abs exercise

5 Tips for an Effective Abs Work Out Schedule

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Wanting to start an abs work out scheduleis one thing; actually STRUCTURING a six pack abs routine is another. The best part about this is that it’s not at all that complicated. Anyone can create an effective work out schedule with no trouble.

When I started my own regimen, I knew I needed to do some research about building lean muscle and properly toning my abs. The most valuable information I dug up would have to be this: You can’t expect just ONE exercise to do the trick.

Truth of the matter is, there are no miracle drugs, there is no one absolute best abdominal training equipment, and, most importantly, you cannot get ripped six pack abs by doing only one kind of exercise.

Chair of the Kinesiology Department at the Occidental College in Los Angeles Stuart Rugg, Ph.D. said, “Stop looking for the one best exercise for abs because it doesn’t exist.” The key to a well-rounded and effective abs work out schedule is the integration of a VARIETY of exercises that target the entire abdominal area. Only then will you achieve definition and core strength.

These 5 tips will surely help you jumpstart your abdominal exercise routine:

1. Complete sets in the 10-25 range. Begin at 10 reps and increase them as time goes on.

2. Start small and finish HARD. Gradually increasing reps and difficulty will put your ab muscles in great shape.

3. Perform each rep of every exercise consistently. Doing 3-4 abdominal exercises every other day should be sufficient. Keep in mind that the last rep has to be as spot-on as the first one. Slacking will only keep you further away from realizing your dream physique.

4. The duration of each rep has to be the same. When carrying out your abs work out schedule, you have to consider the timing of each rep performed. When you do a bicycle crunch, for example, it can’t take you 3 seconds to complete the 1st 10 reps and only 1 second for the rest. Again, consistency will get you the best results.

5. Perform ab-specific exercises 3-4 times a week. Don’t be afraid to include other forms of exercise in your routine. Allot 3-4 days for targeted core training and do them every other day so you won’t stress your ab muscles too much. Then, include cardio routines or sports activities during the days in between.

Read further on various abdominal muscle exercises and don’t forget to change up your routine from time to time. In the meantime, keep these 5 essential tips in mind when you create your own abs work out schedule. This will certainly give you the edge you need to get that rock-hard six-pack.

Top 3 Flat Stomach Tips

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Getting a flat stomach is very doable. All you need are some sure-fire flat stomach tips to get you started. Fortunately for you, you’ve come to the right place.

Doing countless sit ups or eating a low-fat diet is beneficial, but here you will also learn about good exercise practices that will help burn belly fat faster and other flab-eliminating techniques.

Tip #1: Eating less calories than you burn.

Working out constantly can help trim the fat, but if you eat relentless amounts of fat or simply don’t care about how many calories you end up consuming for that day, then you’re pretty much stuck.

Eat fewer calories than you actually burn – this is the first of three flat stomach tips.

Generally, women can burn around 1,500 to 1,600 calories per day. Meanwhile, men are capable of burning around 2,500 calories. Regardless of your sex, you can definitely burn more calories if you perform full body exercises regularly.

Counting the calories you take in or burn is not really necessary, but if you find the time to do so, that’s OK, too. Simply be aware of how much you eat and how much exercise you do. At the end of the day, you’ll feel really good about yourself if you don’t overeat and work up a sweat with ample exercise.

These diet flat stomach tips could work better if you utilize other tools, such as calorie counters. They’re usually available at the supermarket, your local pharmacy, or even at your doctor’s.

Just having a general idea how many calories a particular kind of food has will help you make better diet choices. Once you’re aware how much calories a bag of chips has, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started to snack on healthier options, such as vegetable sticks and nuts.

Tip #2: Keeping it firm and tight with elastic clothing.

Steam baths, slimming massages, and clinical body wraps can help you feel better about yourself, but they’re not the best flat stomach tips around. They’re not the most practical solutions either.

A great way to keep excess fat from jiggling and burning some of it in the process is by wearing breathable elastic clothing or synthetic rubber pants. These affordable reinforcements are available in fitness stores and dance specialty shops, since they are usually worn by dancers.

Wearing them under or over your regular workout clothes will help insulate more heat thus burn more fat. It will also help firm up body parts that are susceptible to sagging.

Tip #3: Good posture goes a long way.

Good posture is the last of the three flat stomach tips. Not only are you promoting correct bone structure and sufficient blood flow, but you’re also allowing your body to LOOK good – that in itself can help take inches off your belly.

Every time you sit or stand, imagine someone hovering above pulling on a string that’s attached to the topmost part of your head. Keep your shoulders back and suck in your gut. Try catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and see how much better you look by simply correcting your posture.

These 3 great flat stomach tips will definitely take you to the next level of your fitness program. Go ahead and try it!

Add to the list. What’s your number 4 tip to a flat stomach? Leave your own tips below.

Excercise for Lower Abs – Yes or No

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Some experts debate the benefits of exercise for lower abs. Does everybody have lower abs? And can you really target them? These questions are simple and common enough, but the answers may surprise you.

  1. How many ab muscles do you have?
  2. Can you target them?
  3. Does it work?

Some people will tell you that there are separate upper and lower abdominal muscles. This is technically not correct. Your abdominal muscle, the rectis abdominis, is a group of muscles that are all connected to each other.

But that’s just one part of the whole story.

So, does targeting your upper and lower abs separately make a difference? Can you really exercise for lower abs?

Well, the jury’s still out on that one. But, scientific studies have shown that some workouts work your lower abs better than others, while some are better suited for developing the upper abs.

