Jan 26, 2006

Good Beginner Exercises For Awesome Abs - Easy Steps To Six Pack Abs

Our research has shown that these are good beginner exercises for awesome abs. Choose one each of these beginner ab exercises for each of your upper, lower and oblique abdominal area, and follow our tips below then you will be well on your way to the abs that you have always wanted.

Remember that the abdominal muscles are the "showcase" to any body, this is because they are in the centre of your body and they "draw the eye" to them whenever your wear a bikini or a  crop-top with low cut jeans or shorts. A good nutrition program along with exercises and a dedicated routine that targets the abdominals can quickly help you achieve a lean six pack of abs. It is important to remember that it doesn't matter how amazing your abs are, you will not be able to see them if they sit under a layer of fat!

A simple and good nutrition program for losing fat is to cut all the "white" foods from your diet; white foods are usually highly processed foods that are high in carbs and sugar. Add more fruit, vegetables, complete proteins and whole grains. Cut all sugar and alcohol from your diet and break your meals into smaller portions. You should eat the same amount of food as you would in three meals, just split your food into six meals per day that are approximately 2-3 hours apart. It is also very important to increase your water intake to help flush fat and toxins from your body as a regular part of your fitness regime.

Upper Abs:

• Crunch with Legs on Bench - Upper Abs Exercise -
• Swiss Ball Crunch - Upper Abs Exercise - Sit on a Swiss ball and "walk" your feet forward until your are lying on the ball with the ball under your lower and mid back. From this position put your hands behind your head for support and perform regular crunches. Raise your shoulder blades as high as you can, keeping in mind that a greater range of motion is achieved by keeping your back further back on the ball.  Lower yourself slowly as far as you can and stretch back over the ball. Repeat for your designated number of reps and sets. Note: The instability of a Swiss ball and the curved surface increases the level of difficulty of the regular crunch exercise, but it also increases the comfort of doing crunches.

Lower Abs - The hard to get at lower abdominals!!:

• Reverse Crunch -  Lower Abs Exercise - Lie face up on a workout bench, raise your arms and firmly grasp the edge of the bench above or alongside your head. With your knees bent (and locked in this position), contract your abs and lift your hips to bring your knees in toward your chest -  hold for 3 seconds and lower your hips back to the bench. Repeat for your designated number of reps and sets.
• Lying Leg Raises - Lower Abs Exercise - Lie down on a flat bench. Raise your arms above your head and have your hands hold the edges of the bench or (if you have one) the hand-grip behind your head . With your legs slightly bent at the knee, raise them all the way up to the vertical position. Pause a second and then slowly lower them. Try not to touch the ground at the bottom. This control will keep tension on the abdominals throughout the exercise and will therefore increase the intensity. Repeat for your designated number of reps and sets.
• Hanging Knee Raises -  Lower Abs Exercise - For this exercise you will need a horizontal bar on a power rack, a doorway chin up bar or the monkey bars at your local elementary school! Start by holding the bar with your palms facing away from your body about shoulder width apart, then let your body hang. Then with a short breath, inhale and lift your knees up towards your mid-section, exhale and slowly lower your legs all the way down. Repeat for your designated number of reps and sets. Note: Do not let your legs touch the ground between reps.
• Swiss Ball Pull-In - Lower Abs Exercise -

Obliques: Oblique Muscles

• Cross-over Crunch - Obliques Exercise - Lie on a rubber mat on the floor with your knees bent and hands behind your head. Curl your body up by lifting your shoulders off the mat and as you rise turn your left should toward your right hip. Lift your shoulders about 5 inches off the mat and hold this postion for 3 seconds, then lower your shoulders and return slowly to the starting position. You can complete all your reps for one side before starting the reps for the other side, or you can alternate from side to side for one set of reps. Repeat for your designated number of reps and sets.
• Side Bends - Obliques Exercise -
• Side Bridge - Obliques Exercise -

We suggest these tips for a successful journey to sexy abs:

• Start with a sixty day goal
• Incorporate a cardio workout into your 60 day program. Walking, running, riding a bike, etc.  Alternate ab workout days with cardio days. In the beginning do 30 minutes of cardio on cardio days, gradually increase your cardio in five minute intervals until you are doing 45-60 minutes of cardio by the end of 60 days.
• Increase your water intake and break your meals into smaller portions by eating the same amount of food that you would in your regular 3 meals per day; just eat six meals instead of three (eat every 3-4 hours). Take every 14th day off and have a cheat day by eating whatever you want for the day.
• Gradually cut out all "white" colored foods. All "white" food is high glycemic and usually highly processes. Replace these white processed foods with more vegetables, fruit, whole grains and complete protein. Gradually omit all sugars and alcohol from your regular daily diet too. Eat them only on VERY special occasions.
• To build thicker muscles, increase your weights and keep your reps between eight and 12. If you want more endurance and tone simply increase your reps. If you want to have a slimmer waist line then it is important that you do not train with very heavy loads.
• Stick to a well-balanced weight lifting workout for your entire body. This is important to help you keep a symmetrical shape.
• Take a breath before you begin a rep and exhale as you contract your abdominal muscles. Remember to keep your abs pulled in tight all the way through each rep.
• With each rep maintain a constant tension on your abdominals by stopping just short of resting at the end of each rep. Your abs recover very quickly from a workout so don't rest too long between sets.
• Remember do not over train any muscles in your body, whether its legs, abs or arms, etc. You will be more successful from consistent and regular workouts. It is still important to never train your abs if they are still extremely sore from a previous workout.
• Make your movements slow and deliberate, concentrate equally on both the the eccentric (lengthening) and concentric (shortening) steps of the exercise that you are performing.
• To prevent injuries it is important to keep your neck, shoulders and head in alignment when doing sit ups or crunches. The best way to prevent this is to avoid interlocking your fingers when you hold your hands behind your head. When you interlock your fingers it causes you to pull upwards on your head, which causes it to come out of alignment and cause strains to the neck and shoulder muscles. Just keep your hands behind your neck and have the fingertips lightly touch each other as you perform sit ups or crunches. Also: Do not let your hands hold your neck as you perform the exercises as this can cause strains too.

Most of all remember to have fun with your workouts, keep overloading (increasing the intensity of the weight you are lifting) with small increments at each workout, add some resistance and keep from getting bored with your program by changing up your routine from time to time.

About The Author:
Julia Mahler is a successful author and the talented publisher of many websites, a1-weight-lifting-equipment.com included. She has studied fitness and natural nutrition for over 20 years and is an active sports enthusiast herself. Her various writings provide relevant information and wonderfully researched resources for body builders and sports enthusiasts.

By: Julia Mahler
http//www.a1-weight-lifting-equipment.com