meals, with most of the carbs (complex of course) in the first half of your day. Try to ban the plate filler type carbs like potatoes, rice, pasta and bread from your dinner time menu.

It's tough, but do you want great abs or not? It works.

: article by Rosie Peters [ Rosie Peters gives common sense advice, encouragement and tips for weight loss, sensible diet and lifelong fitness at lose-fat-get-fit.com ( http://www.lose-fat-get-fit.com/ ) Download Rosie's free report 5 Simple Steps to Fat Loss ( http://www.lose-fat-get-fit.com/fitness-programs.html ) and start losing weight today. ]

Anatomy of the Ab Muscles

2008-09-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

In fitness the biggest fascination in fitness is getting a flat stomach or having washboard abs, but in this article I want to talk about the anatomy of the ab muscles.

There are 4 muscles in the anterior (front) abdominal wall. They are the rectus abdominus, the external oblique, the internal oblique and the transversus abdominus.

The rectus abdominus might be the most popular ab muscle because this is the muscle that makes up the 6 pack. The rectus abdominus runs straight down the abdomen and attaches the ribs to the pelvis. It works really hard when you do crunches and sit ups or any other exercise in which your spine bends forward against resistance. The rectus abdominus is primarily a mover of the spine, but in addition it helps to stabilize the pelvis and lower back.

The external oblique is located on both sides of your waist. This muscle goes diagonally from the back of your lower ribs down to your pelvis. The external obliques on both sides work to help your spine bend forward like in crunches and sit ups, so when you so crunches all of your ab muscles work.

However, if you want to emphasize the obliques you need to incorporate twisting, rotation, or side-bending. When you turn your legs to the side or twist your body at the top part of a sit up or crunch your external oblique muscle will work harder than during a regular crunch.

The internal oblique is located underneath the external oblique. It goes diagonally from the pelvis up to the lower ribs. Just like the external oblique, the internal oblique works during regular crunches, but it is emphasized with twisting or rotation.

The internal obliques are built more for stability since they are deeper and closer to the spine. Isometric side planks are a good exercise for the internal obliques.

The fourth abdominal muscle is the transversus abdominus. Although it is the least popular muscle, many physical therapists think it is the most important muscle.

As the name suggests, the transverse abdominus runs across the abdomen. It is the deepest of all the abdominal muscles, and since it is so close to the spine it is the major abdominal stabilizer of the spine. The transversus abdominus does not move the spine forwards or help it to twist and rotate. The only function of the transversus abdominus is to stabilize the spine and stop it from moving.

Sometimes the transverse abdominus is referred to as your natural girdle because it acts like a girdle to keep your stomach pulled in. It will work during every movement and every ab exercise, but you can emphasize it by pulling your belly button towards your spine.

All of the abdominal muscles have a unique role, and all of them are important. In a fitness program, I suggest that you take an integrated approach and focus on different types of exercises to condition all of the abdominal muscles.

: article by Charles A. Inniss, Jr. DPT
[ Charles Inniss ( http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/charles-a-inniss.html ) is a Physical Therapist and Personal Trainer. For pictures and descriptions of tons of ab exercises and free ab workouts visit his website at All-About-Abs.com ( http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/abdominal-exercises.html ) ]

The Dangers of Abdominal Fat

2008-09-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this point and age own excess abdominal fat? The anterior thing that most people envision of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is cover improvement their abs from in that visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don ' t pick up is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is and a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has plainly earnest that although it is unhealthy grease general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly exposed to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you hold guidance your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you obtain in your abdominal station is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the paunch unbefitting your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat and plays a role string giving singular femininity that " beer belly " character situation their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal corner are funereal health risk factors, but dope has shown that having enormous visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your hazard of boost heart disease, diabetes, high blooming pressure, knock, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Installment of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases further inflammatory molecules thing your system on a consistent induction.

If you care about the quality of your viability and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! Licensed ' s true no way around it. Further, a side effect of finally getting rid of undocked of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten alien, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is ace actually a REAL solution beyond undiminished of the gimmicks and hype that you discern in ads and on commercials for " miracle " fat loss products?

The first thing you weakness understand is that licensed is absolutely NO quick fix clue. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that bequeath help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can ' t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It wittily doesn ' t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it electrocute for good is to set a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed uniform foods with a properly designed strategic animation program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I ' ve actually supine seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants absorption a diet - only group and an exercise & diet combined group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet - only group adrift significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & bustle combined clutch.

