Month: June 2015

The Best Exercise for Lower Abdominals

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What is the best exercise for lower abdominals? I’ll tell you right now, the secret doesn’t lie on the “what.” Instead, you should be asking yourself this: “HOW can I maximize my lower abdominals workoutso I could get six pack abs fast?”

The physical fitness industry rakes in so much money, it’s not even funny. Why? Because people like you and me will do almost anything we can to look good, and that includes spending money on gym memberships, dietary supplements, workout tools, and exercise equipment.

You’ve probably been so focused on your midsection that you’ve neglected other parts of your body. Any successful fitness goal – whether it’s building upper arm muscles or, in this case, toning the abdominal muscles – requires you to work your WHOLE body. That’s why some abdominal workout equipments don’t give the best results when used alone.

A complete fitness plan cannot only involve the best exercise for lower abdominals. To ensure well-rounded progress, you need to integrate all three aspects:

1. Low-fat diet;

2. Regular cardiovascular exercise; and

3. Core-specific exercises.

The way you eat will always affect the way you look and feel. If you exercise but eat fatty foods and neglect the essential nutrients your body needs to build muscle, you’re only setting yourself up for failure. This is why a low-fat, healthy diet is very important.

Eliminate or at least limit your intake of unnecessary carbs and fats. Instead, pack your diet with vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and whole grains. Stop obsessing about the best exercise for lower abdominals for a second and think about eating frequent yet small and healthy meals.

It is a fact that following a low-fat, low-carb diet alone is also not enough. You need to work out 3 times a week for about 45 minutes to an hour for you to increase your metabolic rate and, ultimately, build muscle.

Cardiovascular workouts, such as jogging and swimming, are vital to a complete fitness plan. I, myself, pop in a fitness video and workout from home if the weather isn’t ideal. You can easily do the same.

After considering your diet and your cardio workout, you are now ready to put those abdominal muscles to work. What then is the best exercise for lower abdominals?

Leg raises have been tried and tested by people from all walks of life. It’s very simple to do AND you can get so much out of it; it’s unbelievable.

All you need to do is lie flat on the floor, place your hands on each side, and raise both legs gradually until you reach a 45 degree angle. Then, lower your legs back down to your original position. Remember to tighten your abdominal muscles all through out the exercise.

To add a little variation, you can either push upward with your hips when your legs are completely perpendicular to the floor, or grip a ball in between your shins as you perform those raises.

Remember these 3 steps – diet, cardio, and the best exercise for lower abdominals – and you will surely get a solid fitness plan that WORKS.

Great Abs In A Month

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If you want to have great abs in a month, there are 3 things you need to do.

  1. Workouts
  2. Diet
  3. Activity

Most people believe they can get by with joining a gym. You can, if you eat moderately and work out four times a week for six months. But, if you want great abs in a month, you need to put in a little more effort.

Everyone else thinks that exercise and diet are all there is to it. That is the biggest part, but not all. There’s another great strategy – it won’t give you great abs in one month, but it will help. Let’s cover these 3 first.

Workouts

Always start by warming up. Body stretches that focus the abs with side twists and front and side bends are good. Don’t cut this short. At least 15 minutes of just warming up will double what you get out of your routine, and help you avoid muscle strain and soreness.

Throw in some aerobics. Pick something you can do in 20 to 45 minutes, that gets blood circulating and burns calories as well. Jumping rope, swimming, using the rowing machine and regular aerobics are all good for your heart and your abdominal muscles, as well.

Now you are ready for the leg lifts, crunches, ball crunches, curls, bicycles and weights. A good gauge of what you need is to try doing ten. Whatever you can do is a set for you.

Do one set of each. Rest, stretch, walk around, then do one more of each. The next time you start, your set will contain one more of each exercise. Repeat this till your up to multiples, then switch off to something more intense.

If you’re a female, you might try just leg lifts or reverse crunches instead of standard crunches. They are less hard on the neck, a frequent point of strain for many women due to anatomy.

And diet?

You are going to get out of it what you put into it. This doesn’t mean you should starve, but if you don’t reduce your caloric intake to less than you burn each day, you won’t lose a pound. Since most extra pounds are fat, you need to shed them to expose those abdominal muscles hiding underneath.

Recommendations:

  • give up desserts and junk food
  • reduce bread and other starchy foods, like pasta and rice
  • increase vegetable and fruit intake
  • increase your water consumption

Other activities

If you don’t know it yet, the gym or mat is not the only place to give yourself a good workout.

You can:

  • spend a few hours on a weekend morning walking the dog.
  • take up rowing, swimming, hiking, rock climbing, just for a start.
  • stretch every chance you get. This means at work, also – some isometric exercises require no more than resistance, like a wall, and they’re great for abs.
  • walk to the store instead of driving

Note: There is one more thing that is important, and that’s your posture. If you slump or lean when standing, you will never look fit, no matter how much time you spend exercising. Think good posture all the time.

  1. Sit up straight in your chair, at work and home.
  2. Imagine a cord that lifts you from the top of your head. Let it pull you up, stand tall and then relax.
  3. Think posture when you work out and you’ll get more out of your exercise and avoid back strain, as well.

