abs exercise

Exercises for Lower Abs that Work

by

Some of the most proven effective exercises for lower abscan be done right in your own home with no expensive equipment or large time investment.

You just need to know the answers to 3 simple questions and know the right moves to get the abs you want.

  1. What moves work your abs?
  2. What is the right diet for ab training?
  3. What is a good cardio workout?

Technically, there are no separate upper and lower abdominal muscles. The abdominals are a group of muscles that are all connected.

So, some experts don’t believe that there is a point to targeted ab training, but science has proven that some movements do target the lower abs more effectively.

The best exercises for lower abs are:

  1. Curls
  2. Crunches
  3. Bicycles
  4. Knee to Chest Stretch

1. Curl

  • Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat.
  • Place your hands on your abdomen.
  • Tighten your abdominal muscles and press your lower back against the floor.
  • Slowly curl yourself up, raising your head and shoulders.
  • Uncurl back down, slowly lowering yourself back to the floor.

2. Crunches

  • Lie down on the floor.
  • Bend your knees and place your hands across your chest.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles.
  • Bring your shoulder blades up off of the floor several inches while bringing your knees up at the same time.
  • Hold this position for a few seconds and then lower yourself.

3. Bicycle

  • Lie flat on the floor.
  • Rest your hands up next to your head and bring your knees halfway up.
  • Begin a bicycling motion with your legs.
  • Alternate between touching your left elbow to your right knee and your right elbow to your left knee and repeat.

4. Knee to Chest Stretch

  • Lie on the floor with your knees bent and flat feet.
  • Bring one knee toward your chest. You can use your hands if you need to.
  • Hold your knee near your chest for ten seconds and lower your leg slowly.
  • Repeat with your other knee.
  • Hold the stretch for as long as you feel comfortable and then repeat.

Perform these exercises for lower abs 2-3 times per week on alternating days. Begin with 5-10 repetitions of each and step up slowly.

A low fat diet is an important part of abdominal training. Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean protein. Avoid fatty foods and processed grains.

A strong cardio routine is also important, both for your overall fitness and you ab strengthening. Walking, bicycle riding, running, jogging, and aerobics are all great cardio workouts.

A healthy fitness routine is a full body fitness routine. Eat right, pick a cardio workout, and do these exercises for lower abs. Your very own toned, sexy abs are inside of you, waiting to be brought out.

3 Steps in the Flat Stomach 2 Weeks Program

by

Myth: Getting a flat tummy in 2 weeks is impossible.

Fact: A flat stomach 2 weeks later is attainable if you start with a well-conditioned body. I should know, I’ve been there before.

To get a conditioned body, you’ll need to really work at it. This isn’t the time to dilly-dally because if you’re really serious about getting rid of excess belly fat or building a six pack, you’ll need more than just luck on your side.

You’ll need to get three things in order before you achieve the flat tummy of your dreams. These are: total commitment, a full-proof diet, and proper exercise.

1. Total Commitment. Even Hollywood superstars and buffed athletes have to go through this step for them to get their bodies to look that way.

First thing you need to do to get a flat stomach 2 weeks later is to start. NOW. Truly, there is no better time.

Grab a pen and mark that target date on your calendar. Commit to yourself and to the idea of your new-and-improved self. The only way you can get yourself out of your fitness rut is to make that conscious decision.

If you don’t start today, you will only delay things. You need to want it bad before you get it. Remember that.

2. Full-proof Diet. This entails more than just the latest fad diet or even total fasting – those aren’t just good for you. Period.

For a flat stomach 2 weeks later, you need to get your weight to a healthy number and rev up your metabolism at the same time.

Start by timing your meals. Eat small portions of well-balanced meals every 4 hours. That way, your body never goes totally hungry nor will it be deprived of essential nutrients at any given time. Also, your digestive system will be working at a regular “schedule.”

At the supermarket, stock up on veggies and fruits you can eat without cooking. You can snack on them regularly without much food preparation. You should also get fat-burning foods like garlic, chilies, nuts, citrus fruits, apples, tomatoes, and a variety of berries.

Tofu, an alternative source of protein, will help get you a flat stomach 2 weeks later. While you’re there, grab a bottle of multivitamins and take 1 tablet daily. Remember to stay away from fatty foods – they will only set you back.

3. Proper Exercise. You can’t expect to go easy in the next 2 weeks if you truly want to see results by then. That’s why performing exercises correctly and regularly will do the trick.

With the use of a timer, you need to stick to a diet and exercise routine. Every time that timer goes off, you need to get off that couch and start working: walk around, drink water, eat your small portions, work out, get ample sleep, and do it all again the next day.

