Hot sexy abs in 6 weeks

A toned, flat tummy is a goal many of us strive to achieve, but endless crunches and ditching all your favorite foods aren't the right—or fun—way to do it. A sculpted core and trim tummy can be attained by incorporating small changes into your day, like holding in your abs while you walk and adding the right healthy fats to your diet. Check out these ideas..

Talk and walk.
Instead of catching up with friends over food and drinks, suggest a reunion on the move—you're likely to work out 104% harder if you have an exercise buddy. Suggest a weekly walk-and-talk session, form a friendly fitness club, or try a new class at the gym together.

Try the Roll-Up.
Hold a resistance band taut between your hands and lie on the floor face up, with legs extended and arms overhead. Pull abs in, tuck your chin, lift arms toward the ceiling, and roll head, shoulders, and torso up and over your legs as far as you can. Keep heels firmly on the floor and reach hands towards your feet. Pause, then slowly roll back down. Do 5 to 8 reps with 30 minutes of cardio 5 to 6 times a week.

Make time for cardio.
If you want to burn the most belly fat, a Duke University study confirms that aerobic exercise is the most effective in burning that deep, visceral belly fat. In fact, aerobic training burns 67% more calories than resistance training or a combination of the two, according to the study.

Try out Spidey moves.
Try the Spiderman Climber: Get into plank position with arms and legs extended, hands beneath shoulders, and feet flexed. Keeping your abs tight, bend your left leg out to the side and bring the knee toward the left elbow. Pause, then return to start. Switch sides. Do 20 reps, alternating sides, with 30 minutes of cardio 5 to 6 times a week.

Clean your house.

One more reason to go after those dust bunnies: Vacuuming is a great ab workout. Tighten your abdominal muscles while you push back and forth for a tighter tummy while you clean.

Eat more fiber.
For every 10 grams of fiber you eat daily, your belly will carry almost 4% less fat. Thankfully, there are more enjoyable ways to increase your fiber than scarfing down a box of bran flakes: Two apples, ½ cup of pinto beans, one artichoke, or two cups of broccoli will all give you 10 grams of belly-flattening fiber.

Be pushy at restaurants.
Saying, "I'll go last" when the waiter comes around could be adding bulk to your belly. A recent study showed that a normal-weight woman was more likely to mimic a thin woman's eating habits than an obese woman's. So when you're out for girl's night, order first. You'll keep yourself, and maybe even a friend or two, on track to a flatter tummy.

Do the Windshield Wiper.
Lie face up with arms out to your sides, palms down, and legs bent at 90 degrees so feet are off the floor. Keep abs tight and slowly lower legs to the left as far as possible, keeping shoulders on the floor. Pause, then return to start. Repeat to the right. Do 20 reps, alternating sides.

Rethink those pretzels.
Too much salt will make you retain more fluid, which contributes to a puffy appearance and extra water weight.

Read More ..... »

How To Do Effective Abs Exercises

Having nice flat six-pack abs is what almost everybody wants and thus, abdominal exercises are becoming some of the most popular exercises. So if abdominal exercises are that good, why haven't most people achieved their dream abs yet? I have seen many people do hundreds of sit-ups every day, but they still don’t get six-pack abs. Well, the challenge of having nice abs is so much more complicated than just doing as many sit-ups as possible. You need to follow a complete fat loss program, which contains weight exercises (including abdominal exercises), cardiovascular exercises, and a good diet program to get rid of the excess fat covering your abdominal area. To strengthen and curve the abs, you need to do the abdominal exercises correctly, not frequently, so the exercises will be more effective in helping you to achieve your goal. Of course, you have to consult your physician first before starting any kind of exercise program. Here are some tips to six-pack abs:

1. The draw-in maneuver. The abdominals are divided into two groups of muscles. The outer abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis and external oblique) and the inner unit (transverses abdominis, internal oblique, the diaphragm, and the pelvic floor). A complete abs exercise should include those two groups. The draw-in maneuver is a way to recruit the inner unit to jump into action. Once it is activated, it will strengthen the abs area to make it ready to do other exercises safely. To do this is very simple. First, just kneel on the ground with both knees hip width apart and placed straight below the hip. Put your palm on the ground to make a horse stance. Make sure both palms are shoulder width apart and placed straight below the shoulder. Pinch your shoulder blades together to get a good thorax form and extend the whole spine up. Focus on your belly button and your anus; try to pull them in as hard as possible, without compensating the spine form. Remember to always breathe easily through your lungs. Hold for 30 seconds, and repeat it 3 or 4 times.
   Progression: Once you don't get any more challenge from the exercise above, then it’s time for you to make a progression with a more difficult exercise such as the plank. On the draw-in maneuver, try to extend your legs one by one, then put your toes on the ground to support the body weight, to replace your knee support. Use your elbow and forearm to replace your hand support, without changing the position of the other body parts. Contract every muscle from top to toe to make sure that the joints are supported by their own surrounding muscles. Next progression: Plank On The Fit Ball, Side Plank, Reduced Support Plank and others in this group of lower ab exercises.
2. Sit-ups. Grab a mat and lie down on your back, bend your knees, make sure you place the lower back flat to the ground, both hands reaching up, and your eyes locked to one object on the ceiling. Flatten the abs and try to get the upper body up, slightly off the floor by contracting your abs, not your neck. Breathe out to empty the abs of air while you contract. Do the movement very slowly and carefully until you feel that you cannot handle it anymore. You must never let the abs loose during the whole set. Progression: Sit-up on a fit ball. Place your lower back on a fit ball instead of the floor. Tips: Try to counter the balance first before you start some movements. Do the movements very slowly without moving the ball.
3. Crunch. This movement is similar to the sit-up, but instead of trying to get the upper body up, you need to curl your chest toward your hips. Make a maximum contraction by emptying air from the abs. Do this exercise until you feel that you cannot handle it anymore. Progression: Add some weight on your chest.
4. Reverse crunch. Lie down on your back. Make sure you place the lower back flat to the ground, both hands on the ground to balance and support yourself. Slightly bend your knees and pull both legs up to your hips (make an L-shape). Flatten your abs and slowly curl your hips toward your chest, hold for 3 seconds and then release down. Do this exercise until you cannot handle it anymore. Progression: Hanging Reverse Crunch.
5. Cable rotation. You will need an adjustable cable machine or a resistance rope to perform this exercise. Adjust the pulley height to your chest level. Stand at the right side of the pulley with both feet hip width apart, put your weight on the right leg with the left leg only for balance. Hold the cable with your right hand, straight-arm, assisted by the left hand. Start to move by rotating the upper body with a pushing movement from the right arm, without switching the body weight to left. Hold for 3 seconds, then slowly rotate back. Do this exercise to the maximum intensity. Progression: Vary the height of the pulley to very high or very low, then the movement needs to be following the movement direction of the cable.

To have nice abs is not impossible. It is hard, of course, but as we know, the results are nice to look at and feel good, too.

Read More ..... »

How To Do Lower Ab Exercises

Do you want to tone your lower abs? Lower abdominal exercises should be included in any exercise program, because they are important for spinal stability and injury prevention (especially for the low back). There are essentially two lower abdominal muscles, the lower portion of the Rectus Abdominus and the Transverse Abdominus. The Rectus Abdominus runs vertically and is responsible for pulling the front of the pelvis up towards the belly button. The Transverse Abdominus runs horizontally under the Rectus Abdominus and is responsible for pulling the belly button inward (towards the spine).  This article will provide tips on exercises that maximize the training of these two muscles, while minimizing the involvement of other muscles.

Six General Tips for Performing Lower Abdominal Exercises 
Lower abdominal exercises can be difficult to perform correctly because they require more concentration and muscle control than many other exercises. As a result, many people cheat by using additional muscles, such as the hip flexors and lower back muscles. In addition, people frequently attempt to perform lower abdominal exercises that are too difficult for their ability level and are not able to use the correct muscles during the exercise. These tips will help maximize the effectiveness of all lower abdominal exercises:

1. You should feel the lower abdominals working more than any other muscles. If you do not feel your lower abdominals working or feel other muscles working more, stop the exercise. When lower abdominal muscles grow fatigued, it becomes difficult to feel them working, so this is a sign to stop and rest.
2. You should never feel pain in your lower back. If you feel pain in your lower back, it means that either your lower abdominals are not strong enough to perform the exercise or you are not doing the exercise correctly. In any case, stop immediately if you feel pain in your lower back.
3. Perform exercises in a slow and controlled manner. Performing lower abdominal exercises quickly will increase your momentum, decrease muscular control, minimize effectiveness and increase usage of muscles that should not be used. Further, performing exercises too quickly will commonly result in jerky or erratic movements.
4. Quality over quantity. These exercises are not about trying to see how many reps you can do or trying to perform the most difficult exercises. They are about getting the correct muscles to work while preventing unwanted muscles from helping you cheat to make the exercise easier. Do slower, more controlled reps to reap the most benefits from the exercise.
5. Endurance over strength. The lower abdominal muscles work mainly as postural/stabilizing muscles. They are designed to stay active at low intensities for long periods of time and they should be trained the same way. If you can only perform 5-10 quality reps of an exercise, then your focus should be on performing more reps instead of trying to perform a more difficult exercise.
6. Remember to breathe. Many of the exercises will require some of your abdominal muscles to be contracted (activated) throughout the exercise. Your initial reaction will probably be to try to hold your breath or take very shallow breaths, but over time you must work on taking deeper breaths while performing the exercises. Exhale when your muscles are shortening/tightening (concentric) and inhale while your muscles are lengthening/stretching (eccentric).

