Abs By Summer

So if you're like most of us you have been longing for a visible set of abs for as long as you can remember. I know for a fact I was after that elusive ripped mid-section for years. With all the information that is out there it seems like an overwhelming task that will never happen. Between the media, all the fitness magazines highlighting models with perfect genetics and the constant onslaught of ab gizmos guaranteed to bring results in minutes a day, its enough to make you want to throw in the towel and run for the nearest fast food joint.

There is a lot of good news and some bad news.

Bad news first: A really nice defined midsection is the result of hard work and commitment to a fairly strict diet plan.

Now for the good news: It is not impossible and probably easier than you might think to bring out your much-anticipated "Six Pack".

This two-step process is guaranteed to bring results; the only variable as to your outcome will be how much you work versus how much you cheat.

First things first............. Your diet will need to be as close to perfect as you can stand. Best results will be had by those who can eliminate sugars and processed foods and replace them with high quality proteins (chicken, fish, turkey and protein powders) and plenty of whole grains and fibrous carbs.

· Get rid of all soda and alcohol in your diet, these are empty calories and actually work against your fitness goals.
· Add more protein to your diet. This one is too easy.
· Try to stick to whole grains (whole wheat breads and pitas for sandwiches).
· Fibrous carbs (with regards to vegetables - the greener the better).
· Water - 8 glasses a day is the minimum. More if you exercise.

Second, Ab exercises: You may not believe this, although this is the least of your worries. Diet is much more important when it come to a lean midsection than what or how many ab crunches you do.

Most of the people I know with really defined abs tell me that they never even do a single crunch or leg lift. I am not sure I believe them when they tell me this although I am sure it is not too far from the truth.

You can get away with doing a couple of exercises three times a week and see very nice results.

I would suggest doing an exercise for your Rectus Abdominis (middle and upper abs), another for your lower abs and at least one stretching movement.

There are tons of exercises I could name, although the ones that work best seem to also be the easiest to perform. The standard Crunch for upper abs will always get the trick done and can be done anywhere, so there is never any excuse not to do them.

· Try to perform three sets to failure.

Leg raises for your lower abs not only hit the abs well, they will also force you to keep your lower back tight, thus killing two birds with one stone.

· Also three sets to failure.

I would suggest to stretch the entire abdominal wall after each workout. This will keep your midsection tight and limber for years to come.

So to wrap things up, getting the abs of your dreams is not nearly as impossible as you might think and can become a reality if you are willing to put in some work on the diet and complete a few exercises per week.

Please remember to keep it simple and always stay positive in reaching your goals.

Make sure to always consult a licensed physician before taking on any new fitness endeavor.

Lets Stay Fit Forever...

Jeff Olah - # 1 Online Fitness Professional from Southern California

Fit Dealz

Get Ripped Six Pack Abs With Interval Training

Getting ripped six pack abs is more than just doing crunches and abs exercises. Way more. In fact I always say that the most important aspect of having six pack abs is by doing cardio exercises and what better way to do them than with interval training.

Doing cardio with intervals means that you don't perform the exercise with the same intensity at all times. Instead work at first with a warm up intensity to then vary between your max and your normal effort.

If you do this type of exercise at least 3 days a week, you'll see how your entire body fat will reduce, and you'll sport some sexy ripped six pack abs. Here's an example of interval training for ripped six pack abs:

1. Let's say you choose running as your cardio exercise of choice.

2. Jog for about 5 minutes at a warm up intensity to avoid injury.

3. After those 5 minutes, perform 40 seconds of high intensity running (run as fast as you can) You'll get tired very fast.

4. After those 40 seconds reduce your intensity to a normal level (something not too fast, not too slow) for a whole minute.

5. Repeat this for 10 times to start.

There's no way to get faster results. If you are up for it, you can even train this way for all week, but it would be a good idea to first let your body get used to this system. Remember that you can choose any cardio exercise you prefer like:

-Swimming
-Jumping rope
-Running in place
-Cycling
-etc, etc, etc.

After some week you'll see great results, however don't obsess with dates and fast weight loss, this is a fast way to do it, but all great results need time and determination. Good luck!

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Exercise Abs for Symmetry

The ripped look is something most body builders and even average people strive for. It is a particularly attractive look but to exercise the abs is the wrong direction. Let me explain. The abdominals are the center piece of a ripped muscular body. No two ways about it. If a guy or gal has a nice developed body but their belly has a pouch or is distended in the case of a pot belly, the muscular body some how loses it's legitimacy. It's just a fat guy or girl with nice arms or shoulders or whatever. The reason for that can be found in the science of aesthetics.

In the case of men, the V shape is a natural triangle that is sought out by the eye. There is a certain symmetry the eye looks for when assessing the athletic attractiveness of a body. The V shape is the key. The differential between the size of the shoulders and the narrowness of the waist is recorded by the eye and the brain makes a quick assessment, defining the person as fat or thin, attractive or not attractive.

Another aspect of aesthetics is the optical illusion. When we look at any area, our eye immediately looks for detail. If there is no detail, the eye looks to the outer edges and makes assumptions, decisions and judgments about the area based on the outer edges. This applies to the abdominals. When you have a layer of fat across the skin of your abdominals, the abs themselves do not show through. This means the torso is featureless apart from the belly button. The eye naturally wanders out to the edges and focuses on the broadness, creating the optical illusion that the torso is bigger than it really is.

