aerobic exercises

Toning Stomach Muscles

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If you are working on toning stomach muscles, here are a few things to think about.

  1. Not everyone is born with the same set of abdominal muscles.
  2. Toning muscles involves stretching as well as exercising.
  3. Swimming is the best single exercise for toning stomach muscles.
  4. It is easy to strain your back doing abdominal exercises

Abdominal Muscles:

That’s right. Some of us simply don’t have a pyramidalis muscle. This means that no matter how hard you go for the washboard effect, you will not have the same number of bulges. You’ll get the six pack, but not the 8 pack.

Why are abdominal muscles different in some people? Doctors simply do not know. Consider that this will not just influence the all over number of toned muscles, but the lack of a pyramidalis will influence your ability to strengthen lower abdominals, as well.

Stretching:

Building exercises and toning exercises are not exactly the same thing. While you won’t get toned stomach muscles without a workout that isolates this muscle group, you won’t get the tone without doing a lot of stretching, as well.

People often neglect this as part of a routine. These are some of the easiest and most rewarding exercises to do. They are great for warm ups. As any athlete or aerobics instructor will tell you, they keep you from straining. Arm stretches, leg stretches, bending and twisting are all good ways to limber up before you hit the weights or machines.

A little Yoga added to your routine, with its exaggerated movements, can save hours of discomfort with torn or strained muscles, later.

Swimming:

The best addition to any routine that has focus on toning muscles is swimming. It is not only an all over good workout, with fantastic cardiovascular benefits, but it stretches and works those stomach muscles like no stationary exercise can. Almost every muscle in the body is used in swimming.

If you think it isn’t what you want or you don’t have time to add it to your routine, just look at those professional swimmers’ bodies. They all have long, lean torsos, with well defined abdominals and v shaped bodies. They got those bodies by swimming!

Not only is swimming really good for you, it won’t hurt you. Swimming is considered passive exercise. That means less strain on muscles and organs.

Risk of Injury:

Most crunches can be brutal on your back muscles, so don’t add more than 2 additional repetitions to your current routine at one time. That is repetitions and not sets. When you add a new set to your abs routine, do it by adding 2 reps until you fill it out.

If your back hurts, use a brace, or switch to just ball exercises. You don’t have to stop completely, just modify. Check to see that you are doing your exercises correctly, as this can lead to strain faster than anything.

A little common sense and effort will keep you toning stomach muscles till they look great. Just keep these 4 important things in mind.

Great Abs In A Month

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If you want to have great abs in a month, there are 3 things you need to do.

  1. Workouts
  2. Diet
  3. Activity

Most people believe they can get by with joining a gym. You can, if you eat moderately and work out four times a week for six months. But, if you want great abs in a month, you need to put in a little more effort.

Everyone else thinks that exercise and diet are all there is to it. That is the biggest part, but not all. There’s another great strategy – it won’t give you great abs in one month, but it will help. Let’s cover these 3 first.

Workouts

Always start by warming up. Body stretches that focus the abs with side twists and front and side bends are good. Don’t cut this short. At least 15 minutes of just warming up will double what you get out of your routine, and help you avoid muscle strain and soreness.

Throw in some aerobics. Pick something you can do in 20 to 45 minutes, that gets blood circulating and burns calories as well. Jumping rope, swimming, using the rowing machine and regular aerobics are all good for your heart and your abdominal muscles, as well.

Now you are ready for the leg lifts, crunches, ball crunches, curls, bicycles and weights. A good gauge of what you need is to try doing ten. Whatever you can do is a set for you.

Do one set of each. Rest, stretch, walk around, then do one more of each. The next time you start, your set will contain one more of each exercise. Repeat this till your up to multiples, then switch off to something more intense.

If you’re a female, you might try just leg lifts or reverse crunches instead of standard crunches. They are less hard on the neck, a frequent point of strain for many women due to anatomy.

And diet?

You are going to get out of it what you put into it. This doesn’t mean you should starve, but if you don’t reduce your caloric intake to less than you burn each day, you won’t lose a pound. Since most extra pounds are fat, you need to shed them to expose those abdominal muscles hiding underneath.

Recommendations:

  • give up desserts and junk food
  • reduce bread and other starchy foods, like pasta and rice
  • increase vegetable and fruit intake
  • increase your water consumption

Other activities

If you don’t know it yet, the gym or mat is not the only place to give yourself a good workout.

