Entries Tagged 'Stomach Exercises' ↓

Abdominal training is not as easy as jumping into a pool and learning how to swim. If you make repetition after repetition and still lead to mediocre results, you may be doing something wrong. Understanding the basics of abdominal training is important to determine which exercises will work best for a particular stomach area and which movements you should do with every abdominal exercise you follow. Listed below are three of the most important things you should know to achieve maximum results and get a flatter and stronger stomach in no time:

Complete lower abdominal training before anything else

Regardless of which exercises you wish to do, make sure to target your lower abdominal muscles first. As you tighter your lower abs, the other muscle groups on your midsection also contract, making them ready for the next movements. Since you are working on your whole abs section while targeting the lower abs, it is always best to start with lower ab training before focusing on the obliques and rectus abdominis muscle.

Breathe in, breathe out

The secret of working your abs is to contract the muscles completely. You cannot do this if you have air in your lungs, so make sure to breathe out deeply. If you hold your breath while doing any abdominal exercise, you are not contracting your muscles effectively. You should exhale on every contraction. To do this, let go of air whenever you start the movements and stop when you have no air left in your lungs.

Give your muscles time to recover

Unlike other muscles groups, your ab muscles can recover within minutes. Because of this, the ab muscles can respond to continuous movements. As long as you give at least several seconds for your ab muscles to recover, you can keep on doing repetitions of the exercise until you feel exhausted.

Follow these three important steps every time you start your abdominal training exercises and you’ll see results more quickly. It wouldn’t hurt if you add diet and cardio exercises to your program to achieve results more rapidly.

Ask anyone you know what part of their body they would like to change and the answer is usually the same, their abdominals. North America seems to be obsessed by getting a flat tummy, a washboard stomach, or obtaining a six-pack.

Abdominal training is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the fitness field today. Late night infomercials, numerous suspect training devices and claims that promise three minutes a day to a flatter stomach only adds to the confusion. In the deluged of information, people have a hard time sorting out fact from fiction and sales pitch from science.

The Physiology of the Abdominals

To better understand and design an abdominal training program that works we need to understand the underlying physiology of the abdominals.

• The Rectus Abdominis muscle runs the length of the abdomen flexing the spine and drawing the breastbone toward the pubis.
• The External Oblique Muscles lie on both sides and in the front of the abdomen.

Both sides, acting together, help flex the spine. One side also bends the spine sideways and rotates it, which brings the shoulder of that side forward.

• The Internal Oblique Muscles lie under the External Oblique Muscles.

Both sides, acting together, also flex the spine. One side, acting alone bends the spine sideways, rotating it to bring the shoulder of the opposite side forward.

Of course, there are other muscles in the abdomen but the Rectus Abdominis and the Internal and External Obliques are the primary ones. Because the abdominal muscles perform many functions, you can see the need to perform variations of the straight crunch, such as, the cross crunch, reverse curl and so on, to effectively work the muscles in the abdomen.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

In order for any muscle to become defined or toned, it needs to be overloaded or challenged. If you have ever done bicep curls (3 sets of 15) at 8 pounds and noticed that you aren’t seeing any more results, would you add numerous repetitive sets to your routine without ever increasing the weight you are lifting? Of course not! Yet, we do this with abdominal training as a matter of course.

The abdominal muscles are not unique muscle fibers and should not be trained differently than any other muscle in the body. If you’re doing more than 45 reps per abdominal exercise (3 sets of 15) with ease, than you might want to consider changing your arm positions.

Take your arms from your head to one arm or both extending straight along side your head and clasp your hands together at the top, to form a longer lever and therefore, increase the difficulty.

Performing your stomach crunches on an incline, with your head at the bottom, will add an extra challenge to your current training program.

The Need for Resistance

We have already established that performing 50, 100, or 500 reps of the same abdominal exercise will not help you progress in your workouts.

After you can perform, 3 sets 15 reps using your own body weight, levers, and added inclines, it may be time to add weights to your abdominal workout. You can do this by holding or placing a weight plate or dumbbells on your upper body.

If you are working out in a gym, ask one of the floor staff to show you how to correctly use some of the abdominal machines.