Now the important materiality to realize is that rightful any old life way will not necessarily do the pun. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of strong-willed abdominal fat. I see this probably at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring abortive cardio routines, throw in a snub outdated body - part style weight training, and pump straightaway with some crunches and side bends, and see that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they eventually be frustrated proximate weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went sophistical.

Husky, the good news is that I ' ve spent considering a decade researching this contention, analyzing the counsel, and applying it " in the trenches " with myself considering bright-eyed seeing thousands of my clients from unitary over the world to contemplate what flurry to really stimulate abdominal fat loss. I want to advice you pull off in conclusively getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but besides Malignant.

Don ' t waste also point allowing that nasty abdominal fat to hang your confidence since sound through contribute to your risk for Large diseases.

The solitary cause most people cut in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at beginning to adopt a new lifestyle, somewhere after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and misinterpretation right transmit into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

: article by Bogumil Gizewski [ How To Lose Unwanted Stomach Fat and Get Six Pack Abs ( http://absiq.com/ ) : Abs IQ is a revolutionary fitness and nutrition program developed by Bogumil Gizewski, a renowned master trainer. To learn more about the Abs IQ program please visit www.absiq.com. Bogumil Gizewski ( http://www.bogumilgizewski.com/ ) can be contacted through his official website which is www.bogumilgizewski.com. ]

How To Get A 6-Pack Without Doing Crunches

2008-09-04T02:44:00.000-07:00

Crunches are probably the single most misunderstood and abused exercise in the entire fitness industry. Somewhere along the way, people realized that if they squeeze their midsection together they will end up 'feeling it' in their 'abs' and some how they equate this to having a flat stomach or mid section. In the case of doing crunches for a flat stomach and showing off your abs we can just throw logic right out the window. Trainers and many people who know better still ignore the most basic principles of anatomy and physiology all in the quest for a flat stomach.

Here are the facts:

1. Crunches will provide stimulus for your abs to get stronger and probably grow. Yes that's right, if you do enough of them and do them intensely they will grow. A crunch is basically a weight training exercise for your abs, the same basic idea as doing a bicep curl. You are working the muscle, which will eventually make it stronger and make it grow. But for some reason people think that a crunch will burn the fat off their stomachs and keep the muscles there small and compact.

2. You cannot spot reduce fat. In other words, working a specific muscle does not burn the fat around that muscle. Your body burns fat systematically all over, not just on one place. For example: if you did 100 bicep curls every day on your left arm, you would end up with a muscular left arm, but your left arm would have just as much fat as your right arm, same deal with crunches. If you do 500 crunches every day, you will just have bigger stronger abs, but all the fat you always had around them will still be there unless you adjust your diet and the rest of your daily activity and workout schedule to lose fat.

This last point is probably the single most misunderstood point of all. People continue to do crunches thinking they will reduce the fat around their mid section and stomach.

3. Crunches may not be the safest exercise for your spine and lower back. A growing body of research shows that a crunch is in fact one of the worst positions you can put your spine in. Most fitness professionals and so called 'experts' do not have any formal biomechanics research training. Therefore they are most unaware of the science behind the shape, structure and function of the abdominal oblique, and lower back muscles. If they did they would definitely think twice about doing or recommending anyone to do a crunch.

Colleagues of mine are doing research on spinal and lower back injuries. And in their lab the only way they can guarantee to herniate a spinal disc is to put a test spine into a severe crunch! Yes, a crunch! The exact same position people put themselves in hundreds of times every workout. In reality the abdominal muscles are not meant to pull your body into a forceful curling or crunching position. They are meant to stabilize your trunk or "core" as it is being called now. In other words they are meant to simply hold your core in place as your arms and legs move and do work such as running, jumping, throwing and the like. All of these motions will work your abs without forcing you into the potentially dangerous position of a crunch.

So how do you get a 6 pack without doing crunches?

Simple, eat less food, and burn more calories. Being able to see a well defined 6 pack has nothing to do with doing any sort of ab exercises. It has everything to do with burning fat. As soon as you strip away enough fat you will eventually see that you already have a nicely formed set of abs. As you have been developing them your whole life every time you stand up walk, run, jump, and every other form of activity you can think of.

If you feel like you need to work on your abs, avoid crunches and do exercises that work them in a pattern that they are meant to be used in. Such as planks, side planks, stability ball roll outs, planks on a stability ball, all forms of push ups and modified push ups, medicine ball throwing, sprinting, swimming. There is more, but I think you're getting the picture. Incidentally all of these exercise will work the muscles of your core in a balanced manner (unlike crunches which do not work your oblique or your lower back muscles).