Most exercise outside of the gym is free, and it will keep you healthy long after those abs have turned into washboards.

frustrated?!

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I remember how frustrating it was to get nice lean abs a few years ago…

Allow me to help you to have an easier time…

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By filling up the form below, tell me how challenging it can be and I will tell you how to make it easier.

3 Advanced Techniques on How to Build Abs Fast

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How to build abs fast…frankly, there isn’t just ONE way to do it. If that was the case, no one would be clamoring for workout secrets anymore, and we’d all have killer six packs by now. Sadly, we are quite a ways away from that ever happening.

The truth is that there are numerous exercises created to build lean abdominal muscle, and each one is effective to a certain degree. Common human error states, however, that exercising is all you have to do to get six pack abs. This is where most people make that mistake.

There are a number of factors on how to build abs fast. “Targeted abdominal exercises” is certainly one of them. Your main focus should be with the PROPER EXECUTION AND FREQUENCY OF ABDOMINAL EXERCISES.

Each abs exercise targets a specific zone in your midsection, and doing them the right way will ensure your muscles are getting the attention they deserve. Perform these exercises correctly, 3 to 4 times a week — that’s exactly how to build abs fast. Just concentrate on keeping your abdominal muscles tight with every rep and set.

For you to effectively target your abs with these exercises, you will most definitely need to get rid of excess fat that surrounds your upper and lower abdominals. Before you can do a house paint job or renovation, for example, you will need to take out the “clutter.” This is where a LOW-FAT, LOW-SODIUM, LOW-CARB DIET comes into play on how to build abs fast.

Take a look at the way you have been eating and, more importantly, WHAT you have been eating, then ask yourself this: “Is my present diet holding me back from my goal?”

Aside from staying clear of bad fats, decreasing your sodium and sugar intake will also have a positive effect on your fitness goal. Drinking plenty of water and eating well-balanced meals can definitely help turn that flabby belly into toned, washboard abs.

To know more about healthy portions and well-balanced eating that’s ideal for your body time, I recommend a guide that’s NOT another diet book but rather a long-term eating strategy that’s both realistic and effective. Click here for a guide that shows you how to eat to automatically burn fat while eating REAL foods – not rice cakes and diet water…lol!

CARDIOVASCULAR OR AEROBIC EXERCISES is another good technique on how to build abs fast. Not only do these exercises burn fat fast and help tone your abs, but they are also very good for the rest of your body, like your heart and other muscle groups.

Taking your bike out for a spin or running around the block before you go to work are two simple yet easily adaptable cardio exercises you can do.

These three techniques, combined with much discipline and determination, will only take you to great heights. Six pack abs can be a reality for you. Who knows; maybe next time, you’ll be coaching others on how to build abs fast.

Top 3 Long-Term Exercises for Your Ab Workout Routines

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Six pack abs require work, dedication, and attention. Even when you already have it, you’ll still need to perform ab workout routinesregularly to maintain muscle definition. I know I do.

True enough, washboard abs are attained by continuous training and conditioning. It’s not something that happens overnight nor is it something that will stay that way without working out.

I find myself wanting to improve or at least maintain how my abs look. That’s why I keep a constant exercise regimen for my whole body and my abdominals, and so should you.

The secret is to start and follow up your ab workout routines with exercises that work your entire abdominal muscle group. That way, your upper abdominals, lower abdominals, and obliques get the attention they need.

Here are some of the most basic yet highly effective abdominal exercises you can do whether you’re just starting your fitness program or maintaining your washboard abs.

1. Ball Crunches. These types of crunches are really good for a long-term abs fitness program because they provide support while working your abdominal muscles. The exercise ball absorbs some of that pressure and, in turn, isolates your core muscles so that your abdominals do most of the work, not your back or neck. Regular floor crunches are OK, too, but I strongly suggest that ball crunches should be part of your permanent ab workout routines.

2. Bicycles. This exercise never gets old simply because it’s very dynamic and really fun to do. Not only that; compared to its simpler counterparts, doing bicycles require a wider range of motion and involve other parts of your body as well. It works your upper and lower abdominals, your obliques, shoulders, arms, lower back, and legs.

Talk about a full body workout.

Bicycles, when done properly and efficiently, will certainly get your entire abdominal muscles toned and buffed. Who knew cycling upside down and in the air could do your abs so much good in the long haul.

3. Weighted Sit Ups. To add resistance in your ab workout routines, weighted sit ups are your best bet. You can start off by using small weight, like water bottles and hardbound books, and then gradually increase their heaviness through time by switching to bigger loads, like a bag of flour or your baby.

Performing three different abs exercises every other day at 3-5 sets each should help build AND maintain six pack abs. Just to give you an idea how to go about it, you can start off with 1 set of ball crunches, followed by 1 set of bicycles, then another set of weighted sit ups. Complete this cycle 3-5 times to work all areas of your abs without straining them.

There are many ways to develop ab workout routines. Just always remember to execute each exercise with care and precision. That should help you get and maintain a great body.

What other exercises should be included as part of your abs routine? Add your own below.