Friday, June 26, 2009

Choosing The Best Pilates Abs Exercise DVD's For Your Lower Ab Workouts



There are hundreds of Pilates abs exercise DVD's out in the marketplace. How do you choose?

First, have you tried Pilates? Maybe you've seen Pilates abs exercise DVD's on the shelves of your favorite bookstore, or at your local DVD rental store. Whether you are trying to lose weight, or maintain your fitness during a pregnancy, you are sure to find some Pilates exercise DVD's for your next fitness workout.

The best Pilates abs exercise DVD's are the ones that are performed by a Pilates professional and offer a total body workout. Pilates is for the whole body! Most DVD’s of Pilates mat exercises will present that, but some focus on lower ab workouts. Others may concentrate on legs, arms or butt exercises.

Here are a few examples of Pilates exercise DVD's:

• Mari Winsor: Mari is a commercialized big seller and popular with celebrities. Her DVD's are traditionally based and move at a rapid pace. Her Winsor Pilates DVD's are geared to the established Pilates practitioner and not necessarily for a Pilates beginner. However, her style is easy going and her method of Pilates is more classical and calisthenic.

• Moira Stott Merrithew: Another huge seller. Moira’s DVD's are safe, slow and very well explained. Her pacing is generally slower than a more traditional approach. She has taken the Pilates method and applied current biomechanical knowledge, so you’re in good hands, though may need a cup of coffee to get through.

• Ana Caban: Ana has DVD's distributed through Gaiam. She’s likable and her exercises are easily understood. But I always feel like something is missing. The workouts never feel complete to me. She is knowledgeable and the most pleasant of any you’ll see in any of the Pilates abs exercise DVD's out there. They are a safe choice.

• Romana Kryzanowska: Romana is a legend who actually studied with Joseph Pilates. She teaches the only way she knows how. She does “what Joe taught me”. What you get is the closest thing to what was invented by Pilates himself. Her DVD's are not easy! Even the basic moves might be considered too tough for a Pilates beginner. But it’s pure and fun and in the end, it’s very refreshing!

Beware of Pilates abs exercise DVD's that offer workouts for body parts. Pilates DVD's of lower ab workouts and ab exercises are not complete thoughts. Pilates is a full body workout. Try a few different Pilates abs exercise DVD's. Or better yet, find a qualified instructor in your area and make an appointment.

Susannah Marchese is a certified Pilates fitness instructor and a senior contributing writer to http://www.everything-about-pilates.com/absexercise-dvds.html

Susannah Marchese - http://www.everything-about-pilates.com

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Washboard Abs and Bikinis By Summer? Start Now



People make the commitment to get into shape and lose weight for many reasons. On top of that list of reasons, whether admitted or not, is looking good naked. For women that means being trim and tight. For guys, it means the long sought after washboard abs.

Everyone wants to look good, and that is a great motivator. However, there is a trend that I see every year. This trend tends to leave people looking the same year after year.

So what is this trend that keeps people from looking great, or having the washboard abs? Procrastination, plain and simple.

That is right, procrastination. And the bigger problem is that the world of fitness and fat loss business is all too eager to capitalize. How many articles, ads, and products get launched a month or so from Summer? The number is astounding.

The problem with this is that people start grabbing these products and programs by the truckloads, and in the process generate a lot of sales for the fitness industry, but ultimately fail to achieve their desired success. And this happens year after year.

It is easy to get caught up in the frenzy to look good by Summer, but it is not reasonable to expect to get the body you want in such a small amount of time. This leads to feelings of failure and loss of momentum. Add to that, most of the programs that people start in the rush to Summer are of the fad variety and give quick fixes, and tend to be unsustainable over the long run.

Fitness is all about the long run, the marathon if you will, not the sprint.

Well, here it is, the last official day of Summer 2007, but the year is unimportant. You can read this anytime. I am calling everyone to task. The time to start your Summer fitness and fat loss programs is now. You can look great in your bikini or be the envy of people everywhere with your new washboard abs by Summer, but you have to start now.

So, what to do? A running start to build momentum. First, start moving, anything at first above and beyond your normal routine. Maybe walking or light weight training. Second, start consuming less food than normal, and try to make the healthiest choices possible. This is your running start.

Now that you have made a running start, meaning that you are just making minor changes at first, it is time to develop your strategy. The internet is great in this case. Start reviewing plans. Go to Amazon.com or some of the fitness sites and read reviews on books and products. Research, research, and research some more. The key here is to find the solid programs that fit your needs and to avoid the fads. Since you already have added some extra movement into your day and changed up your eating habits a bit, you can take your time and research well.

