Great workouts, diet make great abs

A beautiful six-pack is only but a dream. Many strive for years to have the perfect abs – it is a challenge, however with a few tips, exercises, and proper nutrition, the dream of a six-pack stomach can become a reality.

Many traditional exercises such as the basic sit-up involve the abs mostly in a secondary role as a stabilizer. The bulk of the motion is actually provided by the muscle group known as the hip flexors. I recommend crunches to focus completely on your Rectus Abdominus and External Oblique muscle groups.

I utilize the triple training technique with my clients, to help them achieve a trim waistline and tight abs. This concept involves diet, cardiovascular exercise and direct abdominal strength exercises. For instance, low carbohydrate diet, walking on a treadmill for thirty minutes a day and doing abdominal exercises is a great way to get started working on that “six-pack” abs that so many of us desire.

Tips for an Absolutely great abdominal workout.

•  Choose from a number of exercises. When I put together an ab routine I make sure my client gets a variety of exercises to keep the muscles working in different ways not only to work different muscles but break the monotony of the workout.
• I encourage at least 15-20 reps of each exercise at a minimum. The perfect set of ab exercises is 3 sets at 15 reps each. This gives the muscle growth potential.
•  Abs are best worked with a limited range of motion. You don’t need to come up very far off the bench or floor in crunch movements to feel your abs. Just remember to squeeze at the top of the movement.
• Form is most important. Concentrate on technique – don’t just go through the motions. Fifteen proper ab crunches is better than 150 sloppy ones.

Exercises

The Crunch should be the cornerstone of any ab workout. Lying flat on the floor (preferably on a mat), with your hands lightly clasped behind your head and your knees bent to a 90-degree angle, and raised (you should be facing your knee caps when you perform the exercise), raise your shoulder blades up, just off the floor and squeeze your abs and release. Lower your shoulder blades and repeat the movement (continuously keeping your buttocks on the floor and legs in the crunch position and raised). Perform 15-20 reps and three sets.

The Exercise-Ball Crunch: Lie with your back on a large exercise-ball, with your upper and lower back in contact with the ball’s surface. Your feet are flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart, and hold your hands lightly behind your head. From this starting position, come up just enough to lift your shoulder blades and upper back off the ball, then return to the starting position. Perform 15-20 reps and three sets.

Decline Crunch: Adjust a slant bench so it’s at a challenging, semi-steep angle and hook your feet under the pads. Some people prefer a smaller range of motion on this exercise. Keeping your hands at your sides or crossed over your chest, lower your torso fairly low, breathe in deeply, then squeeze your abs to bring your upper body up to the point where it’s almost perpendicular with the floor, exhaling at the top. Perform 15-20 reps and three sets.

Seated Knee-Up: Sitting at the end of a bench and placing your hands just behind your glutes for support, start with your feet raised off the floor, your knees together. Bend your knees as you bring them toward your chest, while also bringing your torso forward a little, until your upper thighs and chest almost touch. While knee-ups can easily turn into more of a hip flexor exercise than an ab move, make sure to slightly round your lower back as you crunch your upper and lower body together – this will insure you activate the rectus abdominis muscle. Perform 15-20 reps and three sets.

Great abs are attainable with proper nutrition, exercise, and by watching your form. It takes time, so get started!