Even though crunches will work your abs to some degree there is good evidence to show that this is by no means the best or the safest way to work them. The associated risk to your lower back in most people's case should outweigh any benefit they think they are getting by working their abs in this way. Each person should weigh the risk and reward of doing crunches for the sake of having bigger stronger abs, and the risk of injury and chronic pain and problems with their lower back. And lets make no mistake about it, crunches never have and never will give you a flat stomach or cause you to lose fat off of your midsection.

: article by John Barban [ John Barban is a professional strength and conditioning coach and nutrition expert. John wants to help you Discover why one simple change to the way you eat will make you forget about every other super-complicated weight loss and diet program: Eat Stop Eat: http://www.eatstopeat.net/ John is an expert contributor to http://www.efit-today.com/ and Reveals How to Burn Fat, Get Lean, Be Energized, and get into the Best Shape of Your Life. ]

Best Ab Exercises For Effectiveness

2008-09-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

What are the best ab exercises and most effective on your abdominal muscles? If you are trying to get great abs and a flat stomach by doing 100 crunches, then be sure to read on to find out what one study deemed as the best ab exercises.

According to one study conducted by the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University, the bicycle maneuver was the top rated abdominal exercise with the traditional ab crunch coming in at the bottom three.

This study used specialized equipment to measure the activity in the abdominal muscles to determine the best ab exercises. There were 30 men and women who participated in this study ranging in age from 20 to 45. Each participant performed 10 to 12 reps of 13 common abdominal exercises. Each exercise was given to the participants randomly and the participants were allowed to practice each exercise.

The study also included some popular abdominal exercise equipment in this study including the ab roller, ab rocker and an exercise ball. Each abdominal exercise was measured for effectiveness in the rectus abdominus muscle and the oblique muscles. The data was gathered and analyzed. Best Ab Exercises

Topping the list for the most effective in the rectus abdominus was the bicycle maneuver, captain's chair and coming in third was the exercise ball crunch. The best ab exercises for the oblique muscles were the captain's chair, bicycle maneuver and the reverse crunch.

Coming in close behind the top 3 for the rectus abdominus were the vertical leg crunch, torso track and the long arm crunch. The number 4 through 6 spots for effectiveness in the oblique muscles were the hover, vertical leg crunch and the exercise ball crunch.

Worst Ab Exercises

The bottom 3 abdominal exercises for both the rectus abdominus and oblique muscles were the Ab Rocker coming in last then the exercise tubing pull and coming in 11th was the traditional crunch.

This study did state that all the abdominal exercises studied showed some effectiveness in the ab muscles, however some were more effective than others.

Getting Flat Abs

Although there are probably 100 abdominal exercises for you to try, in order to flatten your stomach you must also focus on reducing belly fat. The best exercise to lose belly fat is not an abdominal exercise. Rather it is aerobics. That's right. You must do aerobic or fat burning exercises in order to eliminate and reduce fat. If all you do is abdominal exercises then all you accomplish are rock hard abs hidden under a layer of fat.

Your weekly exercise routines should consist of both aerobics and strength training. By including both in your workout routines you will not only be burning calories and fat but building lean muscle. The more lean muscle you have the more calories you burn.

But of course all this exercising doesn't give you free reign to eat what ever you want. You still have to incorporate a healthy eating plan to help reduce fat and build muscle.

To really get flat abs and that treasured six pack abs be sure to eat right, do aerobic exercises and focus on the best ab exercises to get the most out of your abdominal exercise routine.

: article by Julie Barros [ Julie is the author and creator of http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/ where you can find lots of tips and information on exercise and weight loss. For more on the best ab exercises be sure to visit http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/best-ab-exercises.html ]

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2008-08-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

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4 Quick Tips For Burning Stomach Fat

2008-08-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Are you embarrassed by the shape of your stomach? Don't worry, plenty of people don't like what they see when they look at their waistlines. Nobody likes having stomach fat. We all know that the "gut" is something to avoid whenever possible. Unfortunately, when it comes to burning stomach fat most of us dont' have a lot of knowledge on how your body processes foods and burns calories.

What people want to know the most is whether or not there is a quick or easy fix when it comes to flattening a stomach and getting rid of stomach fat? "Six pack" abs are very popular right now, but how do you get them? Here are some of the most popular stomach fat myths and the truth about them.

1. Calories don't contribute to stomach fat. Technically this is almost true as your body uses calories for energy and a calorie is different than a fat cell. The truth of the matter is, however, that if you cut your calories you can burn stomach fat! When you burn more calories than you take in, your body burns your fat reserves to keep up its energy level while it adjusts to your lowered calorie intake!