5 Best Lower Abdominal Exercises

1. Activating the Transverse Abdominus. This is a basic exercise that involves pulling your belly button towards the spine. This can be more difficult than it sounds, because many people are not used to using this muscle and try to use other muscles during the exercise. Activating the transverse abdominus will help spinal stability, both during daily living and during exercises that stress the muscles around the spine. Still, you aren't looking for easy ab exercises, you're looking for effective ab exercises. Here are the key points:
   • Perform the exercise lying face down on the floor or on your hands and knees. The kneeling version makes it easier to feel your belly button being pulled in. Lying flat on the ground makes it easier to feel if you are using other muscles.
   • Pull your belly button in as much as you can just using the lower abdominal muscles. Try to relax throughout the rest of your body.
   • Hold the contraction until you cannot feel it anymore or you start feeling other muscles contracting more.
   • If this is difficult, just start with holding the contraction for 10 seconds. This can be repeated up to 10 times. When this becomes easier, increase the time of the contraction. The combined time of the contractions does not need to exceed 2 minutes. When you can hold a single contraction for 1.5 to 2 minutes, you have enough strength and endurance to move on to more difficult exercises.
2. Flattening the lower back against the floor. This is another basic exercise that is necessary to learn before performing more advanced exercises. This exercise helps to strengthen and build endurance in muscles that support and protect the low back from injury.  Here is what to do:
   • Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Try to relax as much as possible. There should be a small space under your lower back from the natural curve in the spine.
   • Activate your lower abdominals to flatten your lower back until the space decreases and you feel pressure against the floor.
   • Some pelvic rotation will occur for the back to flatten completely, but make sure to use the abdominal muscles to create this motion. The legs should stay as relaxed as possible and not be used to create the pelvic rotation.
   • Start by holding this contraction for 10 seconds and follow the same progression as in Exercise 1.
   • Work to improve your ability to take deep breaths while maintaining the contraction of the lower abdominal muscles.
   • Performing this exercise properly is a prerequisite for Exercise 3.
3. Abdominal Leg Lowering. This exercise uses controlled movement of the leg(s) to increase the demand on the lower abdominal muscles.  It's one of the best exercises for abs.
   • Begin in the same position as in Exercise 2.
   • Keep your lower abdominals tight and your back flat throughout the exercise. There are 4 variations (see below), all of which involve moving one or both legs while keeping your abdominals tight. If you stop feeling tightness in your abdominal muscles or feel any pain in your lower back, stop the exercise.
   • If your lower back starts to arch while you lower your leg, stop lowering your leg and raise it back up. Arching in the lower back is a sign that the lower abdominal muscles are not strong enough to perform the exercise at that position. The lower your leg gets to the ground, the higher the demand becomes on the abdominal muscles.
   • There are four basic difficulty levels of this exercise:
     1. Single-leg lowering with a bent leg: During this exercise, one leg is kept on the ground and the other leg is kept in a bent position throughout the exercise. The leg that moves should start with the thigh perpendicular to the ground. Lower the leg until the foot almost touches the floor. Raise the leg back to the starting position and repeat. Perform this exercise with both legs.
     2. Single-leg lowering with a straight leg: The same exercise as above, except the leg that is moving will be kept straight instead of being bent. This creates an increased demand on the lower abdominals.
     3. Double-leg lowering with bent legs: This is a more difficult variation where both legs will move at the same time and follow the same technique as the first variation of this exercise. When one leg is on the ground, the lower back is more stabilized. With both legs off the ground, the lower abdominals must do the work that the leg on the ground was previously doing. This further increases the demand on the abdominal muscles.
     4. Double-leg lowering with straight legs: This is the same as the third variation, except the legs are straight instead of bent. This is by far the most difficult variation. If your lower abdominals are not strong enough, this exercise can cause back pain. Start off with smaller movements; as your muscles get stronger, your legs will get closer to the floor.
   • Each of these exercises can be performed for 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps each.
   • Ankle weights can be added to any of the variations to make them more difficult.
4. The Plank. This exercise is good for developing overall core stability, working the lower and upper abdominals and lower back muscles all at the same time.
   • If you feel pain or excessive tightness in the lower back, stop the exercise. This means some of your muscles are not strong enough or too tired to perform the exercise correctly. In this case, build up your strength and endurance on the previous exercises until your muscles can perform this exercise correctly. Improving your back flexibility may also be beneficial.
   • Start lying on the floor with your elbows on the ground and your shoulders directly above your elbows. Your feet should be in the same position as if you were doing push-ups.
   • Activate your abdominal muscles and lift your body off the ground (keeping your belly button pulled in towards your spine). Try to stay as straight as possible from your legs to your shoulders, while your forearms and feet support your bodyweight.
   • Hold this position as long as you can while maintaining good form and the contraction in your abdominals.
   • Perform 1-3 sets and focus on increasing your endurance over time.
   • When you can perform this exercise for more than 1.5-2 minutes at a time, you can increase the difficulty by lifting one foot slightly off the ground. This will also increase the demand of the leg that is still on the ground. Alternate legs between sets.
5. Hanging Leg Raise. This is an advanced lower abdominal exercise that is frequently performed incorrectly. This exercise also requires additional equipment, such as a sturdy bar that you can hang from. If you want to maximize lower abdominal activation, follow these tips:
   • This exercise requires a significant amount of upper-body strength, because the hands and arms must support your body weight.
   • Grab onto a bar above your head and hang as still as possible. Then bring your legs up until your thighs are about parallel with the ground and your knees are bent about 90 degrees. This is the starting position for the exercise.
   • Contract your lower abdominals and pull your legs closer to your chest, without excessive rounding of the lower back. This exercise has a small range of motion, but if done correctly, is very challenging for the lower abdominals.
   • Return your legs to the starting position. You may let your legs go somewhat lower than the starting position if you are able to maintain the contraction in your abdominals and prevent your lower back from arching. The lower back should stay flat just as in the floor exercises.
   • Do not swing or use momentum to help raise your legs. Swinging is the most common sign that you may be cheating or using muscles other than the abdominals. This should be a very controlled movement and you should focus on feeling the lower abdominals pulling the legs up instead of trying to jerk your legs up.
   • Do not straighten your legs toward the ground between repetitions -- keep your knees bent. Straightening your legs (perpendicular to the floor) changes the exercise so the emphasis is on the hip flexors instead of the lower abdominals.
   • To increase difficulty, perform the exercise with straight legs (starting with your whole leg parallel to the floor) or add ankle weights.

