| There are so many people
looking for the secrets to great abs. You see all the hype on TV
infomercials.
Companies peddling all types of equipment that will help you build rock
hard abs and a miraculous mid section. Without spending tons of money
or
any money at all, I'll discuss a simple and effective way of building
great
looking abs. It can be done at home or at your gym.
Now we all want defined,
toned abdominal muscles. Mostly to look great. A lot of men strive for
a 6 pack or close to it, while most women's goal is for a tight toned
mid
section. Let me stress that besides the cosmetic reasons for having
great
looking adominals, having a firm and toned mid section has many other
benefits.
You'll ease any extra stress a belly or extra weight puts on your back,
improve your posture, increase your stamina and endurance because you
are
not carrying any extra weight and improve your self esteem. You'll feel
even better about yourself and what you have accomplished. Anyway, this
is pretty basic knowledge, but it is good to reflect on why you want to
have solid great looking abs.
To develop solid abs, you
need to shed some excess body fat. This is accomplished by eating
properly
and consuming less calories each day than your body burns.
Secondly, your abdominals
must be trained in accordance with proper resistance training. I'll
discuss Ab
Crunches as an effective exercise to build your abs.
Ab
crunches can be performed anywhere:
Starting Position:
Place
your hands crossed
on your chest and lie flat on the floor with your knees bent. By
bending
your knees you're providing your lower back with support. You can also
place your hands behind your head if you prefer, but this position
often
leads to poor posture and unnecessary strain on your neck. In other
words,
you also end up cheating by lifting yourself using your arms and neck
rather
than your abs.
Performing the Exercise:
Slowly
raise yourself using
your abs, with your lower back always pressed against the floor.
Raising
your lower back will put unnecessary stress on your back. There are
many
exercises specifically for your lower back and remember, the abdominals
create the exercise. Hold for a second at the top of the crunch
(movement).
Following the same method, slowly lower yourself. Remember to also
breathe.
Exhale as you crunch your abs and inhale as your lower yourself back
the
ground.
Number of Sets:
Try
3 or 4 sets of 15 to
24 repetitions done 3 times per week. If you are new to this exercise,
you may want to try doing 3 sets of 12 to 15. Remember, the slower you
perform the exercise, the more you will get out of it! It's not
necessarily
the number of reps you perform, it's the technique you use to perform
each
and every ab crunch repetition! The great thing about abs is that they
can be exercised every second day, depending on your time and workout
schedule.
Variation:
Try
the same procedure by
raising your legs or when you want to work on your obliques.
Most
people forget about working the oblique muscles (your side stomach
muscles).
Lie on the floor the same way as for regular crunches and cross your
legs
over to begin the exercise. If this feels uncomfortable or difficult,
you
may want to try the exercise standing up.With a reasonable weight in
one
hand, slowly lower one side and then return to the starting position.
Repeat
the procedure on your other side.
These are just a few of the
many ab exercises that you can perform almost anywhere. For more varied
abdominal exercises and workouts we recommend the following book: The
Complete Book of Abs by Kurt Brungardt
Ab
Crunches Video
All-in-one
abdominal exercise video
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