Are You Sabotaging Your Own Abs Workout?

Abs workouts are like most things in life. There are is a good and effective way to do them and several ways to do them wrong. In the case of exercises, doing the things the wrong way can get pretty bad and often result in pain and injuries. Here are some tips that will help you do things the right way.

Repetition Freaks

There are people who do way too many repetitions. More repetitions won't mean that you'll get a six pack overnight! What matters most is the form, and with normal repetitions you'll get the most out of an exercise. If you feel it isn't working for you it must be the form or an ineffective abs exercise for you.

Control Your Knees

When doing crunches, the most basic stomach exercise, put your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent so they are pointing the ceiling. Keep them like this all the way. Don't lean them or widen them. It can lead to back injury.

The Straight Leg Lift Problem

Avoid this exercise because it does more for your lower back pain than for your abs.

Sleeping

The ways you sleep help shape your abdominal workout. If after sleeping you get back pain, then you are sleeping in a wrong way and need to recover. Use a good pillow, or an orthopedic pillow to relieve sleeping problems. The worst way to sleep for stomach exercises is on your stomach on a soft mattress, since it requires you to arch your back.

Lack of Resistance

To develop your abs or any other muscle you must work with resistance. Even crunches have resistance - gravity. So avoid those twisting exercises where you have no resistance, they are great for warm up but not for strengthening.

Remember also to give a rest once in a while to your abs. Rest is required to make the muscle grow. It is true that abs muscles don't need too much rest but when starting out, give them just a day so they'll be stronger the next time you engage in your abdominal workout.

Learn how to get the stomach you want and more Abdominal Exercises. While you are there be sure to join our newsletter for tips and more product reviews.

3 Simple Free Workout Routines to Get Six Pack Abs Without Doing 100 Abdominal Exercises

Will 100 sit-ups or crunches a day give you six pack abs?

Not in isolation and not while you have a layer of fat that covers your abs. Targeted exercises are a waste of time if they do not form part of a holistic plan. Body fat needs to be burned from the body as a whole, and not just the abdominal area.

Eating habits also need to be changed so that the body burns fuel more efficiently. Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, rather eat 6 smaller portions every day. A portion should not be bigger than your fist.

In addition to changing eating habits, these 3 simple routines will help you develop rock hard ribbed abs.

Interval Training This exercise routine includes intermittent bursts of hard rigorous action followed by a period of less strenuous activity.

Interval training is the fastest way to increase the metabolism rate. This allows the body to burn fuel and excess fat a lot faster. If you want ribbed abs to be visible, this is the quickest way to do it.

Interval training can be done on a track, park or road.

Sprint as hard as you can for 20 - 30 seconds followed by a brisk walk for 3 minutes. Repeat this exercise 5 times in a session. For optimal results, do this exercise for a minimum of 3 times a week.

Leg lifts Lay on your back keeping your hands behind your head.

Using your abdominal muscles, lift your legs to approximately 60 degrees from the floor and hold them there for 10 seconds. Then let them down slowly without letting them touch the floor.

Start off with 3 times 10 - 15 reps and work yourself up to 3 times 30 reps.

It is better to do this exercise every second day. Do not do this every day. Your muscles need resting time so that they can build up.

Push-ups or chin ups These exercises can be used as complimentary exercises. Did you know the abdominal muscles support the other muscles during exercise?

Try doing just 3 times 10 push-ups or chin-ups every second day and watch your abs become hard and ribbed.

To prevent injury and straining, do the different exercises on alternate days. For Example, don't do the leg-lifts and push-up on the same day as the interval training.

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

How To Get 6 Pack Abs In 30 Days Without Doing Any Crunches

Oh come on, you can't tell me that I can get my ab section lean and mean without doing any crunches. But I heard that in order for me to get a chiseled mid-section all I have to do is several hundred crunches a day and I'll have a 6 pack that would even make Brad Pitt jealous.

I hate the break the news to you, but there is more to getting a sculpted middle than you are lead to believe. There are actually three steps involved; fat loss, targeted exercises and did I say fat loss? Before you even think about what type of exercises to do you have to honestly critique your current physical shape.

I want you to stand naked or in your underwear in front of a full length mirror, if you have one, and slowly turn around, watching yourself until your head almost unscrews from your body (only joking but you get the idea). Do you see a bit of a pudgy belly, a little jiggly around the middle or is your belly flat? If you answered that it's flat, then congratulations you can skip this next section on move right on the targeted exercises.

However, if you saw flab then you have got to work on getting rid of it before you can see any type of abs showing. You my friend, are like the majority of people in the world and will have to do some dieting and a bit of cardio to burn that fat off. I won't go into a full diet program here, you already know the drill; avoid junk food, rely on fruits, vegetables, non-fat dairy products, 100% whole grain breads and pasta, lean meats and drink plenty of water.

