abs crunches

9 Great Ways to Work Out Abs

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Finding the best ways to work out abscan be a challenge especially if you can’t shell out any more cash on gym memberships and personal trainers. The good news is that you can do any of these 9 great exercises without even leaving your home or using any complicated equipment.

1. Crunches. Lie on the floor and put your hands across your chest. With your legs a few inches apart, bend those knees and plant both feet firmly on the ground. Curl your shoulders upward and hold it when you get to a 45-degree angle. Slowly go back down and start all over.

2. Frog Leg Crunches. There are many ways to work out abs than just regular crunches, and this is one of them. Place your hands across your chest and lie flat on the floor with the soles of your feet touching each other, forming a diamond. Try to keep your outer thighs, knees and calves as close to the floor as possible. Lift your torso slowly while curling your pelvis and hold that position, then slowly go back down and begin again.

3. Crossover Crunches. Assume the crunch position. Instead of going up vertically, try moving diagonally, doing both sides interchangeably. This will give your obliques a really good workout.

4. Raised Leg Crunches. Different crunch variations are great ways to work out abs, so utilize as many as possible. Lie on the floor and rest both legs up on a chair or bench, keeping your thighs perpendicular to the ground. With both hands across your chest, lift your upper body toward your knees and hold it there. Slowly go back down and start over.

5. Raised Leg Knee-ins. Lie on the floor and tuck your palms beneath your hips. Keep your legs straight out and suspended a few inches above the floor. Lift one knee toward your torso, hold it there, straighten it back out, and then do the same with the other knee.

6. Hanging Single Knee Raises. These raises, although a little more challenging than the rest, are effective ways to work out abs. Hold on to a chin-up bar, your body dangling, with both hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing away from your body. Raise one knee as high as you can while trusting forward slightly. Repeat with the other knee.

7. V-Spread Toe Touches. Lie back on the floor, raise your legs up to 90 degrees, and spread them to form a V. Lift your shoulders toward the direction of one leg, reach out, and hold it for a second. Go back down and repeat on the other side.

8. Hanging Knee Raise Crossovers. This works a lot like #6, but instead of lifting one knee at a time, you lift both. Twist your pelvis as you lift your knees. These added moves are great ways to work out abs.

9. Vacuums. While keeping your upper body upright, place your hands on your hips, kneel down, cross your feet from behind, and sit on them. Exhale as you suck in your gut. Hold for a few seconds, breath in, and then repeat. Not only is this exercise effective, it’s also very relaxing.

Use these 9 great ways to work out abs and you won’t have to worry about flab ever again!

Exercises for Lower Abs that Work

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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.

Women Abdominals – What’s the difference?

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After spending months at the gym, toning every inch of your feminine body, the women abdominals still haven’t responded. The woman next to you looks like a professional athlete. She has 6 pack abs and every muscle on her body is defined and sinuous, while you’re still soft and round. Why?

There are three factors at work here that need to be considered.

  • Diet
  • Exercise Program
  • Heredity

The biggest part of the problem could be your diet. Another part could be the exercise program you use. The rest of the problem is probably heredity.

You are probably on some kind of diet already, but it may not be enough. You have to get down under that feminine layer of abdominal fat before you can see those muscles. In order to build lean muscle and break up that layer of abdominal fat, you have to focus on protein. To get sexy women abdominals, your diet should be low in fat and sugar, and also moderate in carbohydrates.

Like most of us, you probably eat your food too fast, as well. Play some soft music when you eat, to help you relax and enjoy your food.

It takes the brain 15 to 20 minutes after you start eating to tell your stomach that you have had enough. Slow down and chew your food longer. It will digest better, and you will get fuller on less food.

If you cook at home, take your food out before you dress or sauce it, or try putting all the fatty stuff on the side, like gravy, and let others choose for themselves. Combine a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits into your menus. You and those you cook for will be healthier, even if they don’t thank you right away.

Pin up a photo of those dream abs in your bathroom, gym locker, or office top drawer. You can paste a picture of your head over the one in the photo. It will motivate you and remind you that looking like that is a lifestyle choice.

Check your exercise program to make sure that you are focusing on the right exercises, and doing them correctly. If you have a trainer at your gym, ask them to take a few minutes with you. This could help a lot.

Last, consider heredity. Remember how your mother looked at your age. Was she athletic? If you have been exercising regularly, you probably look better physically than she did.