The Myth of Training Everyday

Another myth about training your abdominal muscles is that you should train them everyday. If you are working your abs to fatigue during your workouts, then these muscles need time to repair and recover, just like any other muscle in your body. Therefore, if you are not allowing time in between abdominal workouts you may be hindering your progress.

Proper abdominal training programs should be done 2 (for beginners) to 4 (for more advanced) times per week. Always allow a day in between workouts!

The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

No matter how good your training program is and how hard you work you may still be frustrated with your lack of a flat, trim stomach. We’ve all heard the names, “love handles”, and “ponches” that refer to the layer of body fat we carry around our midsections. No amount of abdominal training will make it disappear. That will only happen once you get rid of the layer of body fat covering your midsection. You may have the most toned, well-defined abdominal muscles on the planet but no one will ever see them unless your abdominal workout is part of a balanced exercise and eating plan. The most effective way of accomplishing this is to burn more calories than you are consuming through healthy eating habits and cardiovascular exercise such as walking, biking, hiking, cycling, or a regularly scheduled fitness class.

Read The Truth About Six Pack Abs review on this site so you don’t buy in to the hype and get honest answers about abdominal exercises and stomach fat loss.

Love handles, perhaps the most unwanted “guests” in our fitness life. Yet, the name implies love and affection… isn’t it ironic? The correct way to call this area of our stomach would be “the obliques”, these are muscles situated on the lateral and anterior parts of the abdomen. This is an area that is often left behind or underdeveloped in many workouts that only focus on the center muscles.

Getting rid of the love handles depends mostly on lowering our fat levels.  For this, a good diet plan and an aerobic routine are essential! There is no such thing as “spot toning”, and you CAN’T reduce love handles just by doing stomach exercises. So drop that myth and you’ll be on your way on getting rid of the love handles.

There are many ways you can start an aerobic routine including: aerobic classes, running, jumping jacks, aerobic DVDs, workout programs, fitness site subscriptions and more. It’s all about raising your metabolism! Choose a fat burning aerobic activity that better suits your needs and you truly enjoy.

After completing your fat-burning session, you can start performing some stomach exercises to loose love handles. Let’s take a look at some of the best ones.

The Bicycle Maneuver / Twist Crunches

This is a great dynamic exercise that will work your obliques and the rectus abdominis. As an extra note, this exercise was determined by researchers of San Diego University as the exercise that triggered the most activity on the stomach. Here’s how you can prove it yourself:

1. Lie on your back, knees bent.

2. Place your hands behind your ears, and slowly lift your head up.  Do not use your hands to rest your head on them.

3. Twist your torso to the right, and at the same time bring your right knee to your left elbow. Extend your left leg without touching the ground.

4. Now, in “bicycle pedaling motion”, repeat to the other side, this time extending your right leg.

5. These two movements are one repetition, and you must complete 20 repetitions, or start with what you feel is right for you.

Torso Twists

This is a great exercise that includes a wide range of movement, making it perfect to work the oblique muscles and raising your heart rate. Here’s how to do it:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, in a relaxed and firm position.

2. Twist your torso to the right while extending your left arm to the right also. The movement must be on the torso and must not involve the legs.

3. Now twist your torso to the left, now extending your right arm.

4. Do 100 repetitions, keeping 100% control of the movement.

The Side Plank

The side plank is an excellent isometric exercise that adds serious strength to your obliques. It may be somewhat hard to do at the beginning so do it at your own pace, but do it regularly.

1. Lie on your side, keeping one feet on top of the other and your forearm firmly planted on the ground.

2. Now, lift your body, resting only on the forearm and the foot touching the ground. Your body should look stiff and straight, forming a “plank”.

3. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds, or until you can. Then slowly come back down.

4. Repeat 3-5 times.

Extra Tips on How to Lose Love Handles

• A great way for dropping serious pounds and losing love handles is regularly practicing a sport. If you hate repetitive exercises this is a great solution. Even playing basketball outdoors with your children will help!
• Don’t forget about exercising the rest of your body. The more muscle mass you have, the faster the excess fat will melt away.
• Love handles might have something to do with our genes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get rid of them! It just means we have to work harder to reach our goal.
• Finally, work on your mindset. Our mindset is our best tool to reach ANY goal in life. Sure, there will be some difficult times but persevere! You’ll come out stronger.