Ab Exercise - top workout exercises

Beginners ab exercises

December 06, 2011 chrisandian 25 Comments

Beginners abs exercise: “Alternating Curls”.

4 Awesome Lower Ab Exercises To Blast Belly Flab

November 03, 2011 chrisandian No comments

4 Awesome Lower Ab Exercises To Blast Belly Flab

Article by Hamish Shephard

Lower ab exercises appear to be the holy grail of ab fanatics everywhere. Everyone with excess stomach fat is searching for a way to tone their midsection and shape their lower abs. Fitness professionals have pioneered and refined several approaches to maximize bang for buck when attempting to strip belly fat with lower ab exercises – some of which I’ll share with you below…

But before I outline those approaches I just want to take a moment to establish some of the important facts you need to consider in pursuit of sexy, ripped abs.

FYI: The key to revealing our abs is in decreasing the belly fat that covers our midsection – the spare tire. Shrinking your spare tire through the manipulation of 3 key elements will make any lower ab exercises you do so much more effective.

Use these 3 key elements to flatten your stomach

* Get your diet right: This is the most crucial step in the war against your spare tire. Choose whole foods over processed foods, eat a healthy ratio of proteins, carbs, and fats, and drink water instead of sodas. You’ll never see your abs if you can’t get this part right. * Train your body effectively: Skip the grinding cardio sessions on the treadmill and opt instead for several full body workouts using compound (multi-joint) exercises. Add some intense interval training and your lower ab exercises of course and you’re well on your way * Nothing but H2O Water is so important because it moves toxins through the body and keeps us hydrated. Sufficient hydration is an important factor in getting your waistline trim.

Make sure you have these key elements as the foundation to any lower ab exercises routine you perform and you’ll see incredible results. Stay consistent and measure your progress; if you’ve been eating crummy food and drinking sodas on the couch it may take a while to burn of that slab of gut flab hiding your six pack.

To have visible abs you need to have a low body fat percentage (8-10 for guys and a little bit higher for girls). But don’t let that discourage you because, with the right information and guidance (some of which I’ve shared with you now) you could flatten your stomach and have a sexy, toned midsection faster than you ever thought possible.

Now, back to the 4 lower ab exercises I was talking about…

Your lower abs don’t get a lot of love as far as normal exercises are concerned – they’re mainly used as stabilizer muscles. However, these 4 lower ab exercises are virtually guaranteed to work your lower abs in ways that will have you toned up in no time:

* Floorwipers: Lie down flat on the floor with feet together and legs outstretched. Hold a barbell (add weight plates if you’re more advanced) over your chest like the beginning of a bench press. Use the barbell to stabilize as you lift both legs to one side of the body at a slight angle. Return to the start position and lift again to the other side of the body. Repeat for 8-10 reps each side.

* Leg raises: This is one of the more advanced lower ab exercises and requires great lower ab strength. Simply get into a position where your legs are hanging and your upper body is stabilized by your arms. Now raise your outstretched legs to waist height and return them slowly to the starting position (that’s one rep). Complete 8-12 reps.

- You can also hang from a chin-up bar or use a dipping station depending on your fitness level. If you find the leg raises too difficult try repeating the same movement with knees bent.

* Russian twist: Sit on the floor with legs bent and feet flat. Take a weight plate in both hands like a steering wheel. Lean back slightly to engage the abs. Now simply twist to one side of the body and tap the weight plate on the ground beside you then repeat the movement again for the other side (that’s one rep). Do 8-15 reps.

- You can make the exercise less difficult by bring the weight plate closer to your body.

* Mountain Climbers: Get in a pushup position. Switch your feet back and forward so you’re tucking one knee under your chest while pushing your other leg out behind. It’s probably easiest to perform this movement for time instead of reps. Try 30 – 40 seconds rounds.

NOTE: Make sure you have a trained fitness professional help you with correct performance of these exercises.

Remember to mix up your lower ab exercises to give your body the variety in needs to keep improving. Try adding one or two of these exercises to the full body programs I outlined earlier. Add more reps or try a more difficult progression once the movement becomes easy. Also make sure to have the 3 key elements in place to maximize your results. I’d go as far to say if you don’t have the 3 key elements rocking then your lower ab exercises will be just about pointless.