Before you even notice it, the flat stomach 2 weeks program should be completed in no time at all. After doing everything intensely for 2 weeks, give your body a break by resuming a slower-paced exercise routine and going back to a normal diet. The most important thing to remember is that you never give up in those 2 weeks and keep your eye on the prize at all times.

Share your own flat stomach 2 weeks experience by entering your story below.

“Who Else Wants to Tighten Lower Abs With These 3 Proven Keys?”

by

Start building tight abs the right way…

You may have worked hard…exercised regularly and eaten right. You may have even seen some encouraging signs of progress: maybe you’ve lost an inch or two from your waist. Maybe your favorite pair of jeans or dress fits a little better…but, then you notice that your lower abs are just not as tight as you expected them to be…

People just like you are looking for ways to tighten lower abs. It is probably one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) part of the abs to show. It’s that stubborn little pooch women usually complain about or that extra flab of fat that keep men from buttoning their pants effortlessly.

Did you know that the lower abs is both the last to lose belly fat when you’re exercising and eating right and the first to gain belly fat when you’re not? OUCH!

This is because of the average man and woman’s hormonal make up. Your body naturally stores fat in your lower abs first (especially men) for survival reasons.

Even worse, cortisol, a hormone released by the body when it is under stress, further contributes to the build-up of fat around the waist…Did that just doubled your stress right there?

Ok, by the time you finish reading this article, you’ll will have learned 3 proven ways to both tighten lower abs and make your hormones actually help keep the fat off your belly…

Ready? Let’s get started with the most obvious…

1) Perform specific exercises to tighten lower abs…

What’s a successful ab workout program without specific exercises to tighten lower abs? There are quite a few options to choose from, but here are 3 of my favorite lower abs exercises that will give you great overall results:

Abdominal Bicycle Crunch

woman-doing-bicycle-abs-crunches-1 woman-doing-bicycle-abs-crunches-2

Reverse Abdominal Crunches

 

Hanging Leg Raises

2) Lower Your Overall Body Fat %

What good is having tight lower abs if they’re hidden behind a layer or two of belly fat? I mean, you want to tighten lower abs AND have them look great, right?

Well, the best way to get your lower abs to look like they’ve gone to abdominal boot camp is by lowering your overall body fat. That would be your primary goal here.

Targeted abs exercises won’t be enough…Have you noticed this? Once you get your total body fat to the ideal, things will get much easier, you’ll see.

If you know what your total body fat percentage is you’ll know how much fat you’ll need to burn in the process. In this case, like in many others, knowledge is power.

And the fastest way to burn off body fat is to do interval training. It allows you to burn off fat in the least amount of time. Sweet!

The other way to lower your overall body fat % is to INCREASE your muscle % through resistance training. Don’t worry ladies, you won’t look like a bodybuilder if you do this right.

Interval training is great for fat-burning in the short-term but muscle-building is BY FAR the best long-term strategy for keeping fat OFF your body…

If you’re serious about creating a healthy, lean body, there are 2 abs programs that I’ve found to give the best results: www.NoNonsense6Pack.com and www.GetHotAbs.com.

You can learn about these programs by clicking on the URL above.

Ok, Ready for tip#3?

3) Have a Good Eating Strategy (NOT Diet!)…

If you’re like me, you hate diets! I mean, if they really worked long-term, why do so many of us seem to go from one diet to another with no real long-term success. And you’ve probably heard that the diet industry is a multi-BILLION dollar industry. But where are the real results?!

…Ok, you already know diets are useless long-term but at the same time, you do need a good eating strategy. After all, what you eat is about 60-80% of having great abs.

So what’s the difference between a diet and a good eating strategy?

Here it is: a diet is short-term and many times requires starvation or the complete elimination of an entire food group (e.g. carbs, fat, etc). This just can’t work long-term and is doomed for failure at some point because it’s unrealistic.

An eating strategy on the other hand is a long-term approach because it deals with reality. No need to cut out EVERYTHING forever (impossible).

You’ll find that good eating strategy teaches you to restructure what you’re already doing in a way that tells your body to naturally release excess body fat…but you’re still eating when you’re hungry. No starvation. Yay!

The basics of a good eating strategy include eliminating excessively fatty foods from your diet, cutting down on highly processed foods, and drinking alcohol only every once and a while can do you more good than you can imagine.

Sticking to a well-rounded diet that’s loaded with whole grains, fresh fruits, colorful veggies, and lean meats/ protein will definitely set the motion toward a healthier, more fit you- without starving.

 

Do you need some more help with an effective long-term eating strategy?

After looking through a lot of programs, the diet solution is my favorite because Isabel (the program creator) uses common sense and real science to guide you through fat-burning meal plans that are for people that actually enjoy eating REAL food.