After a week or two of research, you should have found a system of eating and exercise that compliments your goals and lifestyle. I will avoid trying to steer you here as the number of systems is staggering. Find what is right for you and stick with it.

By starting this far out, you will see progress. The progress will in turn create momentum and motivation. You can have your body by Summer, and the added bonus is you have started a fitness habit that will hopefully be with you for a lifetime.

So, get with it! Don't wait until the month before Summer. Get off of the failed fat loss and fitness treadmill. You will thank yourself for starting now when you show off your washboard stomach or buy your bikini next year.

Want to see some great programs to help you get ready for Summer? Go to "Fat Loss Secrets Made Simple!" to see reviews of some great fitness and Weight loss programs.

Eban Crawford is a professional podcaster and internet marketer. His podcast, Reaching for Lucidity, started in 2005, was signed to the Podshow Network in early 2006 and is one of the pioneering music shows in the burgeoning podcast world.

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Easy Back Workouts That Work Your Back and Abs



Want an easy way to workout your back and abs? Here are the best back workouts that work your body, yet are easy to do.

Easy Back Workouts

One of the easiest back workouts you can do is also very good for your back and abs. This will help you strengthen your back and help you improve posture. Here's how you do it.

Get on your hands and knees on an exercise mat. Look straight ahead, and align your back so that your spine is pointing like an arrow behind you.

What you want to do is allow your pelvis to drop toward the floor. Tightening up your abs will help you work them very well while you're doing these strengthening back workouts.

Don't push your pelvis, just allow it to drop. Your butt will be pointing out more, and your chest will be extended. Then you will lift your pelvis back up.

Keep your abs tightened and hold this position for five seconds. Then you will allow your pelvis to drop again. Repeat this exercise up to 15 times.

Start out with what feels comfortable for you. You can then work up to 15 repetitions. This is one of the easiest back workouts you can do, and it's low impact and will not damage your back.

This is a great way to learn how to have good posture. A great tip for posture is to point the bottom of your sternum and your tail bone to the floor.

Stand up straight and imagine that your spine is an arrow pointing at the floor. Doing this and the great workout above will strengthen, and exercise your back.

Discover how to chisel and strengthen your back at Back Workouts. Jessica S also owns Celebrity Workouts and Pilates Workouts.

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The Best Abs Workout for Losing Belly Fat - The Myth



No. The truth is that you don't lose stubborn stomach fat by just doing abs workouts. Your body needs a metabolic response to create fat loss but abs workouts alone don't create enough of it. Focusing most of your time and effort on abs workouts to try flattening your stomach and bring out six pack abs is simply wasting your time. The correct workout programs that will actually reduce your body fat for good should be one including full body exercises such as these:

- various forms of squats, lunges, clean & presses, dead lifts, swings, snatches, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.

These types of full body exercises would cover a much higher percentage of the workouts that I would recommend instead of abs exercises directly targeting the midsection. Do note that the way you combine these full body exercises into a strategic workout that maximizes your metabolism is also highly important.

Of course, I would still recommend a certain amount of exercises that directly target the abs and core, but these are only a small fraction of the programs as you should focus on the full body exercises that stimulate the greatest hormonal and metabolic changes within the body. Furthermore, working out using mostly full body multi-joint combo exercises will make you indirectly work your entire midsection even though you are not specifically targeting the abs.

However, the most important factor for losing belly fat to see your abs is actually in the nutrition arena. No matter how hard you workout, if your diet is full of junk, then your abdominals will likely be covered with ugly fat. Therefore, nutrition is surely the "king of getting a six pack".

To sum up, stop wasting so much of your time focusing on situps, crunches, leg raises, and all those silly worthless "ab contraptions" in your efforts to try to develop six pack abs. Instead focus on high intensity full body lifts using combination multi-joint exercises all strategically combined into highly effective fat loss workouts. Couple that with a healthy diet full of natural unprocessed whole foods as close to their natural state as possible, and those sexy six-pack abdominals will be yours in no time!

If you're interested in taking your fat-loss efforts to an entirely new level, go to the following site and grab a free fat loss report which details 27 unique methods for boosting your metabolism and losing belly fat - Getting Sexy Six Pack Abs

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Six Pack Abs - How to Get Firm, Flat, Sexy Six-Pack Abs



If you ask anyone what part of the body he or she would most like to develop, they will probably say 6-pack abs. People in general will also complain that these are the most difficult muscles to develop.

This is not true. The only reason why people have such a hard time is that they forget about the layer of fat that covers their abdominal muscles. No matter how many stomach crunches you do, six-pack abs will not show unless you get rid of that fat layer.

Let us look at how to get sexy six-pack abs;

Change your eating habits and start interval training.

