Five Exercises To Give You Washboard Abs
If the Ab Circle isn't the secret to a six pack, what is? The real secret is that there are no shortcuts. This doesn't mean that the formula for fat loss is complicated, just that it involves more than one step.
First, you need to burn more calories than you eat. This involves increasing your metabolism to burn more calories, and eating fewer calories while still getting the necessary nutrition. This is as simple as following your MyFitnessTrainer.com plan. Just log in daily, fill out your nutrition information, and stick to your changing calorie goal. Do your two daily strength training exercises and your cardio recommendation, and you're already ahead of the pack. Then, any additional ab exercises you do are just extra credit!
There is no need to do more exercise than your MyFitnessTrainer.com program recommends. However, any extra exercise you do will burn additional calories, which will cause your food calorie allotment to increase, and it will speed your results. Just make sure to never do more than what you can keep up indefinitely. It's better to exercise regularly than to do intense workouts at infrequent, random intervals.
If you are already following your MyFitnessTrainer.com program, then you are ready for some extra-credit. Here are 5 exercises to increase your ab strength, tone your midsection muscles, and strengthen your core:
1. Classic Crunch: This is not the most glamorous of the ab exercises, but there is a reason that it's a classic: it works. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Resting your hands at the sides of your head (but without pulling on your head,) slowly roll up your ab muscles to bring your head closer to your knees. Keep a grapefruit's distance between your chin and chest. Slowly return to starting point without fully resting. Repeat.
2. Ab Roller: This exercise is kind of fun. You'll need an ab roller device. For beginners, I'd recommend an ab roller that has a "brake" on it. This keeps it from rolling away from you too far and overstretching your abs, and it makes it easier to pull back in. You just kneel, hold the handles and roll the device away from you, stretching your abs in the process. Then, flex your abs as you draw it back in. (Follow the manufacturer's instructions for best results.)
3. Ball Throw Crunches: This is probably my very favorite core exercise. It's so much fun. You lie on a fitness ball (the large exercise balls) and a partner throws a fitness ball to you. You catch the ball and lie back a little with it, winding up to throw it with your abs. Use your abdominal muscles to throw the ball back to your partner. Repeat. So much fun, you forget how hard you're working until your abs start to scream!
4. Plank: These work your abs and lower back at once. You can see the description and photos for this exercise in your exercise library. Basically, you make a plank of your body. Clasp your hands together and rest your weight on your forearms and toes. Make your body as stiff as possible, flexing your abdominal muscles. Time yourself to see how long you can hold this position, and increase your goal each time.
5. Reverse Crunches: These are especially fun when done with ab straps, although they aren't for beginners. To prepare yourself for the ab straps, practice on the floor. Lie on your back. Keeping your legs straight or slightly bent, bend at the waist to lift your feet into the air. Flexing your abs, try to keep your lower back pressed into the floor as you lower your legs toward the floor. Stop when your lower back lifts off the floor, and repeat.
You can find these and many other great ab exercises in the Members Only section of MyFitnessTrainer.com. Just log in and then go to the Exercise Library. Then, you can select "ab exercises" for the full list. If you're not yet a member of MyFitnessTrainer.com, you can access this same information by activating your free two week trial.
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