Acheiving Perfect Abs
Posted: Wednesday, December 15, 2004
by lorien1973
Online Discount Mart Home & Garden Decor
There are a variety of methods to achieve the perfect abs. Abdominal workouts will strengthen your lower, upper and oblique abdominal muscles. The key is finding what works best for you. With diet and exercise, you can achieve that six-pack you’ve always desired.
There are over 200 different abdominal exercise and numerous new training programs hitting the market each week. Exercise infomercials pushing "As Seen On TV" nautilus machines, workout videos, and miracle diet pills such as Cortislim are everywhere. Understanding that “you" must exercise to achieve your goals is the first step.
Next – determine what level of exercise you’re ready for. Beginners should stay with the basic stretches and sit-ups: crunches, leg raises, sit-ups, hip thrusts, side bends, weighted sit-ups, and crunches with your legs bent, not bent, and straight up in the air. Below are a few examples of basic abdominal exercises to focus on.
Performing Basic Abdominal Exercises
Upper Abdominal
Form – “The Sit-Up"
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet resting flat on the floor. Your neck and head should be relaxed with your hands at the sides of your head.
Movement
Using your upper abs, curl your upper torso so your shoulder blades lift off the floor. As you curl up using your abs, your sternum (chest bone) should be aimed toward your bellybutton. At the top, contract the abs intensely and then slowly lower your torso, lightly touching your shoulder blades to the floor. Repeat
Tip
Even though sit-ups are an excellent exercise for practicing and perfecting abdominal training techniques, it is not a recommended exercise for your abs. Reason: Sit-ups have been known to cause lower back injury.
Form – “Swiss Ball Crunch"
Sit on the ball and slowly walk your feet forward while you slowly lean back until you are comfortably lying back on the ball with your feet shoulder width apart. Place your hands at the sides of your head.
Movement
Curl your chest up, bringing your sternum (chest bone) toward your bellybutton. Keep your chin tucked in to your chest to avoid "jerking" your head up. When you reach the top, focus on contracting the abs. Slowly lower your torso, rounding your back and lightly touching your shoulder blades to the Swiss ball. Repeat.
Tip
Mastering the basic abdominal crunch is your first challenge. This basic exercise takes more energy and strength to complete. The movement allows a full pre-stretch and a significantly greater contraction range than the basic abdominal crunch. On the Swiss Ball, the lack of stability is a challenge. You’ll need to recruit the core stabilizer muscles that may be neglected during floor crunches.
Form – “Decline Bench Crunch"
Using a decline bench, position yourself at a 30-degree angle, hook your feet under the foot bar with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Put your hands at the sides of your head, and relax your neck. Your starting position is not with your back against the bench but from just south of perpendicular to the bench (as this is a crunch, not a sit-up—see the photo to the left).
Movement
Slowly curl your chest up toward your thighs, contract in the top position, and slowly return to the starting position, without going any lower than perpendicular to the bench. As it's nearly impossible to look at your midsection on this exercise, keep your eyes fixed on your knees.
Tip
The decline crunch is more difficult as the angle increases the resistance Occasionally, you may experience a tightening in your lower back. If so – adjust the part of the bench you hook your knees around.
Lower Abdominal Exercises
Form – “Hip Up"
Lie on your back with your legs pointing straight up toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the floor. Keep your legs straight without locking your knees Put your hands, palms down, under your butt, and keep your head on the floor as you look up at the ceiling.
Movement
With your feet together and your legs straight, use your lower abs to elevate your hips off the floor or bench and slowly roll them toward your chest. When your feet are over your head, pause and contract your lower abs for two seconds. Then slowly release down to the starting position. Repeat.
Tip
This lower abdominal exercise is very effective, whether you do it on the floor or at the gym. No equipment is necessary.
Form – “Reverse Crunch"
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet together six inches above the floor Place your hands behind your head, like you would if you were getting ready to do an ab crunch.
Movement
Keeping your feet close to your hips, contract your lower abs, slowly bringing your knees toward your chest and lifting your butt off the floor. Once you have curled your lower body as far as you can, slowly lower to the starting position. Repeat.
Tip
This abdominal exercise effectively isolates the lower abdominal muscles, which causes fatigue rather quickly. As you focus on the movement and move through this exercise slowly, you will feel the results.
Abdominal Exercise Circuits
Intermediate and advanced circuits are easily accessible at your local YMCA or fitness gym. Start with the beginners’ abdominal exercise circuit, and try to perform the desired amount of repetitions and sets for each abdominal exercise. Try to increase the amount of reps you perform each week by 2 or until you can do 20 reps of each abdominal exercise. Aim to perform according to your fitness level 2-3 times a week. This will aid in strengthening your abdominal muscles.
Being successful at building a “six-pack" depends on your personal dedication to exercising the upper, lower, and oblique parts of your abdomen. Self-starters can find numerous resources in fitness magazines to assist them with the basic abdominal exercises. Hire a personal trainer if you’re ready for the more advanced circuit. Stay focused on your goals and you can achieve these few abdominal exercises.
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