There is the possibility that buff women abdominals do not run in your gene pool. Well defined female abs won’t come without sustained effort and the proper lifestyle. To have the physique of an athlete, you’d have to do more. You would have to become one.

By changing your lifestyle, starting with a different outlook about food, and a regular exercise routine, you are already on your way to great women abdominals.

What’s your biggest challenge to building abdominals? Let us know by adding your comments below.

The Best Way to Work Abs

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Focusing on just doing targeted abdominal exercises isn’t the best way to work abs. I’ll tell you why…

Back in the day, modern conveniences did not exist. There were no computers, no heavy-duty equipment, and hardly any desk jobs. “Hard labor” was just what the phrase implied – HARD LABOR.

As the early inhabitants of this world went through their day, they would do heavy lifting, travel great distances on foot, harvest the fields of their crops with their very hands, and rely on nothing but their own physical strength to get things done. They weren’t aware of abdominal exercises back then, were they? And yet, many of them had such toned bodies and ripped abs.

Have you ever asked yourself what their secret was?

The best way to work abs back then was to get full body workouts while doing their everyday tasks. They might have broken their backs from all that hard work, but, clearly, it gave them such well-formed physiques.

I’m not suggesting you go back to primitive ways for you to get fit. However, the idea of performing a more holistic workout routine can actually push you toward the right direction.

A complete abs workout is made up of two very important elements:

1. Full Body Fitness. Core-specific exercises are quite beneficial, especially if you want to get ripped abs. But doing exercises that target other parts of your body is also essential. Your abs make up just one part of a whole, and the best way to work abs is by involving the rest of your body.

Athletes need to build muscle and train hard for their particular sport, but you don’t see them performing only one specific exercise. Incorporating a variety of exercises into your routine will get you a complete workout. Only then can you start to get a body as fit and as toned as your favorite athletes.

2. Fast Motion. Keeping a fast pace during your workout will get you to your goal quicker. Therefore, it is the best way to work abs.

You work your muscles and you keep going for as long as you can. Doing your exercises in a continuous, flowing manner will maintain your momentum and push you to greater heights.

Keep in mind, however, that you can’t just throw caution to the wind. You need to be consistent with your workout routine, but not careless. This way, you get the most out of your training without incurring any injuries.

Indeed, the best way to work abs is to constantly work the whole body. Always incorporate these two important elements in your fitness plan and you’ll do just fine.

What other methods do you have to work your abs? Share your secrets below.

How to Get Sexy Abs – Use Side Stomach Crunches

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Side stomach crunches unfamiliar to you? Have you decided that it’s finally time for you to get on top of things, and start developing your abs into the muscle packs that you have always wanted? It’s certainly a noble goal, and there is nothing to keep you from achieving it. There are many ways to develop flat and muscular abs, and some work better than others.

One of my favorite exercises for the abs is the stomach crunch and side stomach crunch. It doesn’t require any workout equipment or trips to the gym, but if you stick with it for any extended period of time, you’re sure to make the desired improvements.

You’ve most likely seen the stomach crunch performed before. All it takes is lying on your back with your hands behind your head, then curling at the stomach and bringing your face and elbows upward. Essentially you are crunching your abs together.

After you have performed your amount of initial stomach crunches, you should do side stomach crunches to effectively hit not only the front of your stomach muscles, but both sides as well. Instead of pushing your elbows straight forward, you will rotate to one side as you lift off of the ground, and put more emphasis onto that cluster of muscles.

This exercise is so simple, yet is the most fundamental ab movement, and therefore extremely effective. The movement of contraction then expansion will rip your muscles to shreds (which, remember, is a good thing) and leave you feeling extremely sore. And with the side stomach crunches thrown in to boot, your ab muscles will be screaming.

The effective number of reps depends on your personal shape and goals. Do you want to go from chubby to lean and mean in just a few months? Well, you had better do crunches until you are physically incapable of doing them any more. Repeat this every day, and you will see maximum results.

But if your goals are a little less extreme and you just want to tighten up the stomach area, you can get by with slightly less rigorous amounts of ab exercises. If you do 50 normal crunches and 50 side stomach crunches, you won’t be off to too bad of a start.

If you want to really improve your abs quickly through stomach crunches and side stomach crunches, then it all depends on finding what a comfortable amount is for you, while still pushing yourself closer and closer to your personal upper limit.