So remember:

* Good diet * Good training program * Plenty of water * Then add your lower ab exercises

Consider visiting a personal trainer to help you build a sound strategy to reach your goal of a toned and sexy midsection. Of course, there are plenty of fantastic resources online that offer the knowledge of a fitness professional for a fraction of the cost you would pay with a face-to-face trainer. They’re definitely worth a look too.

Hamish

About the Author

If you’d like to learn more about lower ab exercises, then please read below:

Discover Insider Secrets To Strip Stubborn Belly Fat With A Simple System Guaranteed To Deliver The Body You’ve Always Dreamed Of…

That’s right – the secret you’re about to learn is virtually guaranteed to strip stubborn stomach flab quickly and easily. Click the link below to be taken to a FREE report:

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Ab Exercises – The Best Ab Exercises

October 16, 2011 chrisandian No comments

Ab Exercises – The Best Ab Exercises

Article by Vince DelMonte

When it comes to getting a solid six pack, doing the right ab exercises is crucial. You can spend hours doing needless sit-ups that aren’t really going to have all that much benefit, much to your disappointment. Taking the time to choose smart ab exercises will save you not only gym time, but a great deal of frustration as well. In this article we will discuss the best lower ab exercises and the best home ab exercises as well.

The best movements for the abdominal muscles are going to be ones that reduce your overall stability. The reason for this is because this will require all your muscle tissues, even the ones deep within the core, to contract in order to maintain balance. When you perform regular sit-ups, for example, they are really only going to target the more superficial muscles; one that will still help, but not get you near the results you could be seeing.

So what ab exercises are ones that reduce your balance?

Basically, anything done on an unstable surface is going to get the job done. This would include movements such as walking across a balance beam, performing one leg squats, one arm shoulder presses, or bent over dumbbell rows standing on one leg and of course, utilizing an exercise ball for any laying abdominal movement you perform. Working on a BOSU ball and stability ball ab exercises are also excellent options. As long as you have a set of free weights and stability ball then these would qualify as your best home ab exercises as well.

By far the most effective lower ab exercises are hanging leg raises while you use your lower abs to rotate your pelvis which is the secret to performing this effectively. Lying leg raises, lying leg raises on a 45 degree incline and cable crunches are also rock hard ab exercises.

Another area you might want to venture into with your ab exercises are those that utilize heavy weights.

While this will not necessarily get you ‘cut’ so that all your individual muscles are showing – that takes having low levels of body fat, what weighted movements will do is help further build the muscle tissue and make your abs “pop”.

The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolic rate will then be, so in an indirect way, that could in fact help you burn off excess body fat.

Furthermore, doing weighted movements will also increase your strength greatly, reducing the risk of injuries from any other type of exercise you may attempt. Weighted ball crunches with a stability ball on your chest is my favorite home ab exercises.

When choosing when to perform your ab exercises, if you are looking for performance, do them on a separate day from all your other work. Just like any muscle group, you want to be fresh when you do them.

If, on the other hand, you are more just doing them to help build some strength, but more to round out your exercise program, then you should be doing them at the end of your workout session. This will prevent them from fatiguing early, because they are going to be predominately used in all the other lifts you perform (heavy squats for example).

In many cases this rule can be bent though. For example, if a client comes to me and their abs are the weakest muscle group then performing them at the end of the workout makes no sense because they will be pre fatigued from the workout and you will not be able to train them as intensely so prioritizing your abs at the start of the workout can become the exception in this case.

So, next time you are creating your workout and are picking out ab exercises, keep these points in mind. Having good dedication to performing these exercises on a regular basis and then following a clean diet based around raw vegetables and proteins are the two main components to developing that six-pack you’re hoping for.

About the Author

Vince Delmonte is a competitive fitness model and personal trainer, as well as the author of No-Nonsense Muscle Building, a complete guide to building muscle for the hardgainer. Vince’s program includes extensive diet plans, complete weight training regimens, video tutorials, and full email personal training support.