2. All you need to do to get a flat stomach is to do a bunch of sit ups every day. Sit ups will work your abs, but in order to burn your stomach fat you need to work your entire body. If you only work your stomach, the fat won't go away; it will simply relocate to somewhere else! Sure, to really burn your stomach fat, adding a few extra sit ups to your workout routine is okay, but to really get rid of the fat, you need to do a full body workout on a regular basis.

3. Muscle tone is optional. This couldn't be farther from the truth. To keep the fat away you need to build up your muscle tone. If you don't work out on a regular basis your body will not be able to do anything to keep your fat cells from expanding. What's more, your body won't need to burn its fat cells so you won't be able to keep your stomach fat from returning. Make sure you give your body plenty of exercise on a regular basis. You'll have more energy and your body will be healthier!

4. To keep stomach fat away just stop eating junk food. This is almost true. To truly keep stomach fat away, you need to eat a healthy and balanced diet. This means to stay away from processed foods and saturated fats. Opt for healthy alternatives like fruits and vegetables. Eat natural foods and avoid the pre-packaged foods. Natural foods are lower in calories, give you more energy and contain very little fat!

These are just four tips to help keep you burning stomach fat. None of these things will work alone; they must all be put together into a health program. This might not have been the answer you were hoping for but the truth is this: a healthy diet and regular exercise routine are the only way you'll be able to get rid of belly fat.

: article by Terry Edwards [ You can find out more about Burning Stomach Fat ( http://www.burningstomachfat.com/ ) as well as much more information on everything to do with losing stomach and belly fat at http://www.BurningStomachFat.com ]

6 Tips For Stunning Rock Hard Six Pack Abs

2008-08-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

What many people don't realize is that there is more to just abs workouts than building stunning rock hard six packs. Your diet plays a major role too. But there is a lot of information out there that give you conflicting recommendations making it confusing for you to decide on what to choose. Some times you wonder if these ab diets really work. Well, they do but only if you do them right. Well that's what we are here to help you with. Here are 6 tips that will help you to overcome your diet challenges.

1. Drink more water

Our bodies are made up of 75 percent of water. Water plays a major role in transporting nutrients, minerals and vitamins to various part of our body. That means water acts as a transporting medium for the nutrients. Water supplies all the necessary nutrients to the various body parts also water flushes out all the waste material out of the different body parts.
Water can also control your appetite. If you drink water while or before eating it will lower your feeling of hunger which helps you to eat less.

2. Eat carbohydrates together with protein

A good abs diet will need to balance carbohydrates and proteins to help building muscle and burning fat. Protein plays a significant role in building healthy muscles and a strong immune system. It also stabilizes insulin levels. It has high thermionic effect that means it will spend more energy for digestion, absorption and disposal of ingested food.
Carbohydrates are the fuel sources for out bodies. But too much of it is bad too this can stimulate appetite, mood swings and promote fat instead of burning it. Striking a balance between protein and carbohydrates is vitally important when you eat.

3. Take protein and carbohydrates 1 hour after workout

Research shows that if you have an abs diet smoothie an hour after your workout it helps in your muscle synthesis.

4. Eat 5 to 6 meals a day

Gain muscle so that there is no room for fat. Take in 6 balanced diet meals throughout the day. A simple shake, cottage cheese fruits or even yogurt can be a probable meal.

5. Serving Size Appropriate For Your Body Weight

To Control your calorie intake you need to make sure that your servings are no bigger than your fist.

6. Give yourself a treat once a week to help your abs diet plan

God rested on the seventh day so can your diet plan. Once in a week, treat yourself. When you are on a diet your body may send signals that you are starving. Eating what ever you want once every week will help you deal with feeling. This tricks your brain otherwise if your brain thinks you are starving your body and may even start storing more fat than needed. And that would spell disaster to your diet plan. Happy dieting.

: article by Mikejan [ Get 6 more FREE tips on how to get rid of your belly fat ( http://www.fitnessmadeeasy.net/ ) and be well on your way to having rock hard six pack abs. Visit http://www.fitnessmadeeasy.net to get more free tips and resources on how to lose belly fat, build muscle and have a perfect six pack abs ]

Five Exercises To Get Abs

2008-08-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to break out of the ordinary routine and get abs? Then these exercises can help you get the abs your looking for.

If you would like to receive a free fitness ebook then please visit the link at the bottom of the page.

