Gym Equipment For Your Abs

Using equipment in doing your ab workouts adds challenge and intensity in your exercises. There is a wide variety of gym equipment available, each with its own purpose, whether in targeting a specific region of the midsection area, or toning down all of the abdominal muscles at the same time.

The effectiveness of the ab workouts partially depends on the equipment which your routine demands. In the long run, a carved and lean midsection will depend on the movements and contraction which your ab workouts will give you, whether you decide to use equipment or not.

This variation on your ab workouts will add some zest in your routine. Medicinal balls are very versatile in exercises, and you will utilize one in this version of the traditional crunch ab workouts. Position yourself for the ab workouts by first lying on your back with both of your knees bent, and your feet flat and firm on the floor.

You are now poised as if you are doing a basic crunch. Instead of putting your hands to the sides of your head, hold a five pound medicinal ball close to your chest; make sure you have it firm and close to you as you do the movements in your ab workouts. Push your lower back close to the floor and flatten its arches, then take a deep breath and relax your body.

Begin the ab workouts by curling up your upper body just as far enough so that your shoulders lift themselves a few inches off of the floor. Make sure you contract the abdominal muscles as you make your way up. The tension should be focused on the midsection area, and not on your upper body or your shoulders. Hold this position in your ab workouts for two counts, or for four seconds, and then return to your starting position.

When Eugene weighed 266lbs, he never though he would cut weight,gain muscles and sculpt abs. Visit Ab Workouts to find out more today!

How To Get Washboard Abs That Make Your Girlfriend Shreak!

Imagine hiding your secret workout regime under loose fitting jumpers and coats for a few weeks while you transform your abs. Your partner has no clue why you are distant, but in a month you unveil your work. A neat set of washboard abs, tight ripped and lean. Would she/he be a little surprised?

You bet! A friend of mine did just that. He was an average looking guy with an average soft body, with a typical layer of fat surrounding his abs. He suddenly got inspired by the idea of a surprise set of washboard abs and decided to keep his project top secret for the month he worked out. Boy was his girlfriend surprised. To say she had a positive reaction was an understatement.

The thing I explained to him that really made it fall into place for him was how to approach a tight set of washboards. Most people are very confused and have some strange ideas about how to get washboard abs. The confusion lays in the working of the abs themselves. It is confusing because we want nice ripped abs, so we decide to work them. We are set on the idea that we need to grow them. Let me clarify this once and for all for you.

Washboard abs are a matter of presentation. A set of tight lean abs on a muscular body is the center piece on that body. It is the focal point. The place the eye rests aesthetically speaking. Many people that decide to get a good body want the abs and focus on the abs. The only problem is that if you have a thick layer of fatty skin covering your abs, the size of your mid rift actually GROWS bigger when you work the abs. You are actually achieving the opposite of what you really want. The ab muscles grow, underneath the thick layer of fat covering the abs, adding to the mass of the torso. Making it bigger to look at.

A muscular body is made up of large arms, large shoulders and large pecs. The focal point of the body is always the abs. The reason why the abs are the focal point is aesthetic contrast. The abs look good because they are so SMALL not big. They are tiny compared to the chest and shoulders and that is why they make the whole physique look good.

The abs are a large muscle group that respond very easily when stimulated. Getting the familiar 6 pack bumps is not hard to achieve. You really don't want them TOO developed. What you are after is the V shape. So, large massive shoulders is the key. Reducing your body fat percentage is the answer. Not growing the abdominal muscle group too much.

If you would like to get a six pack in 23 days or less, buy The "Abs In 23 Days" training program. You can learn more about this award winning, abdominal pumping, fat stripping product by clicking HERE

5 Stomach Exercises for Six Pack Abs Now

Almost everyone wants six pack abs now, or his or her abs to be flatter or more toned. While ab exercises will tone and build abdominal muscles, ab exercises will not get rid of abdominal fat. The only way to get rid of fat is cardiovascular exercise.

By combining abs exercise and cardiovascular exercise, you can get rid of fat and tone abdominal muscles. After the fat is melted away, your toned abdominal muscles are visible and create the look of a flat, hard tummy. With some dedication and sweat, you can tone your abs and pave the way to a flat tummy with some abs exercise.

Traditional Crunches

Perhaps the most effective abs exercise is the traditional crunch.

Lay on your back with your knees bent. Place your hand behind your head, and then roll up, feeling your abdominal muscles tighten. Hold the crunch for a second or two, roll back down, and then repeat.

Be careful not to press your hands on the back of your head. This will cause neck strain. Simply let the abs do all the work to lift your upper body.

You should feel like your upper body is being pulled towards the ceiling. To work the side abdominal muscles, twist slightly to the right and left while performing the crunches.

To reduce back strain, you may want to try using a fitness ball. With your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent, lie back with the ball positioned between your lower back and the floor, and then simply perform your crunches.

Hip Extensions

To begin this abs exercise, lie on the floor and put your feet up on a bed, couch, chair, or fitness ball. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your mid-section inline with the rest of your body. Hold this position for a few seconds, relax, and then repeat.