If performed correctly, these lower ab exercises (especially the first four) will build a solid foundation of lower abdominal strength, endurance, and function. They will also go a long way towards preventing lower back problems. Of course these exercises will tone the muscles and make them look better as well, but your nutritional habits and exercise program will have the most impact on how good your abdominals look. Remember, you don't need to buy expensive ab rollers, ab rockers, ab slides, or whatever other technology they have - you can do tummy exercises for your lower abdominals without spending a dime. 

Read More ..... »

How to Get Six Pack Abs in 30 minutes

A strong and etched midsection is something anyone strives to achieve and are the signs of a well trained body. In order for this to be a reality it is important to challenge the midsection while simultaneously burning fat. When using a moderate set range (3-4 sets), high reps (15-20), and a low rest count (15-30 seconds) this can happen. This program is designed to facilitate muscle growth while increasing the metabolism.

Things You'll Need

• Dumbbell, use a challenging weight

Abs in 30 minutes or less

1. Grab a dumbbell that is challenging, but do not over do it. The oblique crunch can be a rather effective move if used correctly. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and place your feet a little less than shoulder with apart. Slowly bend to the right until you can go no further. Concentrate on the contraction. Do not just bend over in indolent fashion, but use a controled movement downward. Then use the same controlled bend to the other side. That completes one rep. This exercise will contain four sets, two sets of 15 reps and two sets of 20 reps. Try not to rest in between sets longer than 30 sections. After each completed set drop the rest time by five seconds. For an advanced exercise and arm involvement, when you bend to the right your left hand will pull the dumbbell to your arm pit. This will provide tricep and shoulder secondary involvement.
2. Hold the a dumbbell that is approximately twice the weight you used on the above exercise and hold it parallel to your chest with both hands. This exercise is geared to the upper and lower abdominal muscles. Your legs should be shoulder with apart; and you will twist your torso to the left with out moving the dumbbell from the center of your chest. Make sure your midesection is contracted! Then twist to your right. That is one rep. You will aim for 4 sets of 15, 15, 15, 20. Once more, you will try to lessen the rest period between sets. If you feel comfortable, drop the rest time five seconds after each set.
3. Training to have the midsection of an Eastern European athlete? The Russian twist can be very challenging and the enemy to many. You may want to try this ab exercise without weight to asses your ability. Lay on your behind with your legs slightly bend and off the ground. Your torso should be upright. Contract your midsection and twist to one side and touch the floor with both hand, then to the otherside. That is once rep. This will activate your entire midsection while challenging your core stability. Aim for three sets of 20 with as little time to rest as possible.
4. Lower abdominal are hard to flatten, mainly due to diet, but need to be trained for a well-developed body. Lay of the floor with your legs four inches of the floor and a light dumbbell held by your feet. Raise your legs until peak contraction is made. Then lower to the starting position and repeat. Three to four sets should be appropriate. Use a rep pattern of 12, 15, 20, 25.

