Posts Tagged “abdominal muscles”

When doing any kind of exercise and even at times when you are not doing any exercise you will notice your core of your body. Your core is the muscles right around your torso, that is the muscles of your abdominals right around your lower back and everything in between.The muscles of the core of your body give you the ability to stand upright, to bend over, to pick things up, to lean and also for you to turn around. Think of all the times during the day that you use these core muscles and you will realize that this is indeed a very important part of your muscle to keep strong.

Low back pain is very common. It affects 4 of 5 people at some time during their lives. It is the leading cause of disability for those aged 19 to 45 and is the second most common cause of missed work days (after the common cold) for adults younger than 45. Low back pain becomes more common as people age.

On the flip side of a strong core is a weak set of core muscles. If you have any back problems you may be dealing with weak core muscles (I am a little sensitive to this as my wife has a bad back and a stronger core has not helped) and strengthening these core muscles will give you less pain and a lot more agility. Read the rest of this entry »

Abs are the one muscle group that I seem to hear more questions about than any other. If you are interested in building abs you need to have a great diet and reduce your fat level but also these exercises will help you build up those abdominal muscles.
Perfom Crunches(with or without mat).
This is for the lower abs. Lie down on the floor and cross your arms in front of your chest. (Do not place both hands behind your head. Placing both hands behind your head can cause lower back problems in the long run as it places unnecessary stress on that part of your body from pulling on your head and neck.) Another alternative to crossing your arms in front of your chest is to lightly place your finger tips behind your ears, without pulling on your neck or ears to help raise you off the floor. Draw in your abdomen towards your spine while inhaling through your nose. Now raise your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees, using strictly your abdominal muscles. You willfeel your abs tighten in this exercise

It is very important not to lift your entire back off the floor, as this can cause back strain, and the extended movement does not help you develop six pack abs any faster. The most important part of the crunch is the initial flexing of your abs as you lift your shoulders off of the floor. As soon as you begin lifting off the floor exhale through your mouth, ending with a gasp once your shoulders are off the floor. Then pause for a second once you are at the top of the crunch and exhale the last bit of air from your diaphragm while flexing your abs. The proper breathing and flexing make all the difference. Now lower back down slowly and controlled while inhaling through your nose, just until your shoulder blades touch the ground. Do not let your head touch the ground and repeat. Read the rest of this entry »

One thing that seems to confuse a lot of people is the fact that the media shows us slim people with great six pack abs. This would lead most people to believe that if you want to reduce your stomach then you should just do sit-ups and you will lose the stomach. Sadly this is called spot reduction and it is not really possible to lose a bot belly by just doing sit-ups.

What your really need to know is how to do crunches

So to lose your pot belly you really need to do more to lose your overall fat and this can be done using two changes to your body.

To do that, you need to burn more calories than you eat. Abdominal muscles are not large muscles, so working them isn’t going to burn many calories. Walking and jogging are better calorie-burning activities.

The muscles in your abdomen, pelvis, lower back and hips are part of what is known as the core - The area of the body where your center of gravity is located. Developing a strong solid core gives you increased balance, stability and controlled movement that will help you improve performance. You use core muscles when you reach up to get a glass off the top shelf, bend down to tie your shoes, or swing a golf club. Strong core muscles also improve posture and protect you against back injuries.

What are the best abdominal exercises? For the beginner, nothing seems to beat crunches. Read the rest of this entry »

Abs are more than just having strong ab muscles, one of the issues that you may have is fat covering up a fantastic six pack. Of course if you are carrying any fat on your stomach then you will not be able to see that six pack of abs.

If fat is not the problem and you are just looking to tone your abdominal muscles then you can try this little trick.

Do a few situps and feel the way that the situps are forcing you to pull your abdominal muscles. Now after you finished these situps go to a mirror with your shirt off and try to replicate the tensing of your abs. You can very quickly figure out how you can feel this tightening of your abs.

Now no matter where you are you can do these ab exercises. You do not just have to do crunches, situps or leg pullovers, instead you can just do a series of tightening your ab muscles anywhere. You can do this watching TV, while driving, sitting on the bas or any other time that the idea strikes.