Eating Plan

Instead of eating three meals a day, eat six smaller meals every day. The portions of each meal should be no larger than your fist. This will increase the metabolism rate, which allows your body to burn fat and fuel more efficiently.

It is also a mistake to stay away from carbohydrates. Carbs are essential to eat before a strenuous work out. This is because Carbs provides energy to the muscles in order to increase the workload.

It is after the work out that Carbs should be avoided and loads of protein should be consumed. Protein allows the muscles to repair themselves and build up to larger sizes.

Interval exercises

This routine combines short bursts of intense action, and longer periods of less strenuous movements.

Run as fast as you possibly can for 20 to 30 seconds, then walk briskly for 3 minutes. Repeat this three times a session. Do these sessions three times a week.

This routine will definitely help you get rid of the fat layer covering your abs. The reason for this is that your metabolism will be dramatically increased, which in turn allows the body to burn fat at an accelerated rate.

This routine should be done in addition to your normal abdominal exercises.

Please understand that a well designed exercise program is the best way to develop six pack abs without the risk of injury. This also ensures that you get maximum results in the shortest time frame possible.

If you would like to know which abs exercise program we highly recommend, click here

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How To Get Six Pack Abs



Knowing how to get six pack abs is one thing, but actually doing it is another thing entirely. You can study and learn everything about muscles, exercises, workouts and nutrition, but unless you actually put all that knowledge into practice, you may as well have not discovered how to get six pack abs.

When you first decide to get six pack abs, your immediate thought would be - how? Once you've found out how, it might suddenly seem like a little bit too much work, and so you put it off, or keep searching for some hidden secret that will show you how to get six pack abs overnight.

I'm sorry to disappoint, but there is no such secret. If there was, we'd all have six pack abs and the person who invented the secret would be very rich indeed! While there isn't a single food you can eat, exercise or gadget that will get you six pack abs, a few common sense pointers will help you on your way to looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

By now you've probably read a fair bit about getting a six pack, right? The authors will probably tell you that an expensive new gadget will shock you into having ripped abs in a few hours, or that a secret exercise will develop rippling muscles overnight. What the authors might not tell you is that instead of going for these silly fads, you should stick to a few simple principles.

1. In order for your six pack abs to show through, you must have a low body-fat percentage. By "low", I mean less than 10%, probably more like 5-8% but it varies from person to person. This is the number one secret of how to get six pack abs - lose as much of the body fat you're carrying around as possible. Once it's gone, your muscles will be able to show through on your stomach.

To lose weight and drop your body fat percentage, cut back on your daily calorie intake by eating less sugary, fatty and high carbohydrate foods, and do more cardio exercise. That means getting on the treadmill (or going for a jog through the park if you prefer), or doing some other high stress activity like swimming, badminton, squash, cycling and so on.

2. In order for your abs to actually look like a six pack, you must work out. Exercising your ab muscles is the second ultimate secret of how to get six pack abs. If you don't exercise your muscles, they'll never grow and they won't become neatly separated and well defined. They'll just be more of a "keg", or "one pack" instead.

That's it. Those two principles is all it takes, and that's how to get six pack abs. Of course, in the real world it's a little more complicated than that because you need to come up with an exercise routine that you enjoy and that suits your lifestyle and body, and you need to know which foods are right for a body fat loss diet, but in general as long as you stay slim and exercise your abs regularly, a six pack is not that far away.

If you're working on your six pack abs, you may be going about it all wrong and wasting your time and energy. David Spencer is a fitness fanatic, and has spent years learning about the best way to get six pack abs as fast as possible. He swears by The Truth About Six Pack Abs.

Getting a six pack is actually down to a few very simple key principles that many people simply aren't aware of. Visit http://www.TheTruthAbout6PackAbs.com and make sure you're doing it right!

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Get Six Pack Abs With an Abs Workout



Developing Six Pack abs is easier that you think. The best news is that weights are not needed. Imagine that.

Six Pack Abs can easily be developed with a combination of Interval training, targeted exercises as well as supportive exercise.

Interval Training

Interval Training is an integral part of an Abs workout. This is because it is the quickest way to remove the layer of excess fat the covers the abdominal muscles.

This exercise involves quick bursts of hard action followed by rest periods.

Run as hard and fast as you can for 20 to 30 seconds, and then walk at a quick pace for 3 minutes. Repeat this 5 times in a session.

Do this routine at least three times a week.

This exercise works because it dramatically increases the body's metabolism. This in turn increases the rate at which the body burns fat and fuel.

Targeted exercise

The best targeted exercise for developing Six Pack Abs are leg lifts.

Lay on your back with your hands behind your head. Using your abdominal muscles only, lift your legs up to approximately 60 degrees from the floor and hold them up there for 10 seconds (or longer of you can). Then let them down slowly without touching the floor.