Read More ..... »

Fastest Way to Get a Six Pack at Home

Six pack abs are an aesthetically pleasing indicator of personal fitness. You can get a six pack at home by carrying out a few different exercises on a regular basis to increase the size and strength of your abdominal muscles. However, this is only part of the process. More importantly, you need to reduce your body fat. Everyone has a six pack, but they are seldom visible because of the layer of fat on top of them. To reveal your six pack, you need to eliminate this layer.

Diet

• One of the easiest ways to reduce your body fat is to change your diet. Eliminate alcohol, soda, fast food and processed foods from your diet, and increase the amount of vegetables you eat. Next, reduce your portion size across the board -- use smaller plates or try to make a point of always leaving some food on your plate. Finally, change your diet to reduce simple carbohydrates, which come from processed wheat and sugars. So, you should have wheat bread instead of white bread and whole-grain pasta instead of standard pasta.

Compound Exercises

• Compound exercises work entire muscle groups and almost always include the abs to stabilize. Examples include pushups, squats and hanging leg raises. Pushups work your triceps, back and chest while keeping your back straight with your abs. Squats work your legs but also engage your abs to keep your back straight, and hanging leg raises are the converse -- they engage your abs and legs, but use your arms and upper body to stabilize.

Abdominal Exercises

• Abdominal exercises focus on your six-pack muscles. Examples include situps and crunches, but there are more complex examples. You can, for example, target your obliques by lying on one arm with your body at a 45-degree angle to the ground, then raise one leg, and then slowly lower it. Or, you can work your core abdominal muscles by lying on the ground and bringing your arms and legs together at the same time, keeping both straight to make your body into a V. This works your entire core and develops your six-pack muscles.

Interval Cardio

• Interval training is when you work hard for a short time, then work at an easier intensity, and then speed up again. You would repeat this process for around 20 minutes. A good at-home interval training is to jump rope. Warm up with slow jumps for around five minutes, jump as hard as you can for 30 seconds, and then slow down for a minute. Repeat the exercise over again for the 20 minutes.

  You can increase the intensity in a variety of ways. You can just jump faster if you want, or you can add double jumps where you were previously doing single jumps. It is not really important as long as you work harder in your intervals than you do in your rests.

Read More ..... »

How to Easily get Six Pack Abs

Follow all these steps and I guarantee you will be on your way to getting six or even eight pack abs.

Things You'll Need

• Motivation
• Dedication

Tips For You

1. First you need to make sure you get your diet in check. You will need to eat small meals several times a day. You need to eat a low amount of calories, high protein, low carbohydrates, low fat diet. Your meals should consist of baked chicken or fish, healthy carbohydrates(brown rice, etc.), and vegetables. NO fried foods and replace all unhealthy snacks with fruits or nuts. NO sodas. If you are looking to lose weight too and not just tone up eat 500 calories lower than your maintenance calories amount. (There is a link to a calorie intake calculator at the bottom.)
2. Second, do 45 minutes of cardio a day. If this is too much for you just work yourself up to it eventually. This is going to help you get leaner quicker and if you would like it can be done right before your ab workout and will increase your fat burning and speed up the whole process.
3. Now last is your ab routine. This I will leave up to you to personalize your routine so I have included a link to a database of 50 ab exercises with detailed video and instructions. I recommend choosing 4 or 5 exercises you like best as your routine. It is a good idea to switch up exercises so your muscles don't get too familiar with your routine. When you are putting together your routine don't forget about you obliques.
4. (Optional) You can take a fat burner to speed up the process. I don't recommend this unless you have a lot of fat to lose. You should make sure you are healthy enough to take a fat burner before using it and that you do not have heart problems. I don't take fat burners because I have a high metabolism anyway, but I would recommend either Lipo-6 or Hot-Rox.
5. (Optional) Adopting a circuit training full body workout plan can assist in fat burning and toning. You can find a circuit training plan on bodybuilding.com

Read More ..... »

How to Stretch Lower Abs

The lower abdominal muscles perform the important function of helping protect the spine from injury. Preparing these muscles before and after exercises helps you get the most out of your workout. Stretching also has an added benefit in causing your muscles to continue working well after your warm-up, workout and cool down are complete. As with any stretching activity, proper posture is the key to correct warming up a muscle group. Keep your head straight with eyes ahead, shoulders relaxed and your back straight.

Tips For You

1. Cobra stretch. Lie flat on your stomach, hands positioned flat on the floor below your shoulder (like a push up position) and with the tops of your feet flat on the floor. Gently push your body up with your hands to straight arms. Don’t arch the back too much. Your aim is to feel a gentle pull in your lower tummy area. Hold for a 10 count, lower back down to the ground. Repeat 5 times.
2. Standing abdominal stretch. Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Place the hands, with fingers down, on the back of the hips. Focus on keeping proper posture with a straight back and relaxed shoulders. Slowly lean back just a little and lift your chest up to the ceiling. You should be feeling the stretch in your lower abdomen. Hold for a 10 count and relax. Repeat 5 times.
3. Lying abdominal stretch. Lie flat on your back with straight legs and arms extended over the head. Slowly reach with your arms by lifting the chest only and stretching the lower abdomen. Hold for 10 counts and relax. Repeat 5 times.

