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

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Abdominal Workouts For Rock Solid Six Pack Abs



When it comes to a workout you don't have a lot of time to waste on something that may not work. You need to know that when you are exercising you are doing the exercise right and you want to start seeing results quickly. If you want an exercise that gives you an abdominal workout, you will need to concentrate completely on that area.

Working this area directly can ensure that the muscles will tone quicker and safer without pulling or straining muscles around the area. An abdominal workout could consist of abdominal sit ups, which allow you to pick up the upper portion of your body by using your muscles in your abdomen to help you up. Doing 10-20 of these everyday will increase the strength in your muscles in just a few weeks. You can also add more abdominal exercises to increase your tone in less time.

When you use an abdominal workout to strengthen your muscles you tone specific muscles in less amount of time. You can choose to do a few during the morning and evening or spend a certain amount of time each day to do your abdominal workouts without interruptions and concentrating solely on particular muscles. At first you may feel the muscles tighten and cause you to feel sore for several days until your muscles are use to the exercise to tighten them. When you exercise regularly the muscles will soon tone up and stay firm and tight causing you to have the best looking abs around.

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.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

How to Get Six Pack Abs - 6 Tips to Get a Six Pack Fast



So, you're interested in finding out how to get six pack abs. Well, I don't blame you. Losing that belly fat will make you extremely attractive to the opposite sex. Guys will lose belly fat and get that ripped and defined six pack to attract the ladies, and girls want that slim midsection that the boys flock to. Getting a six pack fast is not as hard as you might think.

So, let's find out once and for all how to get six pack abs!

To begin with, you might need to do away with some of your preconceived notions about how the body works. First, you need to understand that no matter how many sit-ups and crunches you can do with your abdominals, nobody will be able to see them if you have layers of belly fat on top of it.

So, the first order of business is burning that fat off, so your defined midsection will finally appear. And no, you can not turn fat into muscle!

Now, let's examine 3 exercises you can do facilitate the burning of fat, especially belly fat since you're going for some six pack abs:

1) Weight Lifting

Muscles burn calories. So what better way to burn more calories than by strengthening your muscles? You don't need to build a lot of mass or be bulky in any way. Building up your level of strength will burn force your body to burn more calories, even at rest! And that means burning fat.

2) Cardio Exercises

Since you need to burn the fat off so that everyone can see your six pack abs, you should do some cardio work 2-4 times a week. Anything works, such as running, swimming, dancing, or any sport... 20-60 minutes at a time is best. Low-to-medium intensity is fine too, your body will melt the fat right off.

3) Sit-ups and Crunches

The proper way to do a sit-up or crunch is beyond the scope of this article, but doing these on a consistent basis will give you that defined look you are going for once you've burned enough fat off your abs. You could also treat this as a combination cardio/strength training exercise, where you both burn fat and build up your abs to sculpt them into the six pack look you are going for.

Now, here are 3 fat burning diet tips to help those of you wondering how to get six pack abs:

1) Eat a lot of fiber in the form of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.

2) Don't skip breakfast, so you don't overeat at lunch and dinner time.

3) Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. Water is essential for the body, and absolutely aids in weight loss and fat burning.

Once you've learned how to get six pack abs, make a concerted effort to follow through with diet and exercise until you get the results you want. Don't give up, it's not as hard as you think!

Are you looking for information about how to get six pack abs or how to get a six pack fast? 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.

Labels: , , , , , ,