Don't starve yourself, but eat moderately and avoiding second helpings. Now cardio (another term for aerobics), will help burn off the current stores of fat you have. It can be as simple as brisk walking, not strolling but brisk walking, or you can get into kick-boxing, stepping, jogging or better yet, interval training. Just be sure to get the ok from your doctor just to make sure that you are healthy enough to push your body hard.

Now it's time for the targeted exercises that will tone and chisel.

The Bicycle. The bicycle, often called the reverse bicycle or prone bicycle will give you better results with less reps than crunches will.

 

• Lying on your back, bend your knees in a 90 degree angle.

   

   

• Place your hands lightly on your head with you fingers behind your ears and elbows facing outward.

   

   

• Now pump your legs back and forth as though you were peddling a bicycle.

   

   

• As you peddle, rotate your torso so that you lift your left shoulder towards right knee. Try not to pull with your elbows, but actually move your arm pit up and over reaching as you can.

   

   

• Now try to get your right shoulder (arm pit) and left leg to come together as close as they can.

   

   

Each time you stretched both your left and right sides this will be considered one repetition. You should try to do 25 reps and 2 sets daily for the first three days. Then increase your reps and sets until you can complete a total of 100 reps per day. Now aren't these nicer than doing crunches? You can eventually add more reps but it usually isn't necessary since you will also be completing 50 push-aways, 25 bent leg knee raises, 25 flutter kicks, 15 V-ups and 15 Russian twists.

 

All in all you will be spending less time doing these exercises then you would doing 200 crunches, and these will give you quicker results. You will also find that you are much less bored and your ab workout will not seem as tedious. As with any exercise, it's always wise get a check up from your health care provider first and don't believe the phrase "no pain, no gain", if something hurts-stop. You want to show off your 6 pack abs and not a body cast.

I hope that you have have enjoyed this article and if you want more tips on How To Get 6 Pack Abs please visit http://www.how-to-get-6-pack-abs.com and while you are there be sure to pick up your Free copy of the special report called "The Stubborn Fat Solution".

What You Should Know About ABS and Why You Need It

Anti-lock brakes are the most important active safety system available in an automobile today.

The History of ABS Like many things in the auto industry, ABS comes from the aviation industry. The first system available on cars was introduced by Bosch and equipped on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in 1978. Over the last 2 decades, ABS has marched down market and is now available on virtually every vehicle sold in North America. Each successive generation has become more efficient and quicker to react in emergency situations.

How it works Speed sensors are located at each wheel. When these sensors 'sense' that a tire has stopped moving (the wheel is locked under braking) the sensor sends a message to the controller that in turn regulates the brake pressure to reduce lock-up. It 'pumps' the brakes over a dozen times per second by increasing brake pressure and reducing it, over and over again. Since the wheels are not locked up, a driver can swerve to avoid an obstacle while under hard braking.

Types of Anti-lock Braking Systems There are two system designs, four-wheel ABS and rear-wheel ABS. Rear-wheel systems were offered on pick-ups and some SUV's in the early and mid nineties. They only pumped the rear wheels.

Today it is difficult to find this system. Four-wheel ABS is now the mainstream. But there are two variations of four-wheel ABS. There are four-channel anti-lock braking systems and three-channel.

Both systems have speed sensors at each wheel but a three-channel system pumps the rear brakes at the same speed and the two front wheels pump individually.

A four-channel system pumps all four brakes individually as they may be on different surfaces such as ice, gravel, pavement or grass. A three-channel system is cheaper to produce and is typically offered on less expensive cars. The four-channel system is a better, more precise system, though a three channel system is still far better than no ABS at all.

The misconception ABS is not designed to reduce your vehicles braking distance. In fact depending on the road surface, it can slightly increase your braking distance. ABS is designed to give the driver full control in an emergency situation. Since the wheels won't lock, you have full control of steering so that you can avoid an obstacle. On slippery surfaces, ABS pays dividends as you can now steer away from an obstacle instead of sliding right into it.

Using ABS When ABS is automatically activated in an emergency braking situation it makes a sound and pulses through the brake pedal. This is normal. Do not pump the brakes. This will render the system useless and will cause dramatically increased braking distances. The system will do its job but you have to be confident and get on the brakes as hard as possible. Get on'em, and stay on'em!!

ABS pays for itself time and time again. Think about it. ABS costs about $500. How much does just a small fender bender cost? ABS pays for itself by helping you avoid an accident and it gives you piece of mind when driving on slippery surfaces.

Peter Johnson is the chief writer for all-about-car-selection.com. For more automotive safety information click here