Read More ..... »

How to Get Chiseled Abs

Tired of that flab around your stomach? Frustrated that after all this time in the gym you still can’t see your abs? In order to actually get a chiseled stomach you have to have both your diet and your exercise routine fine tuned. These steps will teach you everything you need to do to get the six-pack you’ve always wanted.

Things You'll Need

• dumbbells, weight plates, treadmill

Tips For You 

1. Perform a cardiovascular exercise a minimum of three times per week.
2. Run for 20-30 minutes. Sustain a heart rate of 60-75% of your maximum heart rate. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.
3. Slowly drop your calories. Drop your daily calorie intake incrementally by 100. Start the first week and decrease accordingly each week.
4. Keep your protein intake high. Start by slowly lowering your saturated fat intake. Don’t cut the fat out completely, as you could negatively change your hormone levels. Also, slowly lower your carbohydrate intake.
5. Now that you have a healthy diet and cardio regimen in place, you should start to see results for all your hard work. Because the abdomen recovers quickly, you can exercise the area more often than you would any other muscle group. Try to work your abs at least 3 times a week.
6. Weighted Sit-Ups: Lay on your back with your legs bent. Keep your knees pointed upwards and held together. Your feet should remain flat on the floor. If you can, pin them as well. (A weight plate should provide control and assist you as you complete the exercise.)
7. Place a sufficiently heavy weight plate on your chest and fold your arms across it. While focusing on contracting your abs, bring your upper body towards your knees. Wait a beat, then lower your back to its original starting position. This is one rep.
8. Perform eight to twelve repetitions for four sets. Rest one minute between each set.
9. Side-Bends: Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and firmly on the floor. Hold a sufficiently heavy dumbbell or weight plate in your right hand.
10. Lower the right side of your body. Bend at the hip so your shoulder dips toward the floor and the hand holding the weight drops straight down. Focus on contracting your abs. This is one rep.
11. Perform eight to twelve repetitions for four sets. Then repeat with the other hand.
12. Leg-Lifts: Lie on your back on a flat bench. Keep your shoulders and the small of your back pressed against the pad. Most of your lower body should hang off the bench. Hold onto the side of the bench for support.
13. Place a 5 or 10 pound dumbbell between your feet and slowly raise your legs up towards the ceiling until they’re almost perpendicular to the rest of your body. Then slowly lower them back down until your legs are level with your upper body and the bench. This is one rep.
14. Do four sets of eight to twelve repetitions. Break for one minute between each set.

Read More ..... »

How to Get Massive Abs & Pecs Fast

A muscular physique is the sign of ultimate fitness. Two areas of the body that people often focus on are the abdominal and the pectoral muscles. If you are planning to get ready to go shirtless at the beach or just want to improve body confidence, building massive abs and pecs will do the trick. Lifting heavy weights paired with a proper clean and protein-heavy diet will give you massive abs and pecs fast.

Things You'll Need

• 2 Hardcover books
• Protein-rich foods

Tips For You

1. Do abdominal exercises three to four times per week. When training abs, three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each exercise. Some examples of exercises to do to get massive abs include standard crunches, decline crunches, oblique crunches and cable crunches.
2. Exercise using an recumbent bike two to four times per week. The length of each session should ideally be at least 30 minutes. This is an aerobic exercise which will then help remove fat and flab from over the ab muscles; this machine also targets the lower abdominal muscles.
3. Do explosive push-ups. This is a fast way to get massive pecs. Lay on the floor in a straight line. Place two large hardcover books beside each of your hands. Start with your body as low to the ground as it can be without laying on it. Drive your body up off of the floor. At the top of it, before you fully extend the elbows, jump your hands up onto the books. Go back to the starting position. Begin by doing explosive push-ups twice per week and work up to more days if possible.
4. Complete chest dips two to three times per week. The number that you complete each time depends on your fitness level. Start at a dip station at the gym. Place yourself on the bars with your arms almost totally extended. Dip downwards until upper arms are parallel to the floor. Hold that position for two seconds. Complete two to three sets of 10 repetitions.
5. Increase your consumption of protein. In order to build muscles, the amino acids from protein are necessary. Some examples of protein-rich foods include fish, turkey, chicken, beef and eggs.

