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Posts Tagged ‘Ab Workouts’
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Abdominal side bends are done with the use of a barbell placed on top of your shoulders or with dumbbells held over your head while you bend sideways. This compound exercises builds strength as it targets your abdominal muscles as well as your lower back. The weights used here will not be as heavy compared to presses and lifts. It is important to use the lightest sets of weights that you can carry on your shoulders without straining your neck but heavy enough to give you a good workout.
 Start by placing the barbell at the back of your shoulders. Roll it down until you are able to hold the barbell without straining your arms while keeping your neck straight and relaxed. Your hands should hold the barbell with the palms facing forward and placed several inches laterally from your shoulders. Keep your back straight, chest out, abdominal contracted and held in. Your feet should be planted firmly at the ground held apart at shoulder breadth. Keep this as your starting position.
Inhale as you bend to your right side, as far as you can. Always keep your head, neck, and back at a straight line. Your shoulders should always be held back and stationary. The only part of your body that should be moving is your waist. Keep this position for a second, then exhale as you go back to starting position. Repeat the procedure on the other side, always keeping your torso stationary.
Repeat with the recommended number of reps and sets. If you have lower back problems, consult with your physician to see if you can do the exercise. Generally, this exercise is not recommended if you do have lower back issues or injuries.
For other great ab workout routines you wou want to check out the p90x extreme workout routine, Chalean extreme, revabs workout, and Insanity workout routine
Tags: Ab Workout, ab workout routines, Ab Workouts, Abdominal Training, Abdominal Training with Barbell Side Bends, Barbell Side Bends, ChaLean Extreme, dumbbell side bend workout, Insanity with shaun t, Insanity Workout, Insanity workout routine, P90X, p90x extreme workout routine, P90X Workout, P90X Workout Gear, PX90, px90 workout, Rev Abs, Revabs, revabs workout
Posted in Ab Workouts | 3 Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009
This is another compound exercise that will help you target your abdominal. You build strength on your abs as you raise the lower half of your body while maintaining abdominal tension. All you need is yourself and a good exercise mat to cover the floor.
 Lie flat on the floor with your arms at straight next to your body a pronated position (hands or palms facing down). Bend your knees in an angle of 75 degrees while keeping your feet flat on the floor. Your back must be straight, your shoulders flat on the floor and your neck and head in a straight line. This will be your starting position for this exercise.
Exhale as you raise your knees and hips with the use of your abdominal muscles. Keep in mind to maintain the angle of your knees while keeping your arms and hands straight by your side. This motion must be done slowly with constant tension on the abdominal until your knees are right at your chest. The end position will be with your hips and lower back off the floor, your shoulders and arms straight down while keeping your abdominal tight and your knees bent. Hold this position for a second or two.
Inhale as you go back to starting position, still maintaining the tension in your abdominal. Never release the tension of your abdominal during the entire exercise. Each motion must be done carefully and never abruptly to prevent injury. If you find this exercise easy, you can increase the difficulty by wearing ankle weights or straightening your legs.
For some other great Ab routines, you will want to check out the Ten Minute Trainer and P90x Workout routine.
Tags: Ab Workout, Ab Workouts, bent knee hip raises, core, lower ab workout, Toned Abs
Posted in Ab Workouts | 2 Comments »
Monday, September 14th, 2009
 Air Biking is a great way to have a good workout while toning and firming your abs at the same time. This compound exercise does not only tone your muscles but also burn off fat. This exercise targets both your upper and lower abdominal while training your hip flexors as well.
Before you start, make sure you have done your stretching and warm up exercises. Lie on your back on the floor using an exercise mat. Link your hands and place them behind your head to lift it up. Your shoulders should be posed in a crunch position and not touching the floor. Your legs should also be pulled up straight with your knees forming a 90 degree angle.
To start air biking, you have to move your arms and legs in an alternation motion. Exhale while you twist your torso to the left, slowly bringing your right elbow forward and your left knee upward until they touch each other. Your right leg is pushed forward either with a slight bend on the knee or locked straight. Keep our abdominals tight throughout the execution. Inhale as you slowly go back to starting position by twisting your torso until it is straight. Also bring back both your legs in a perpendicular position. Do the other side by exhaling as you twist your torso to the right, slowly bringing your left elbow forward and your right knee upward until they touch each other. This time, your left leg is pushed forward either with a slight bend on the knee or locked straight.
Repeat with the recommended number of reps and sets. Beginners can start slowly until they get the correct form. Always make sure you protect your head to prevent neck injury. Make sure that your lower leg is always straight across and does not point upward or downward whenever you bring it up. You will feel a burning sensation in your abs as you burn calories. Rest a bit if you cannot tolerate the sensation, and then start again. For a more advanced ab workout routine, try looking into the P90x workout routine or the Shaun T Insanity Workout.