1. Military Pushups

Military style push ups are a great way to build ab strength. The motion of lifting your entire body weight with your arms is a great way to work your core as it helps to maintain your balance.

2. Crunches

Crunches get a lot of controversy in the weight lifting world but they are no doubt one of the best ways to get abs as long as you perform them correctly. When performing a crunch be sure to push your lower back into the floor, keep your chin off of your chest, and make sure to keep your elbows away from the side of your face.

3. Inflatable Ball

Incorporating an inflatable ball into some of your workouts can help you get variety into your abs exercises. An example of this would be to use a medicine ball while doing crunches. You can lift your feet up onto the ball and have your back laying on the floor and then perform proper crunches.

4. Hanging Leg Raise

The hanging leg raise is a great exercise to tone your lower abs. To perform this exercise you basically hang on a bar as if you were to do a pull up, but instead you keep your back as straight as possible, bend your knees, and then bring your legs up so that they create a 90 degree angle with your stomach. You should try to refrain from swinging as much as possible while performing this motion.

5. Sit Up

The sit up is just an all around great exercise in toning your midsection. It is important while performing sit ups to not sway from side to side but instead to forward. It is also important to make sure you "crunch" your abs together when performing the motion.

: article by Travis S. [ Would you like to receive a free professionally written fitness ebook? Then visit this websitehttp://www.scottpricereviews.com/six_pack_how.html ]

Secrets to Getting Washboard Abs

2008-08-08T23:06:00.000-07:00

Washboard abs is the dream of every men and women. This article will help you realize that seemingly impossible dream. Diet rich in cholesterol-there goes the dreamy washboard abs. For flat abs low fat diet is an absolute necessity. If you wish to have washboard abs keep your body fat under control. It is easier said than done. It requires a lot of control and practice.

People aiming for washboard abs should realize that crunch is not the only way to get washboard abs. Typically, people try to do more crunches as a way to get flat abs. But there is a smarter way to get washboard abs. Proper mixture of right kind of exercises will help you get washboard abs.

To get washboard abs do not just rely on crunch alone. Following exercises will help you get flat abs.

* Crunch

* Reverse Crunch

* Bicycle

* Hanging knee lift

Crunch: Crunch is an effective abdominal workout. For better results from crunch, lie down on your back. Place your left foot on your right knee. In this posture lift your shoulders up and try to touch the left knee with your right elbow. Repeat this for the opposite side as well. You can also do this crunch having an exercise ball by the side. That would give better results.

Reverse Crunch: This exercise is the opposite of crunching. In this lower muscles of the abs are tuned. To do this, lie down on your back. Keep your hands on your side. Bend your knees by 90 degrees. Make sure that your upper thighs are perpendicular to your body. In this posture lift your hips and legs off the floor using your abs. This is a risky exercise. So take care and do this very slowly. Nevertheless this exercise is a very effective one and do ensure that this finds a place in your workout chart.

Bicycle: By bicycle exercise we mean twisting and extending your legs alternately. This slow and steady rapidly changing leg movement causes the abdominal muscle to contract thereby helping you get washboard abs. To this bicycle exercise, lie down on your back. Place your hands at the back of your head. Lift your left knee up. And slowly twisting your torso try to touch the left knee with right elbow. Next, while slowly moving down the left leg lift the right knee up. This time, twisting the torso in the opposite direction, try to touch the right knee with left elbow. Repeat this alternately. Do this as many times as possible. Doing this very slowly makes it very effective.

Hanging Knee Lift: This exercise should be done as slowly as possible. During this exercise the upper body should be stable and hip joints should not move at all. Keeping legs, hips and knees straight and stable lift your pelvis, legs and knees all together towards the chest. You may need an overhead pull up bar to do this exercise.

The above exercises, if done regularly, along with low fat diet will help you get the washboard abs that you are dreaming.

: article by Chris McCombs [ Chris McCombs is a professional Hollywood Personal Trainer ( http://www.socalworkout.com/north-hollywood-personal-trainer.html ) in Southern California. Chris and his team are helping residents all over Southern California lose weight and get in the best shape of their lives. Find out more by visiting http://www.socalworkout.com/ ]

7 Lower Abdominal Workout Tips

2008-08-07T03:25:00.000-07:00

There is some debate in the fitness industry about how to work the lower abdominal muscles. The truth is that the 6 pack (rectus abdominus) is one muscle that has distinct sections. And although you cannot only contract the lower portion of the rectus abdominus, you can emphasize it a little more than the upper abs if you follow the 7 Lower Abdominal Workout tips below.