Leg Lifts

Lie flat on the floor to begin this abs exercise. Lift your legs up together until they are perpendicular with the floor, and then slowly release your legs back down to the floor.

You can alternate lifting each leg separately, and then both together if you wish. This is not a good abs exercise for anyone with lower back problems, as it can cause back strain if done improperly.

The goal of the exercise is to use your abdominal muscles to lift your legs, not your back. To reduce strain on your lower back and help you use your abdominal muscles to lift your legs, try placing your hands, a folded towel, or a yoga wedge under your buttocks.

Toe Taps

This simple abs exercise may seem too easy to be true. Begin by sitting in a chair or on a fitness ball. Sit up as straight as possible and put your hands behind your head. Lift your legs with your knees bent so that your feet are about six inches off the floor. Alternating between feet, slowly tap your toes as lightly as possible against the floor, using your abdominal muscles to regulate your leg movement.

Woodchops

This abs exercise can help tone the thighs and arms as well. You may feel it in your whole body and get your heart pumping to burn some calories and fat.

Start in the lunge position with one knee bent before you and the other knee bent almost to the ground. Outstretch your arms with your hand clasped in front of your front shin. Stand, rotate your body, and reach to the ceiling facing the opposite direction.

To add resistance to this abs exercise, wrap an exercise band around a pole or something sturdy and hold it in your hands.

Do you want six pack abs now? If you want to learn the truth about how you can achieve a great looking stomach, visit http://www.truth-about-abs.info for more information.

Top Tips for Achieving 6 Pack Abs

So you've let yourself go? You've been so busy with career and family and your stomach has suffered because of it. What was once a washboard stomach has become more of a blob. The purpose of this article is to give you advice on how to achieve your dream of 6 pack abs. The tips include:

1. Don't forget Nutrition -

   No amount of Abs work is going to let you see results if you keep eating fatty foods that just deposit fat on your stomach. The same goes if you drink too much alcohol. If you want to get your six pack back stop drinking when ever possible. Each drink that you have will put your goal of 6 pack abs further way.

    

2. Less is more -

   If you're lifting weights, you don't do 50 bicep curls do you? Why do you feel the need to do 50 Abs crunches? You should slow down your crunches and feel the muscles that you are working. Only completing 25 crunches correctly will give you better results than doing 100 incorrectly.

    

3. Be Realistic -

   It's probably not what you want to hear in an article about getting a 6-pack, but unfortunately not everybody will get a 6-pack, especially as you get older. But you shouldn't despair, as following the above should lead to a flatter stomach and the loss of those love handles.

    

4. It's not just crunches -

   Abs crunches are the most common Abs exercise but they are not the only exercise. You should change it up a bit with some Bicycle kicks and the Bent Elbow Plank. Reverse crunches are also popular as are push aways. By doing a variety of different ab routines will more more of your abs muscles giving you a more even mid-section.

If circumstances have left your stomach a little wider than you'd like, don't despair. If you follow the advice in this article you should be on the way to a leaner, flatter stomach.

If you are serious about getting 6 pack abs and losing that belly fat visit http://6-pack-abs-quickly.com and pick up a Free Fat Loss Report which details 27 unique methods for boosting your metabolism and losing belly fat.

Develop A Strong Core And Six Pack Abs Without Situps!

As a London Personal Trainer I often get asked how to develop a strong core and 6 pack stomach muscles. It seems that so many people are still practicing old exercises and cranking out hundreds of situps on a daily basis in the hope of reducing stomach fat and developing their 6 pack abs.

Doing regular sit ups or crunches will not only give you back problems but doesn’t really help in develping your core and revealing your stomach muscles. Our core / stomach muscles are more complex than you may think and need to be worked in three different planes of motion for optimal results. Doing regular situps and crunches is both unnatural and only addresses one plane of movement, and it’s not very good at doing that.

As well as taking the core / stomach muscles through 3 different planes of movement the body fat covering the abdominals must also be addressed. Forget the old wives tale about spot reducing fat, this simply isn’t the case, hundreds of situps won’t burn stomach fat - fat naturally comes off in layers from all over the body. The only way to reduce stomach fat is with a good total body exercise programme and by eating a healthy diet.

Remember that we all have stomach muscles waiting to be seen under our belly fat but in order to increase their size and make them more visable they need to be trained like any other body part. So, a combination of the correct abdominal / core exercises, a healthy diet and a good all over body routine will bring your 6 pack abs out for all to see.

I have found the following 6 exercises to be the best for stabalising your core and reducing potential back pain whilst bringing your abdominals / obliques to the surface.

Bird dog, Front plank, Side plank, Mountain climbers (front, out and inwards).

For full details of these exercises with photos please visit my site below.

GB Personal Training is run by Greg Brookes a fully certified Health and fitness consultant. Based in Hampstead North London NW3 he offers personal training and advice to people wishing to make the most out of their health. http://www.gbpersonaltraining.co.uk