Tags: Ab Workout, Ab Workouts, abdominal, Abdominals, abs, core, Insanity Workout, P90X Workout
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Friday, July 3rd, 2009
 Fans of hip hop, or of dance in general, will really appreciate Hip Hop Abs. Hip Hop Abs is full of great, heart-pounding beats. The dance moves will firm up the abs through fun and exciting exercises. Shaun T created Hip Hop Abs to fuse hip hop dance with exercise and got amazing results. For some, it won’t even feel like a workout. The energy level feels more like a dance party than exercise.
Shawn T promotes the “Three Ts” as a way to get firm abs and a fit body. These Three Ts are: Tilt, Tuck, and Tighten, a form of standing crunch that is integrated into the dance moves of the Hip Hop Abs program. Hip Hop Abs is the first exercise program of its kind. Just by following the moves created by Shaun T., anyone can “tilt, tuck, and tighten” to build that perfect set of abdominal muscles.
The combination of the Three Ts with a good cardio program will tone and firm the entire body. It is a perfect match, because the cardio will reduce fat even as the Three Ts increase muscle. All the best routines combine cardio and strength training to get optimal results. Traditional exercises like running or biking do not cover all these needs – but a hip hop dance workout will both get the heart pumping and burn fat.
Shaun T. knows just how to ease people into his hip hop ab workout. His introductory DVD, Secrets to Flat Abs, describes the basics of the routine that are the first steps on the road to fitness. The movements are explained step by step and prepare the way for the more involved dance workouts. The Fat Burning Cardio DVD does just that. The high energy dance music and motions will increase the heart rate while burning fat.
Next, the Ab Sculpt DVD is especially dedicated to toning the abdominals into hard, firm muscle. Finally, Total Body Burn combines the aspects of earlier DVDs, blending cardio and ab sculpting into an excellent total body workout.
Hip Hop Abs meets the need of anyone looking for a workout that is both fun and effective. Great music, great dance moves, and sound exercises all merge to create an exciting exercise program to keep motivation as high as heart rate. Hip Hop Abs even has the option of turning the music up while keeping Shaun T’s instructions low. This makes the DVD perfect for just dancing, or perhaps good for the expert who gets the exercise movements down pat. There are many other dance workout dvds such as turbo jam, which also has up-beat dance music to keep you motivated.
Tags: Ab Sculpting, Ab Workouts, Abdominals, Hip Hop Abs, Hip Hopabs Workout, Insanity Workout, Shaun T
Posted in Ab Workouts, Shaun T, Workout DVDs | 1 Comment »
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
 Crunches. Everybody does them, over and over and over again. They are an efficient way to work your abs. Varying the type of crunches you do can help you work all your ab muscles, helping you create great looking abs. But what can you do to add variety to your ab workout and at the same time, make your workout more effective? Here are some things to try.
Exercise Ball
Add an exercise ball to your workout. Try doing your crunches on the exercise ball. This can increase the intensity of the crunch and take the stress off your spine. Take some time to learn some new ab exercises using your roller ball, such as rollouts. Another great exercise ball workout for your abs is a curl up.
Add a Plank
A plank can add a dimension to your ab workout that you might have been missing. A traditional plank will work your core muscles. Adding variations such as side planks can increase the diversity of your workout.
Add Mountain Climbers
The Mountain Climber exercise is a simple one, but it adds a dimension to your ab workout that the crunches alone cannot do. The Mountain Climber is a simple exercise you can learn in about a minute, and is easy to add to your workout. Keeping form in this exercise is they key to getting great results.
Add Side Bends
Standing side bends are a simple exercise you can add to your routine that will work your oblique muscles. Standing straight with your abs fully engaged, you lean to the right, straighten, and then lean to the left. The key to this exercise is to have your core muscles full engaged and to keep great form.
Torso Twists
These are another quite simple exercise you can add to your workout to add a new dimension. The key to this exercise is keeping the core muscles engaged. You are going to stand straight and twist from side to side, with your abs tight. This exercise will work your core muscles and the variety of ab muscles.
Remember, when you are working your abs, speed is not what is important. You are not trying for a cardio workout, rather you are trying to work your ab muscles completely. Work each exercise slowly, concentrating on perfect form. That is the key to a great ab workout.
Tags: Ab Workouts, Exercise Ball, Hip Hop Abs, Shaun T
Posted in Ab Workouts, Workout DVDs | No Comments »
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Start by placing the barbell at the back of your shoulders. Roll it down until you are able to hold the barbell without straining your arms while keeping your neck straight and relaxed. Your hands should hold the barbell with the palms facing forward and placed several inches laterally from your shoulders. Keep your back straight, chest out, abdominal contracted and held in. Your feet should be planted firmly at the ground held apart at shoulder breadth. Keep this as your starting position.