You can:

  • spend a few hours on a weekend morning walking the dog.
  • take up rowing, swimming, hiking, rock climbing, just for a start.
  • stretch every chance you get. This means at work, also – some isometric exercises require no more than resistance, like a wall, and they’re great for abs.
  • walk to the store instead of driving

Note: There is one more thing that is important, and that’s your posture. If you slump or lean when standing, you will never look fit, no matter how much time you spend exercising. Think good posture all the time.

  1. Sit up straight in your chair, at work and home.
  2. Imagine a cord that lifts you from the top of your head. Let it pull you up, stand tall and then relax.
  3. Think posture when you work out and you’ll get more out of your exercise and avoid back strain, as well.

Most exercise outside of the gym is free, and it will keep you healthy long after those abs have turned into washboards.

3 Advanced Techniques on How to Build Abs Fast

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How to build abs fast…frankly, there isn’t just ONE way to do it. If that was the case, no one would be clamoring for workout secrets anymore, and we’d all have killer six packs by now. Sadly, we are quite a ways away from that ever happening.

The truth is that there are numerous exercises created to build lean abdominal muscle, and each one is effective to a certain degree. Common human error states, however, that exercising is all you have to do to get six pack abs. This is where most people make that mistake.

There are a number of factors on how to build abs fast. “Targeted abdominal exercises” is certainly one of them. Your main focus should be with the PROPER EXECUTION AND FREQUENCY OF ABDOMINAL EXERCISES.

Each abs exercise targets a specific zone in your midsection, and doing them the right way will ensure your muscles are getting the attention they deserve. Perform these exercises correctly, 3 to 4 times a week — that’s exactly how to build abs fast. Just concentrate on keeping your abdominal muscles tight with every rep and set.

For you to effectively target your abs with these exercises, you will most definitely need to get rid of excess fat that surrounds your upper and lower abdominals. Before you can do a house paint job or renovation, for example, you will need to take out the “clutter.” This is where a LOW-FAT, LOW-SODIUM, LOW-CARB DIET comes into play on how to build abs fast.

Take a look at the way you have been eating and, more importantly, WHAT you have been eating, then ask yourself this: “Is my present diet holding me back from my goal?”

Aside from staying clear of bad fats, decreasing your sodium and sugar intake will also have a positive effect on your fitness goal. Drinking plenty of water and eating well-balanced meals can definitely help turn that flabby belly into toned, washboard abs.

To know more about healthy portions and well-balanced eating that’s ideal for your body time, I recommend a guide that’s NOT another diet book but rather a long-term eating strategy that’s both realistic and effective. Click here for a guide that shows you how to eat to automatically burn fat while eating REAL foods – not rice cakes and diet water…lol!

CARDIOVASCULAR OR AEROBIC EXERCISES is another good technique on how to build abs fast. Not only do these exercises burn fat fast and help tone your abs, but they are also very good for the rest of your body, like your heart and other muscle groups.

Taking your bike out for a spin or running around the block before you go to work are two simple yet easily adaptable cardio exercises you can do.

These three techniques, combined with much discipline and determination, will only take you to great heights. Six pack abs can be a reality for you. Who knows; maybe next time, you’ll be coaching others on how to build abs fast.

4 Great Exercises for Building Washboard Abs

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Building washboard abs seems like a very difficult task, but, really, it’s not. It only seems that way because you’ve made up your mind without even trying first.

I remember when I got started with this whole six pack abs thing; I didn’t really get it right away. After much reading, however, I realized ANYONE who had determination and dedication can get totally ripped abs.

Doing targeted abs exercises can certainly get you the abs of your dreams. Combined with a well-balanced diet and frequent fat-burning workouts, targeted abs exercises will get rid of that unwanted flab and sculpt your ab muscles.

As you load up on a good eating strategy and do exercises like running and swimming, remember to do targeted abs exercises 3 to 4 times a week. Building washboard abs can be easy if you follow these simple exercises:

Weighted Sit Ups

You won’t need much for this exercise except for small weights:

  1. Lie down on your exercise mat, bend your knees slightly, and keep your feet flat on the floor.
  2. Put the weights on your chest and keep them in place with both hands.
  3. Lift your upper body slowly while keeping your lower half still.
  4. Go up to a 45-degree angle and hold that position for as long as you can.
  5. Slowly lower yourself back down and start all over.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcHkaMnjz-g[/youtube]

Full Body Crunches

Building washboard abs with full body crunches can get to your goal faster because it works the entire midsection.