For more information visit:

CLICK HERE

Losing Belly Fat the Wrong Way – Avoid These 4 Ab Exercises

September 23, 2011 chrisandian No comments

Losing Belly Fat the Wrong Way – Avoid These 4 Ab Exercises

Are you wasting time performing countless of ab exercises that don’t help you lose belly fat or develop six pack abs? Do you know that some of these abdominal exercises do more harm than good?

Exercise is important. But it’s not the only determining factor in developing ripped or six pack abs. Everyone has abdominal muscles. If they are covered with fat, no amount of ab exercises can get rid of it. If you want to see visible abs, the fat has to go. Nutrition or diet is the key to losing belly fat. Ab exercises only condition the underlying muscles.

Here are 4 abdominal exercises to avoid:

1. Sit-ups

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2. Crunches

3. Torso twists or machine-based twisting exercises

4. Machine-based ab exercises

All of these abdominal exercises do not burn belly fat and some of them are even dangerous!

1. Sit-ups

Sit-up is the most popular and yet, the worst abdominal exercise. Why is it so? When performing a sit-up, the ilipsoas muscle often does the majority of the work while the abs are not optimally recruited.

The ilipsoas muscle originates on the lower back. The sit-up pulls on the lower back with each repetition, especially when the feet are held down or anchored, or the repetitions are performed quickly in a jerky manner. Too many sit-ups can result in strength imbalance between ilipsoas muscle and abdominal, poor posture and lower back pain.

2. Crunches

Crunches are another popular ab exercise, but they do not get rid of belly fat or develop six pack abs. Doing too many crunches, too often, can be harmful. Whenever you crunch, spinal flexion causes compression of disks between your veterbrae. Over-crunching can lead to hunch back (poor posture) and herniated disc (lower back pain). This can be compared to someone rounding his back without bending knees when picking up something from the floor, and thus hurting his back.

3. Torso twists or machine-based twisting exercises

Contrary to what many people believe, torso twists, either with stick or machine, and side bends with dumbbells, do not get rid of love handles or burn belly fat. Hence, they are no good for reducing the waistline and are not effective for developing obliques.

4. Machine-based ab exercises

Like any of the above mentioned exercises, you don’t lose belly fat or develop sexy abs by working with ab machines. Typically, machines with grabbing handles on the side or in front of your body for support are ineffective. As you become tired, you tend to use your arms and lower back (prone to injury) to perform the abdominal exercise while leaving out your abs. As the machine stabilizes the body, your stabilizer muscles are not trained to work together with other core muscles. Excessive use of ab machines can lead to strength imbalances and injuries.

Many people who struggle in losing belly fat do not realise they have been misled. Could you be one of them? Discover the 12 biggest scams and lies in the diet, supplement and weight loss industries at How To Lose Belly Fat website.

Ab Exercises – the Facts for Sexy Abs

August 11, 2011 chrisandian No comments

Ab Exercises – the Facts for Sexy Abs

Ab exercises are one of the most popular, and yet, most controversial topics in the exercise and health/fitness industry. Hundreds of ab belts, ab gadgets, ab gimmicks, and ab exercise machines have flooded the exercise market for people looking for sexier and flatter abs… that sexy six-pack abs appearance that everybody wants.

The problem is that most of the ab exercises that are recommended all over the internet, and in magazines, etc, are not necessarily the best method to get that six-pack abs appearance. First and foremost, the most important aspect for great looking six pack abs is losing the extra stomach fat that is covering up the abs. To be honest, most people already have decent abs underneath, yet the six-pack is simply covered up by all of that extra flabby belly fat.

Instead of focusing so much on ab exercises to make your belly flatter and more like a six-pack, you will lose much more abdominal fat by focusing the majority of your workout time with special combinations of high intensity full-body, multi-joint exercises. The best exercises for losing that sloppy ab fat are the exercises that work the largest portions of the body at once.

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Exercises that work the much larger muscle groups of the legs, upper and lower back, and chest give you the biggest metabolic bang for your buck in terms of ab fat loss. Combining these types of big multi-joint exercises in high intensity super-set, tri-set, or circuit fashion gives you the biggest fat-burning and metabolism boosting response from your workouts.

And that is one of the best kept secrets for flat sexy abs that are actually visible as a six-pack!