Read More ..... »

How to Get Six-Pack Abs in Four Weeks

Most individuals want to have six-pack abs. Having them makes the statement, "I am fit." It also makes a person more physically attractive. Normally, working on the abs is part of a daily exercise routine. There can be a time, however, when a person needs to have a six-pack in a short amount of time. This could be because of an upcoming wedding or because of a vacation.

Things You'll Need

• Nutritional food
• Water
• Floor Mat

Tips For You

1. Eat a well balanced diet. Eating healthy will help your body respond to the exercises that you are performing. Just read the food pyramid and make sure you are getting the recommended number of servings in each food group.
2. Drink only water. Water hydrates your body while you are exercising and also doesn't contain any calories. It is best not to drink your calories.
3. Continue doing your regular cardio exercising before you begin your extra ab exercises. This burns some of your calories which keeps any fat from building up around your tummy area. Keeping the fat away allows you to tone the muscles.
4. Perform five reps of 10 knee lifts five days per week. Hang from a bar and pull your knees up as far as you can. Hold for two to three seconds and release. Repeat.
5. Do five reps of 10 shoulder lifts five days per week. Lay down on a mat or carpeted floor. Raise your shoulders up and hold for two to three seconds. You may opt to lock your fingers together and place them behind your head.
6. Do five reps of two bicycles five days per week. Lay on your back and slide your hands under your hips. Lift your legs up and begin moving them as you would if you were peddling your bicycle.
7. Do five reps of 10 sit-ups at least five days per week. You may perform the common sit-up by either placing your hands behind your head, or by crossing them over your chest. For added benefit you should do one sit up straight ahead, one with your left elbow touching your right knee, and one with your right elbow touching your left knee.

Read More ..... »

How to get a six pack abs FAST

First of all, there is no such thing getting a six pack abs. Read more if you want to get your six pack abs in a slow but assuring manner

Things You'll Need

• Dedication
• Healthy food

Tips For You

1. • 1
     The hardest part of our body to shape is our abs. It's the first one that the body store its fat and the last one to remove it
   • 2
     You may already have a six pack abs but it's underneath the layer of fat on top of your abs
   • 3
     The ONLY way to get a six pack abs is by eating less carbs and fat, and do cardio. You may also eat smaller portion of food 5 times in a day to increase your metabolism
   • 4
     When you are doing cardio, you need to increase your heart rate to a weight loss zone. You can find the range based on your age, it's usually available in your local gym treadmill or see below to calculate your heart rate range
   • 5
     Here´s how to calculate your target heart rate range for higher intensity exercise:
     220 - your age = max HR
     max HR x .70 = lower end of your range
     max HR x .85 = upper end of your range
     For example, if you´re 30 years old:
     220 - 30 = 190
     190 x .70 = 133
     190 x .85 = 161
     You can also use ratings of perceived exertion to determine the intensity of your workout, with a 5 being a low intensity workout and a 10 being a really high intensity workout
   • 6
     Once your body fat is decreasing, the layer of fat on top of your abs will also slowly dissapear and your six pack abs will be more visible
   • 
     

Read More ..... »

How to Get Rock Hard Abs

As a trainer in Los Angeles, one of the most asked questions is: "How do I get washboard abs (a six pack)?" Well, the answer to that question is that you don't get a six pack-you already have it! We all do!

The reason you do not see them is because they are covered in a layer of body fat. Water retention also plays a role-and getting rid of the water is quite simple.

In my other article: "How to Lose Five Pounds in Five Days" I mentioned a prescribed amount of water intake specific to your body weight. The more you weigh, the more you have to drink.

The reason for the water intake is twofold: 1) to make you feel full so you do not eat as much 2) and more importantly, to trick your body into not only flushing out the extra water you drink, but also any other excess water that you've been carrying around.

Getting rid of the body fat is a little more involved. It requires discipline and hard work.
Here are the steps you'll need in order to get rid of excess body fat and get rock-hard abs.

Also note: advice is often offered by people who mean well, but have not followed their own advice. This is not the case here. Everything I write comes from my own personal experiences.

The above photo is of me with the six pack I now have at age 42 that I did not have when I was 20. I got there with the information I'm giving you. It wasn't easy-but if I've been able do it-chances are SO CAN YOU!