  1. Lie back down on the floor and begin doing regular crunches.
  2. As your upper body comes up for the crunch, keep your ab muscles tight, and lift your legs off the ground.
  3. Gradually lower both your torso and legs back to the floor.

double-crunches-abs-anatomy-man

Ball Crunches

For this one, you won’t need anything except for an exercise ball.

  1. Sit on the ball and plant your feet firmly on the ground.
  2. Without moving your feet, slowly roll back on the ball until your upper body and thighs are parallel to the floor.
  3. Go up for a crunch while balancing your body with your feet and abdominal muscles.
  4. Remember to keep those muscles taut.
  5. Go back down to your original position and repeat the exercise.
woman-doing-abs-cruches-on-exercise-ball-starting-position woman-doing-abs-cruches-on-exercise-ball-end-position

Bicycle

  1. Again, lie flat on the floor.
  2. Place your hands behind each ear and bring your legs halfway up.
  3. Begin a cycling motion with your legs, alternately bringing in each leg closer to your pelvis.
  4. As your right knee comes up, twist your torso so your left elbow touches it. Then, do the same with the other side.
  • Once you’ve completed 10 to 15 reps, perform the same exercise while “pedaling” backwards.
woman-doing-bicycle-abs-crunches-1 woman-doing-bicycle-abs-crunches-2

20 to 25 reps of each exercise will give both your upper and lower abdominals a great workout. Remember to keep your abdominal muscles tight and drink plenty of water. You’ll soon realize that building washboard abs with these 4 great exercises will become a great habit!

How Do I Build My Abdominals?

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You’re probably thinking, “How do I build my abdominals?”

I think it’s great that you’re asking yourself this. It only means that you’re ready for a cool change. It also means you are aware that having an unfit body and living an unhealthy lifestyle aren’t acceptable anymore.

Don’t be discouraged even before you’ve begun though. Getting your abs in shape isn’t as hard as you think. Once you have the essentials down, everything will just start to fall into place.

How does one get six pack abs? I feel that the most obvious question is, “Where does one START?”

When I decided to build my abdominals, I didn’t know where to begin either. I struggled for days, weeks even, thinking about the best thing to do first. Looking back, it would’ve been a whole lot easier for me had I followed these 3 easy steps:

  1. Re-evaluate your eating habits;
  2. Burn excess body fat; and
  3. Follow an abdominal muscles program.

Diet

The first thing you need to do is to look at your diet. Check the contents of your fridge, think back on what you usually order when you eat out, and review your grocery lists. These are a few things you can do to implement this step.

Altering my nutritional regimen definitely helped me kick off my objective to build my abdominals. Your diet can have a huge impact on your body’s performance and appearance. By cutting down on bad fats, starchy foods, and sweets, you’re actually paving the way for your body to get in gear.

Word of advice: before spending a ridiculous amount of money on complicated training machines and too-good-to-be-true diet pills, work on your diet. You’ll be surprised how much time and money you can save just by doing that.

Burn Fat

The second step requires you to burn excess body fat. Excess – the term itself says it all. When you have more fat than your body needs, it only makes it more difficult to tone your muscles, especially your midsection.

For me to build my abdominals, I had to perform full body workouts. Exercises that involve all muscle groups help burn more fat. Not only that, but they improve your general fitness as well.

High-intensity full body aerobic exercises will give you the best fat burning results during and AFTER your workout. As you form this healthy habit, your body will respond positively and can only continue to burn fat long after you’ve exercised.

Abdominal Muscles Training

Combined with full body workouts, regular implementation of an abdominal training program will definitely get your ab muscles toned and buffed in no time. This was the third step I took to build my abdominals.

High-resistance ab exercises such as weighted sit ups and hanging leg raises build muscles fast and safe. After doing regular crunches and sit ups, it would be best if you tried exercises that will challenge you more. Remember, the higher the resistance, the faster you’re going to get ripped abs.

Following these 3 steps made it easier for me to build my abdominals, and it will do the same for you. So, start eating healthy, perform full body workouts, and hike up the resistance for your ab program today.

Are you still trying to build your abdominals? Have these helped you? Add your comments below.