Now when it comes to ab-specific exercises, another mistake most people make is mindlessly pumping away with hundreds of crunches and other meaningless abdominal exercises that barely give your abs much resistance to work against. If you want to actually develop your abs to the best extent possible, don’t waste your time with exercises that you can do more than 20 or 25 reps… that means you are definitely not doing an exercise that provides enough resistance to the abs. Exercises that give you enough resistance to get you down into the 6-15 rep range per set works great for the abs.

Generally, higher resistance ab exercises that provide a much larger stimulus to the abdominals come in the form of exercises that involve raising/curling the legs and pelvis either upward or inward closer to the trunk. A couple great examples of these higher resistance ab exercises are hanging leg raises or knee raises using a “pelvic curl up”, or an exercise like lying hip thrusts. Many times, the same people that can do 80 or 100 crunches, can’t even complete more than 2 or 3 properly executed hanging leg raises, because they simply have never worked the abs under heavier resistance.

If you really want tighter flatter abs that look like a six-pack, remember that losing that extra stomach fat is actually the MOST important part. Also, when it comes to ab-specific exercises, always remember higher resistance exercises that involve curling/raising the legs and pelvis upward or inward are what develops the abs to the best extent possible.

Grab a FREE fat-loss report packed with over 29 more specific secrets for losing belly fat and revealing your six pack at Ab Exercise & Abdominal Workout Myths

Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized International Fitness Expert, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine, and author of the internationally-selling book, Truth about Six-Pack Abs and owner of www.BusyManFitness.com. Another superb resource for fat-loss and muscle building is Lose Fat and Build Muscle

Dispelling Myths About Abs Exercises for the Stomach

August 11, 2011 chrisandian No comments

Dispelling Myths About Abs Exercises for the Stomach

Article by Abs Klein

Have you been doing crunches for years without results? Well the truth is many people still think that if they’re not achieving anything through abs exercises for the stomach they must be doing something wrong. Read on and find out why crunches, sit-ups and abs machines do not work. Learn how to lose your belly fat and get a pair of six pack abs.

If you have been trying to lose your fat stomach by doing crunches and other types of abs exercises for the stomach, then maybe that’s the problem. You see crunches and sit-ups are based on the idea that by exercising a specific area of the body, one can reduce the fat there. Nothing could be further from the truth. Think of the countless commercials you’ve seen on TV selling abs machines and gadgets they claim are designed to trim down your waistline. It’s amazing how we’ve been brainwashed by all these infomercials into buying this myth.

Change your diet. The traditional dieting method of restricting your calorie intake by taking less than you expend can actually do you more harm than good. This will lower your metabolism almost to a halt, making it difficult for you to lose your fat stomach. Stay away from fad and crash diets. While these diets may work for a while, they are unrealistic and don’t have any long term effect since they are based on short term goals and mindset.

Focus on eating healthy, natural foods. Natural foods contain enzymes, fibers, vitamins and nutrients that help you burn fat and Get a Flat Stomach. The less nutritious your diet, the more likely you’ll pig out on calorie rich foods. Stay away from junk food. Focus on natural foods which can actually boost your metabolism and speed up fat loss. Focusing on natural foods keeps you body satisfied and so you will not feel any urge at all to gobble up junk food or calorie rich foods.

Forget about abs exercises for the stomach and focus your efforts on doing high intensity cardio exercises and Lose Your Fat Stomach. When you always workout at a moderate pace, your body will adapt to the stress and your exercise will lose its effectiveness.

To work around this problem and prevent your body from adapting to your exercise (popularly known as plateau) you need to increase the intensity of your workout. The sheer intensity of your workout will enable you to achieve your goals without the need for boring abs exercises for the stomach and long hours of cardio.

Do high intensity weight training. Building your muscles is another great way to increase your metabolism, turning your body into an efficient fat burning machine. Sustaining big muscles is expensive and requires burning a lot of fat to fuel their growth and development.

Combining high intensity aerobics and high intensity weight training in one workout for maximum results. Not only will it be more effective in ridding your body of unwanted fats, but it actually allows you to spend less time in the gym and more time doing the things that you enjoy or are more important to you.