You can learn more about Isabel’s program by going to www.FatBurningMealPlans.com

I’m sure that by now you can see how these 3 tips can help you to tighten lower abs- starting today! But, as you’ve heard before, you have to take action!

Start by doing a couple of the lower abs and fat-burning exercises that we talked about in this article, then consider getting a full ab workout program and/or the diet solution…

To Your Success!

Still have problems tightening your lower abs? Let me know by entering your comments below.

The 3 Absolute Rules on How to Get Killer Abs!

by

We’ve all wondered about how to get killer absat some point in our lives. After reading many articles in health magazines and websites, I’m sure you already know that there are many ways to achieve it. The secret (if there is one) is that you integrate the RIGHT strategies instead of just relying on one.

It’s not as hard as you think. It only seems like it because you haven’t even started yet. But once you get the ball rolling, things will just start to fall into place.

There are 3 key strategies to creating an effective fitness plan. No, it does not involve paying for a personal trainer or signing up for expensive pre-packed food to be delivered to your home. If you want to know how to get killer abs, simply keep in mind these 3 simple points:

  1. Healthy Eating
  2. Abs Targeting
  3. Complete Muscle Strengthening

Healthy Eating

 

Knowing what your body fat percentage can help you determine which foods you need to cut down on. You can easily find out what your body fat percentage is by asking your doctor or a fitness trainer at the gym.

If yours is especially high, that means you will need to work extra hard at building ab muscles. It also means you will need to change your diet.

No amount of sit ups or crunches will get you six pack abs if you have a considerable amount of fat surrounding your abdominal area. How to get killer abs when you’re battling the bulge? Start eating healthy, that’s how.

With a low fat diet, you can easily burn stored body fat. Try getting more leafy greens and lean meats into your meals. In the meantime, you need to avoid foods that are high in saturated fat, such as chips, French fries, fried chicken, and processed canned meat.

Abs Targeting

Abs targeting is definitely the icing on the cake since it directly involves your abdominal muscles. With excess fat out of the way, you can get your midsection into shape just by performing 3 abs targeting exercises every other day. You now have a better idea how a healthy, low fat diet can be advantageous while doing targeted abs exercises.

Doing 5-10 reps of each exercise, while gradually increasing your reps as your fitness level improves, is how to get killer abs. Sit ups, crunches, and bicycles are examples of very basic yet highly effective abs targeting exercises.

Complete Muscle Strengthening

 

While you work on your abdominals, it is also important that you strengthen and condition other muscle groups as well. Here’s why:

  • You get faster, long-lasting results
  • You reduce the risk of injury
  • You give your abdominal muscles a break
  • You allow your whole body to get in shape

Choose from a wide array of full body workouts, including swimming, yoga, martial arts, and boxing.

How to get killer abs isn’t cryptic at all. You just have to cover all the bases – get your diet right, work on those abs, and involve the rest of your body.

Learn to Exercise Your Abs at Home

by

If you want a flatter, leaner stomach it is easy to exercise your abs at home. Without use of special equipment or going to the gym, you can sculpt a tighter stomach with just a few simple exercises a day.

To start with, do some research on different types of ab exercises. There are many modifications on crunches, and techniques for targeting different areas of your abdominal region. Start collecting a file of ab exercises from reputable sources that you can work with.

Once you’ve collected your file, use a different technique each week. This is an effective way to exercise your abs at home. You’ll speed up your results, and you’ll be challenging your ab muscles to do new movements each week.

It is really important to pay attention to your breathing technique when you are working on your abs. Remember: exert = exhale. Anytime you exert pressure on a muscle group (the “crunch” part of your crunches) you’ll exhale. Exhaling makes your ab muscles become fully involved in the exercise.

Mix up your exercise routine with some aerobic exercise, like walking, jogging or an aerobics dvd. Burning fat from all over your body will help reveal your sculpted ab muscles. Try adding a cardio routine to your schedule at least three times a week and note your results.

Eating habits are also critical to the success of your ab workout. You’ve got to reduce goods that have sodium, sugar and preservatives with fresh, natural foods. You know, all the kinds of foods that your doctor encourages you to eat! Drink lots of water and keep your diet balanced.

A special note on drinks….alcohol can be a powerful enemy when you exercise your abs at home. They don’t call them beer guts for nothing!

Studies have shown the beer and other alcoholic drinks can lead to a rise in cortisol in your body. And cortisol is a hormone that steers fat toward your mid-section. Eliminate or reduce your alcohol intake for a leaner stomach.

If you are losing extra body fat by following these guidelines, you may need to increase your repetitions. When you exercise your abs at home, and add cardio and proper diet, your ab muscles will grow in strength.

Pretty soon the 20 to 30 reps that had you “feeling the burn” will feel like nothing at all. Keep adding 10 to 20 more each week to continue challenging your muscles.