Conversely, when the layer of skin across your torso is thin and supple, showing the subtle shadows and arrangements of the abdominals, the eye settles on this detail. It ignores the outer edges and therefore judges the torso to be narrow. This is a documented and scientifically conclusive phenomenon. An optical illusion.

The eye travels easily from the wide shoulders to the detail of the abs, giving it the impression and perception that the V shape is particularly strong. This V shape is identified, subconsciously by women, as good breeding stock. Good genes. Naturally it is not genes at all but simply a little work and effort.

The best exercise for abs is no exercise at all!! Haha. Now you are really confused. The fact is people are confused about abs. They think, yes I want nice abs and begin to train them. What happens when you train your abs? They GROW! They get bigger! This destroys the V shape that you are after in the first place. The abdominals is a large group of muscles that respond easily to a little pedestrian exercise. They rip easy! The trick is keeping them small. That means controlling your calorie intake and reducing your body fat percentages. In this way, you get what you are really looking for-. Symmetry.

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The Best Exercises For Lower Abs

Is there a best exercise for lower abs? A lot of people may say that you can't specifically exercise your lower abs, upper abs or in fact target any individual portion of a single muscle group. They're technically right - you can't isolate specific bits of your muscles, including upper and lower abs exercises. BUT.. that doesn't mean you shouldn't train your muscles from different angles. We do know that joint mechanics and angles of exertion will stimulate different levels of fibers within your muscles, so while it's a good idea to train from several angles, don't expect to be able to correct or shape your muscles as they grow.

So, on to the best exercise for lower abs. Your lower abs are mostly used as a stabiliser for your core and when you perform difficult movements with your legs, while your upper abs are used mostly in relation to your general upper torso, shoulders and back. The obvious route then for exercising your lower abs is to make use of your legs to perform the workout.

One of the best exercises for lower abs: vertical leg crunches

Lie on your back with your hands resting underneath your lower back for support. Cross your ankles over and keeping your legs as straight as you can, lift your feet up 20-24" into the air. Hold for 1-2 seconds, then lower them so they're just off the floor, but don't let them rest. Lift again, and lower. Repeat the raising and lowering 10-12 times slowly, then rest for 90-120 seconds before doing another set.

Be careful not to strain your back while doing this lower abs exercise. Rest your head on the floor so your upper abs are left out of the equation as much as possible, and don't arch your back. Your hands under your lower back are there partially for support, and partially to remind your not to flex your back too much.

Another of the best exercises for lower abs: the Captain's chair

This lower abs exercise requires some equipment, but you can probably find it in your local gym, and if you don't have access to the gym you may be able to construct something simple at home. The apparatus you need is basically a chair with the seat removed and with two upright handles like joysticks on the arms, so that when you have your forearms on the arm rests you can hold onto the handles. The chair is fixed to the wall a few feet off the ground, and the exercise is as follows.

Stand in front of the chair between the arm rests, and grip onto the handles. The chair should be at an appropriate height so you can reach these comfortably. Contract your lower abs and lift your knees to your chest, placing your weight on your forearms on the arm rests. Pull your knees as high as you can, hold for 1-2 seconds and gently lower them again, but not all the way to the ground. Repeat this motion 10-12 times, and take a rest of 90-120 seconds between sets.

These are two of the best exercises for lower abs, and will give you plenty of strength and definition both in your general core muscles and in your lower abs.

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David Spencer is a fitness nutcase. He has spent years learning about exercise and just as long working on his own six pack abs. Getting your own flat abs is not as hard as everyone makes out - visit The Truth About Six Pack Abs to find out exactly how David and hundreds of others got theirs, and how you can get yours.

How to Get Flat Abs Fast

There is no real secret to getting abs. We all have been fooled by the infomercials and so-called experts, that tell us if we take pill, drink a supplement, and do a couple of sit ups, then we will have the abs of a Greek statue! Well, guess what? They tell you all this in order to make a buck or two off of you!

They create a fantasy world before your eyes to convince you to buy. But, what they won't tell you is, that everyone already has a six pack. Yes that's right! We all have six pack abs. But, where are they? They are hiding under the extra fat that your body stored. The abs are right under there. So, you could do 1,000 push ups a day, and it still wouldn't matter!

The secret to developing abs, is burning off the extra fat that you have stored on top of your abs! This can be done by doing cardio for 30 minutes a day or every other day. Activities like walking, running, and climbing the stairs. You must do activities like this to catch up with your bodies storage of fat. You have fat on your abs because, you are falling behind in the amount of calories you should be burning during the day. You are eating more calories than you burn. Let's say you take in 2,500 calories per day, but you only burn off 1,000.

Well, this here is a problem, because the body will be forced to store this extra fat from the calories into certain areas of the body. This could be the stomach for men, as well as the stomach, waist, and thighs for women. Once you start see in your abs again (that you haven't seen since childhood!) then you can begin to shape them up by doing crunches and other exercises. But, make sure you do them the correct way, and in moderation.

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