Wednesday, November 11, 2009

How To Get 6 Pack Abs Without Doing 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 sit ups 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 developing 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 sit ups 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 sit ups 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 visible 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.

1. The Side Plank - keep your hips inline, belly button in and maintain this position for as long as possible. Start with 30 secs and increase up to 2 minutes over time. Breathe!

2. The Front Plank - keep your body in a straight line, belly button in and arms at 90 degrees. Start with 30 secs and increase up to 2 minutes over time. Breathe!

3. The Bird Dog - keep your back flat, belly button pulled in, thumb up and out at 45 degrees. Opposite leg goes straight back. Start with 6 reps on each side and work up to 3 sets of 12.

4. The Front Mountain Climber - in a press up position with you back flat and belly button pulled in bring your knee straight up to your chest. Breathe out as you do so and contract your abdominals as if you were being punched in the stomach. Take leg back and repeat. Start with 6 on each side and work up to 3 sets of 12.

5. The Outside Mountain Climber - as above but drop your hips slightly and bring your knee to the outside of your elbow. Squeeze the side of your stomach, your obliques, together as if being folded in half sideways.

6. The Inside Mountain Climber - as with the above mountain climber but bring your knee across and squeeze the side of your stomach muscles (obliques).

Perform all these exercises 3 times a week along with your regular workout for the ultimate strong core and the highly elusive six pack stomach muscles.

Good luck and enjoy your new abs!!

Greg is a health and fitness professional based in Hampstead, North London. He achieves fantastic results for his clients by using his in depth knowledge and the most up to date techniques. http://www.gbpersonaltraining.com

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Tips to Get Six Pack Abs



Getting six pack abs fast can be achieved quickly with some determination and persistence. It is unlikely that you will see results in a few days but after a few months using the correct six pack abs exercises and diet, the difference should be apparent.

Tips for six pack fast

One of the most important factors of getting a six pack fast is optimizing your diet so that you are not taking in simple fats and other bad foods. Your diet is key to a flat stomach because it can lower the excess fat on your body which hide your abdominal muscles.

Changing your diet may be difficult and many people struggle with this aspect of training. However, with some persistence and a strict eating routine, the chances of gaining six pack abs improves considerably. With some discipline, this part of six pack training can be overcome.

The second part of getting a flatter stomach is doing six pack abs exercises. Exercises add mass to the stomach muscles and help them look more prominent. They also firm your muscles and can make you feel healthier.

There are many six pack abs exercises that can be used. The most common are variations of conventional sit-ups and crunches. Daily exercise is needed and should be taken to gain a six pack fast. At least 30 mins of training every day is recommended.

Using a healthy diet and exercise is the best way to gain a six pack fast and sustain the results over the long term.

Discover the exact methods on How To Get A Six Pack

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Friday, January 4, 2008

Six-Pack Abs Require A Combination Of Diet And Exercise



Many of us would love to have the six-pack abs. Everywhere you look there are commercials or ads promising these wonderful abs, but what really works? There are many of these ads that say taking a supplement can give you the envious abs you've always wanted. Whether or not these supplement is still yet to be decided. One thing that we do know for sure is that hard work will get you the results you want.

Not all the supplements that are available to you are safe. Who knows what they are putting in these supplements that will give you these great abs. There have been reports of serious side effects resulting from taking these supplements. The good news is there is another way to get these great abs without having to take supplements and risking your health. With a little hard work, exercise and a healthy diet you can achieve great looking abs all on your own.

First thing you will need to do is get some sort of journal to keep record of your exercise and diet program. You can choose whatever kind of journal you think will work best for you. If you want to use a little notebook that you can take with you to help you stay on top of your record keeping that is just fine. If you have a personal digital assistant you can invest in a program that will help you keep your records. Whichever way you decide will work better for you is what you need to do.

The purpose of the journal is to keep track of your progress, and help find any areas that may need more attention. Information you will need to put in your journal will be what day it is, your weight, what exercise you are doing or did on that day, and your food intake. You will also want to make sure you record the time of each of these events to make tracking progress easier.

You will also want to take your measurements weekly or biweekly depending on how dramatic of results you like to see and record these also. How often you weigh yourself is up to you as an individual, it all depends once again on how dramatic you want the results to be. Just remember that if you do it every day it may make you more aware of your goals and make you try harder to reach them. Whichever way you decide to go, just make sure you are weighing yourself at the same time of day each time.

When you track this information it will make you more aware of what you need to work harder on the next day or week. If you have a record of what you did you can look and see if maybe you skipped a day of exercise, or didn't eat very healthy. You want to make sure you are burning more calories than you are taking in. If you keep track of your how much food you ate and when you ate it, it will be easier to see when you need to watch more carefully. Maybe you are overeating everyday at the same time of day, if so your journal will help you see this so you can fix it.

When keeping track of your exercise you will want to write down what type of exercise you did, when you did it, and how long you did it. Keep in mind that just doing sit-ups will not guarantee that six-pack you dream of. You need to make sure you get rid of the fat so that you can see the great abs you are looking for.

To maximize your results you will probably want to do aerobic exercise or cardiovascular exercise to burn fat and calories, strength training to create more muscle, and abdominal exercises. Strength training is important because muscle burns more calories than fat, and will help power your aerobic exercises. Walking, swimming or training along with an aerobic exercise tape are all great ways to get you aerobic workout in. For abdominal work you can do regular sit-ups, or try something like Pilates. Pilates incorporates strength training for your abs and uses twisting movements to get better results.

Just remember that you should exercise four to five times a week, and keep an honest an accurate journal to maximize your results. You also need to realize that you will not get your dream abs overnight; it takes hard work and time.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Herbal Supplements at http://www.online-pharmacy-plus.com

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