Start with 3 times 10 reps increasing this to 3 times 30 reps. Avoid doing this exercise every day. Rather do it every second day. You muscles need a resting period to recover and to build up.

Supportive Exercise

Do three times 10 reps of Chin Ups or Pull Ups. You are probably asking yourself how this exercise helps develop Abs. Your abdominal muscle supports other muscles during workout.

Please understand that a well designed exercise program is the best way to develop six pack abs without the risk of injury. This also ensures that you get maximum results in the shortest time frame possible.

If you would like to know which abs exercise program we highly recommend, click here

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Monday, June 1, 2009

Foods For Sexy, Flat & Firm Six Pack Abs



Eating the right foods will play a key roll in achieving the six pack abs. Everybody loves them and everybody wants them but it is hard to get and maintain. It can be done with a lot of work so if you are up to the challenge than it is time to get started.

The food that you eat will determine if you progress fast or slowly. The better you eat the faster the results. You will also increase your overall health when you eat better. You need to start with natural foods because they are healthier for you than foods that have been processed. Processed foods can add things that don’t belong in your food and take away the natural ingredients that foods are grown with. Balance your metabolism by eating smaller meals more frequently, say 5 -6 meals each day instead of 3 large meals. This maintains your system and it also keeps your energy up. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water and stick to an ab workout that will help you lose weight and tone up the muscles.

Don’t bother counting calories because in the end calories are not what matters anyway. Choose to eat foods that do not need to be processed or have not been processed before you got it. For example, all your processed meats such as deli ham, turkey, hot dogs, salami, these are not healthy and allow unwanted chemicals to be digested causing you to work harder to rid them from your body. Keep it simple and remember to eat and drink in moderation.

Download your free report today and discover the SHOCKINGLY simple abdominal workouts, exercises and nutritional advice that will shed pounds from your stomach & transform your flabby belly into firm & flat six pack abs. Visit http://www.firmupyourabs.com to download your free copy.

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How To Get Flat Abs Fast



If you want to know how to get flat abs fast, here's how, in 7 simple steps. Follow them all for 12-16 weeks, and if your abs aren't flat as a pancake I'll eat my hat.

How To Get Flat Abs Fast In 7 Simple Steps

1. Cut down your daily calorie intake. That doesn't mean starve your way to getting flat abs quickly, it means removing the unnecessary fatty, sugary and high carbohydrate elements from your diet. Things like fizzy drinks, sweets, pizza, ice cream, cakes and so on. These are the foods that are stopping you from getting flat abs fast, so without them you'll be able to do it much more quickly.

2. Choose low-calorie, light, diet or fat-free alternatives wherever they're available. You'd be surprised at how much fat you can cut out of your daily diet by doing this, and every little helps to get flat abs fast. Plus, most alternatives taste virtually identical to the original, so there's really no reason not to do this step.

3. Drink 8 glasses of cold water a day. Our bodies run on water in the same way that car engines run on oil, so keeping your body "well oiled" will simply make it work better. You'll feel more full of energy and awake during the day, you'll have better skin, better digestion and you'll be ready to move on to the next steps.

4. Do 30 minutes of cardio-vascular exercise a day. That's anything which gets your heart rate up and gets you out of breath. You could go jogging, cycling, play tennis, squash, football, or do something a little more sedate like doing 60 minutes of brisk walking around the park or 30-45 minutes of swimming laps. This helps you to get flat abs fast because it burns of any excess calories and body fat you have.

5. When you're working out, work your whole body. Muscle burns fat faster than other tissue, so the more muscle you have the easier it will be to drop the body fat and flatten your abs fast. Go for whole body or compound exercises like the deadlift, squat and bench press.

6. Make sure to concentrate on your abdominal section to get flat abs fast. The above steps will help you tone up and lose weight generally, but having strong ab muscles will flatten them out quickly. Do a routine consisting of situps, crunches, twists and leg raises to work the entire core muscle groups so that you're well supported all the way around and less likely to injure yourself.

7. Lastly, here's the last tip for how to get flat abs fast. Concentrate on pulling your abs in throughout the day. If you can train yourself to subconsciously hold your abs in all the time, you can create the illusion of flat abs before you actually get them.

If you're working on your six pack abs, you may be going about it all wrong and wasting your time and energy. David Spencer is a fitness fanatic, and has spent years learning about the best way to get six pack abs as fast as possible. He swears by The Truth About Six Pack Abs.

Getting a six pack is actually down to a few very simple key principles that many people simply aren't aware of. Visit http://www.TheTruthAbout6PackAbs.com and make sure you're doing it right!

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