As far as exercise for lower abs goes, scientists at the University of Nebraska deduced that the reverse curl causes the greatest amount of activity in the lower abdominal region, while movements such as the trunk curl and twist curl seem to target the upper abdominals more effectively.

However, an interesting thing to note is that, according to recent physical therapy research, only some people actually have a distinctly separate lower abdominal muscle, called the pyramidalis. This means that lower abdominal targeting may only be effective for people who have this optional muscle – about 80% of people.

Most fitness experts do not recommend doing anything special to target the lower abdominals, but, instead, alternating between different types of movements that work the midsection. This should ensure a proper workout of all of the abdominal muscles that you DO have.

Great exercise for lower abs can be any of the following:

  • Curls
  • Crunches
  • Bicycles
  • Sit Ups

Of course, the discussion of upper and lower abs and who has them and whether they should be targeted obscures the advice that fitness specialists have been giving us for years.

Ab targeting is still an important consideration, but not quite as important as proper diet.

It doesn’t matter how much you work your abs if they’re covered in fat. Following a low fat diet and performing regular cardio workouts, such as walking or running is the most important part of any ab training routine. With this added to your fitness regimen, the fat will be melting right off of your belly.

So, eat right, stay fit, and perform a regular exercise for lower abs. Keep it up, and keep at it. Soon you’ll be stronger, healthier, and have abs that will make people stare, in a good way.

Which exercise do you find most effective for your lower abs? Share your opinion below.

Working Against Your Genes and Getting a Flat Stomach

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There is a science to getting a flat stomach and it’s called GENETICS. Your genes have a lot to do with the way you look. In like manner, your genetic makeup also determines how your muscles are formed and what it would take to define them well.

That’s why fitness regimens really do vary because that’s how our bodies were designed – each being unique and distinct. Look around you. Body shapes and muscle definition are really different for every individual.

No wonder the work involved in getting a flat stomach varies from person to person.

We inherited our genes from our parents, so it is most likely that we look very similar to them and our close relatives. Your genes not only establish the way you look, but also the way stored fat is burned when you exercise. Differences in metabolism could be the reason why you burn fat slower than your peers.

Be that as it may, you can still up the ante by including high-intensity cardio exercises and rigorous abs training in your fitness program to effectively burn stubborn body fat.

There are so many cardiovascular workouts for getting a flat stomach. You’ve got running or jogging, which has been a favorite physical pastime for years. Swimming, yoga, martial arts, dancing, boxing, and rowing are all very good cardio workouts as well.

You can do one or mix it up by doing at least three kinds every other day. The possibilities are endless really. What should remain constant is warming up right before engaging in any of these activities and cooling down afterward.

As for targeted abs workouts, there are just so many exercises to choose from. You have regular floor crunches, ball crunches, leg lifts, curls, bicycle exercises, sit ups, weighted sit ups, and a lot more. All of these will help you a great deal in getting a flat stomach.

Pick the ones that you think work best for you and don’t be afraid of a little trial-and-error. You’ll find out soon enough if you try each one for a period of time. If you start to feel that your abdominals are tighter or if they even look better in the mirror, then that only means the exercise you’re doing is working best for your body type.

You may not look exactly like your favorite Hollywood celebrity or don the same washboard abs as your much admired athlete. But getting a flat stomach can still be a reality regardless what your genes say. Just keep eating right, perform intense exercises to burn stubborn fat, and really work your butt off.

How have you conquered your genes to a flatter stomach? Share your own story below.

The 10-Minute Home Workout to Flatten Abs

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At first glance, a full-proof 10-minute home workout to flatten absmight seem a bit unbelievable to you, especially if you’ve been so used to at least 45 minutes of intense exercising. But what if I told you it IS possible?

The first time I heard about it, I couldn’t believe it myself. “If I try it out, what is the worst that could happen,” I thought. I get to shorten my workout time and STILL get six pack abs – I don’t know about you, but that, right there, is a definite win-win.

After doing it for a while, I am pleased to announce that it did work for me. And I’m pretty sure you’d want to hear about how I managed to perform the home workout to flatten abs in just 10 minutes.

If you’re dead-serious about getting six pack abs, then you should be willing to try anything. I’m not suggesting you spend all your money on abs training equipment or ridiculously priced gym memberships. I’m not saying that at all.

This workout program may save you time, but it will require you to push harder. After all, no pain no gain, right?

First thing you need to remember is that you should perform your home workout to flatten abs directly before a meal. Why? Imagine yourself walking through the Sahara desert. After a period of time, you will have the urge to drink.

In like manner, your muscles crave for nourishment right after an intense workout. As you pacify your muscles’ “hunger” with food, you’re actually conditioning them to build more mass. That’s why it would be best if you incorporated a decent amount of protein into your post-workout meals.

For your actual workout, lie down on the floor and start off with about 50 basic crunches. Do them faster than you normally would, but try to maintain your form.

Your home workout to flatten abs doesn’t end there. Immediately after doing your crunches, perform about 25 leg raises before completing another set of 50 crunches. Midway through, I’m sure you’ll start to feel your muscles burning – and trust me, that’s a GOOD THING.

Don’t call it quits just yet because there’s still plenty of time left for 50 reps of bicycle exercises. That makes 25 for each side crunch and knee-bend combination. Finish off with 50 more crunches and you’re good to go.

It may seem hard, but just 10 MINUTES of that is definitely worth it. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, your home workout to flatten abs will soon become a breeze. Push yourself during that small amount of time and you’ll soon enjoy the fruits of your labor.