Now before we get to the 7 tips, I have to tell you that working your lower abs will not magically get rid of stomach fat. This is referred to as spot reduction and spot reduction is the biggest myth in fitness. You should work your lower abs to stabilize your pelvis, support good posture, improve function and performance, and exercise your spine in different directions.
Here are 7 lower ab workout tips.

#1 Move you pelvis. The rectus abdominus attaches to the ribs and also to the pelvis. When the ribs move like in a crunch the upper abs are emphasized. However, when the pelvis moves like in a reverse crunch or a posterior pelvic tilt, the lower abs are emphasized. Reverse crunches are a great place to start when you want to workout the lower abdominal muscles.

#2 Move your legs. When you move your legs during ab exercises, your lower abdominal muscles must work really hard to stabilize the pelvis. For example, doing leg raises emphasizes the lower abs a little more than doing crunches. Leg raises can be done from many different positions, such as lying on the floor, hanging from a bar, or using a captain's chair.

#3 Add resistance when you get stronger. If you get so strong that reverse crunches or leg raises become easy, you should add resistance to the exercises to breakthrough your strength plateaus. Ankle weights are a great way to add resistance to your legs to increase the challenge on your lower abdominal muscles.

#4 Use an incline. Using an incline is another great way to emphasize and increase the challenge in the lower abdominal area. If you do reverse crunches or leg raises on an incline board, your lower ab muscles work much harder against gravity.

#5 Use something contoured. This is a hidden secret to get more muscle work in your lower abs. Since your lower back has a slight natural curve, using a contoured surface like a Bosu Ball or a Pilates Barrel allows you to get more range of motion and more muscle work. Since the floor is flat it may decrease your range of motion during certain exercises, but with a contoured surface you get more motion.

#6 Stretch your lower back and hips. Inflexibility in the hips and back will decrease your range of motion and put additional pressure on your lower back. Because most people have sedentary jobs, most people have stiff lower back. If you have a stiff lower back, you will have difficulty emphasize your entire abdominal region, especially the lower abs. You should warm up and stretch your hips and lower back before doing lower ab exercises.

#7 Workout your abs 2-3 times a week. No need to workout your lower abdominal muscles every day. 2-3 times a week is all you need. You do not have to slave away doing a thousand repetitions. 2-6 total sets of 12-20 repetitions are all you really need. Now, if you want to lose weight, you should take a comprehensive approach to fitness and also perform aerobic exercise, weight training, and eat a healthy diet.

: article by Charles A. Inniss, Jr. DPT

Charles Inniss ( http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/charles-a-inniss.html ) is a Physical Therapist and Personal Trainer. For pictures and descriptions of tons of ab exercises and free ab workouts visit his website at All-About-Abs.com ( http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/abdominal-exercises.html )

The 3 Greatest Abdominal Exercises that Are Not Viewed Conventional

2008-08-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

Instead of the typical Ab exercises that we look so often with crunches, sit-ups, leg lifts, etc... I would like to pass you some improved alternatives for metabolism-boosting advanced intensity physical exercises that exercise your full body while as well forming your abs... Thus working up rock tight abs and core, but also creating a very much greater fat burning physical exercise than a regular Ab workout.

I'm going to show you an example of one of my favorite "ab physical exercises " that doesn't include any direct "ab exercises " at all. It's in a tri-set format ( similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises). 1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows 1b. Front Squats with Barbell 1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor A good rep strategy to use with this could be 3-4 exercise sets of 8 reps for every workout, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each workout. Mountain climbers can be done for a clock time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of "reps". Exercise Descriptions: Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row 1 dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the other arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows produces astounding work for your full mid section core area.

Believe me... you'll feel it in the abs! Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of lying on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while maintaining your elbows out in front of the body. This requires a little practice at first, so you will want to try a professional person trainer at your gym to assist you with the form. Front squats involve intense stabilization intensity level from the abs due to the barbell weight being changed to the front of the body rather of the back. Even though this is largely a leg drill, you'll experience this one in the abs big time! Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup pose and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to the opening posture. It kind of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an upgraded variation, you can also make your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg motions.

This really does it a full body physical exercise and A Lot more challenging than basic mountain climbers. After completing all exercise, rest about 30 seconds before beginning the next workout. Rest for 1-2 minutes after completing each "tri-set" before repetition. This will give you one of the top-quality ab workouts you've ever had without even doing any original ab physical exercises. You'll understand what I mean after you attempt it!

: article by Miguel ( http://www.fitnessreading.com )