About the Author

Discover the secret to fast fat loss and learn proven ways to get a flat stomach. Visit Abs Exercise for the Stomach now!

The Truth About Stomach or Abs Exercises

August 11, 2011 chrisandian No comments

The Truth About Stomach or Abs Exercises

Article by Abs Exercise Stomach

If you dream of having a great body and a pair of six pack abs then youÂ’re not alone. Most people know of only one type of exercise to attain flat abs, and that is abs exercise for the stomach. The problem with crunches and other abdominal exercises is that they do not work.

If youÂ’ve been trying to lose your belly fat all your life, donÂ’t despair. With the right abs exercises and fat loss program, you can reduce your belly and body fat and even get ripped abs in no time. HereÂ’s good news for you. Did you know that almost all people lose fat in the stomach region? This is because the type of fat in your waistline (called visceral fat) is more volatile metabolically and is therefore easier to burn than fat found under the skin (called subcutaneous fat).

Spot fat reduction is a myth. DonÂ’t be fooled by abs machine advertisements. Abs exercises for the stomach wonÂ’t reduce your belly fat simply because crunches, sit-ups or similar abs exercises cannot raise your bodyÂ’s metabolism high enough to cause it to start burning fat. The only thing you can do is reduce your overall body fat. This is what we will be talking about next.

1. Create a systematic new lifestyle. A fat and weight loss program isnÂ’t a fad. It is a lifestyle change and requires dedication, determination and perseverance. ItÂ’s not about going on a crash diet, visiting the gym a few times and then returning to your old habits and lifestyle. No, it doesnÂ’t work that way. You need to stand back and look at your present lifestyle objectively. You will then have to build a new lifestyle based on that assessment.

2. Focus on eating nutrient-rich natural foods. By focusing on the right type of foods, you donÂ’t need to be counting calories ever so often. Instead, you can make use of your time more creatively or for more productive endeavors. By not worrying about what you canÂ’t eat and focusing only on the right kinds of food, things will pretty much take care of themselves. By concentrating on foods that are packed with nutrients, your body will be able to regulate your calorie intake and you will Lose your Fat Stomach faster than you could imagine. This is because our bodyÂ’s nutrition is based on nutrients. The more nutritious your diet is, the less often your body will demand for food.

3. Focus on high intensity training but workout less often. Forget about Abdominal Exercises that donÂ’t work. The key to turning your body into a fat burning furnace is high intensity exercises. By working out more intensely, your body is forced to respond correctly to the exercise. And high intensity training requires only a shorter duration compared to low intensity high repetition exercises. By working out more intensely, you can spend less time in the gym and more time enjoying life.

4. A super fat loss combination. Combining high intensity cardio with high intensity weight training into one workout results in super fast fat loss plus it greatly shortens the time needed to produce the desired results. Nothing beats this combination when it comes to rapid fat loss.

If you would like to read more about fat loss, nutrition and exercise programs, please visit Abs Exercise for the Stomach.

About the Author

If youÂ’ve been trying to lose your belly fat all your life, donÂ’t despair. With the right abs exercises and fat loss program, you can reduce your belly and body fat and even get ripped abs in no time.

Strip dance warm-up exercises: a simple workout to get ready for strip dancing

August 10, 2011 chrisandian 1 Comment

GET THE DVD – www.sky7dance.com We recommend doing some warm-up exercises before you start learning a strip dance routine, or before performing a dance. This is an easy workout that is especially useful for strip dancing. Warming up muscles not only helps prevent injury, but also makes it easier for you to do the dance moves correctly. We will also upload a strip dance stretching routine soon, so subscribe for updates!

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Category Archives: Ab Exercise

Beginners ab exercises

4 Awesome Lower Ab Exercises To Blast Belly Flab

Ab Exercises – The Best Ab Exercises

Losing Belly Fat the Wrong Way – Avoid These 4 Ab Exercises

Ab Exercises – the Facts for Sexy Abs

Dispelling Myths About Abs Exercises for the Stomach

The Truth About Stomach or Abs Exercises

Strip dance warm-up exercises: a simple workout to get ready for strip dancing

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