Things You'll Need

• Dedication
• Will Power
• Discipline
• Desire
• Focus

Tips For You

1. Lose a pound of body fat every week until you get your desired results. Unfortunately, you cannot spot reduce body fat. In order to see your abs you must rid yourself of total body fat. For every pound of fat you wish to get rid of, you have to burn an extra 3,500 calories more than you eat. So start off slow and burn 500 calories more a day than you consume-at the end of seven days you will have lost 1 lb. of unwanted fat.
2. Do at least 1 hour of aerobic exercise per day at your optimal fat burning zone on an empty stomach if possible. The optimal zone has to do with heart rate during exercise and is the best way to get rid of stored body fat. To figure this out use this formula: based on how fit you are, train at 60 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 - your age). Keeping your heart at a steady constant rate like this forces your body to draw energy from two sources: glycogen (converted and stored carbohydrates) and stored body fat. If you are somehow able to do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, you will have a greater chance of just drawing energy from fat stores. This is because after 8 to 12 hours without food, your glycogen stores will be depleted.
3. Reduce or eliminate your complex carbohydrate (rice, breads, pasta) consumption towards the end of the day. Have those more with breakfast and lunch. Also do your best to avoid simple carbohydrates (fructose) especially towards the end of the day.
4. Do your best to have your last meal at least 3 hours before going to bed.
5. Train your abs hard! While you won't see them until the body fat percentage has dropped to the required level, your abs will be stronger and appear more defined once it has.
6. Weight train to build more lean muscle. More muscle means a faster metabolism.
7. Drink lots of water and get plenty of rest.

Read More ..... »

5 Exercises to Lose Belly Fat and Build Sexy Abs

Most of us want to lose belly fat and build sexy abs, but sadly, most people go about it the wrong way. By that I mean, most people crank out thousands of crunches, sit-ups and other ab exercises that do little to burn belly fat while placing increased stress on the lower back.

You can think of your abs as a beautiful window and the layer of fat covering your abs (and you have one) as a set of curtains. You can't see the window until you get rid of that curtain. The reason crunches can't do that for you is because they're simply too small a movement to burn many calories, and you need to burn calories to finally shed that belly fat.
If you're going to work your abs, you might as well work them in a way that will accomplish that for you, instead of doing one thing (like cardio) to burn calories and another (like crunches) to work your abs.
I want to share five truly effective moves that will both work your abs AND burn the fat that's hiding those abs. These exercise are so incredibly effective because they engage your entire core and use large movements, which burn far more calories than isolated moves can. The more muscles you engage, the more oxygen and calories you need to perform the exercise, and that's where the fat-burning begins.
Another thing that's great about these five abdominal exercises is that they don't put the stress on your lower back that crunches and sit-ups can. This is very important because every time you perform a sit-up, you put a great deal of stress on the vertebrae of your lower back, which is already pretty vulnerable to injury.

The following are five deceiving exercises that do work:
Clean and Press. For this exercise, I recommend dumbbells over a barbell, as it's easier to maintain safe form with the dumbbells. For the clean and press, place the dumbbells horizontally on either side of your feet. Squat, grab the dumbbells with an overhand grip and return to a standing position. As you do, lift the dumbbells to your chest.
Once standing, do an overhead press. Lower the dumbbells to your chest again, squat and return them to the floor. Taking a weight from the floor to an overhead position is one of the best full-body moves you can do.


Squat Press. This move is a variation or modification of the Clean and Press. In this move, begin from a standing position with the dumbbells at your shoulders. "Sit" into a squat, with your bum angled back and your weight shifting onto your heels, as though you were about to sit down. Keep your torso straight, and only squat far enough to get your thighs parallel to the floor.
Then push your weight into your feet to lift yourself back into a standing position while pressing the dumbbells over your head. Lower the dumbbells back to shoulder position, and repeat.
Burpees. Burpees have a much-deserved reputation for being brutal, but they're so popular because they get amazing results. Like most things that are hard, the end results make it all worthwhile.
To do the burpee, start from a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Drop to the floor, and perform a push-up. At the top of the push-up, jump forward to bring your knees to your chest, and continue the jump to bring you as high off the floor as possible and back to a standing position. These are real killers, but try to do as many as you can in two to three sets, lasting 30 seconds per set.

Front squats. Many people think of squats as a move for the quads, but do them properly, and you'll quickly learn that these squats engage your whole core. Start out in the normal squat position, but place the bar across the front of your shoulders rather than the back, using an underhand grip. This will allow you to keep your arms parallel to the floor as you perform the front squat.
Lower yourself into the squat and then push back up to a standing position. As you do, you'll really feel those core muscles working.
Mountain Climbers. You'll know you're doing this move properly if you absolutely hate it. It's a tough one, but that's why it works so well. It's one of the best moves there is to strengthen your entire core.
Start in the push-up position. Keeping your hips at the same height as your shoulders, shuffle your right knee in toward your chest, and then immediately switch it out for your left knee. Think of this move as trying to run in a horizontal position. You want to do these continuously, without rest, as many times as you can while still keeping your hips and shoulders at the same level.

Try to do each of these exercises in two to three sets of six to eight reps each, using a weight that's just heavy enough to be challenging. As you can see, you can perform this entire core workout in just a few minutes.
Unless, of course, you just want to do another thousand crunches with little to show for all your hard work.
Remember, you can only spot strengthen. You cannot spot reduce. If you want to lose belly fat then a full-body approach to your workouts along with a clean diet is the key to shedding fat for good.

Read More ..... »