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To get six pack abs you spend hours in the gym doing 100-200 sit-ups a day, or you buy exercise equipment that promises to get you six pack , but unfortunately, most of the time you are left disappointed with the outcome.
The fact is that in order to get those six pack abs you need to reduce your stomach fat and get leaner.You need to keep in mind that how much and what you eat, will ultimately determine your progress.
Fat in your stomach is between the muscles and the skin, and if you have fat, then doing crunches will make your waist look even bigger rather than reducing it.
To lose stomach fat and get six pack abs you need a fitness plan that incorporates proper nutrition, ab exercises and cardio workouts.
Steps To Get Six Pack Abs....
Six Pack Abs Step # 1 - Lose Body Fat Percentage
To see six pack abs, women must have body fat percentage lower than 14-16 %, where as for men it should be less than 10-12 % .
Body fat percentage is one of the best ways to measure your excess weight . It helps to determine how much extra fat you have on your body excluding your muscles, bones, blood etc.
If your weight is 90 kilograms (for pounds 90 * 2.2 =198 pounds) and your body fat % is 20 percent, then your......
Body fat =18 kilograms or 40 pounds (90 * .20)Lean body mass = 72 kilograms or 158 pounds (90-18)
To get six pack abs (for women) you need to lose minimum 4% of body fat percentage (assuming your body fat % is 20%)
= 3.6 kilograms or 7.92 pounds (90 * .04)
To get six pack abs (for men) you need to lose minimum 8% of body fat percentage (assuming your body fat % is 20%) = 7.2 kilograms or 15.84 pounds (90 * .08)
Note that 0.45 kilograms or 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories
Therefore for women to see six pack abs they need to lose minimum = 28000 calories
For men to see six pack abs they need to lose minimum = 56000 calories It is generally advised not to lose more than 0.45 kilograms or 1 pound of body fat (3500 calories) per week, to avoid muscle loss. That is deduction of 500 calories every day for 1 week.
You can reduce these calories by 2 ways...
1. By Burning Calories Through Workouts ( cardio, weight training, etc)
2. By Reducing Your Calorie IntakeIf your body daily calories expenditure is 2500 calories, then you need to consume 2000 calories, after subtracting 500 calories from the above example(by reducing calorie intake). This example assumes that you want to lose .45 kg or 1 pound in 1 week = 3500 calories.
So taking the above example, for women to see six pack abs it will take approximately 8 weeks and for men 16 weeks (provided your calorie deficit is 500 calories every day).
This does not mean that you opt for crash diets to burn fat, as it can lead to adverse consequences.
Keep in mind that women must consume at least 1200 calories and men should consume at least 1800 calories per day for maintaining proper body function. Six Pack Abs Step # 2 - Proper Nutrition And Diet
Nutrition plays a very important role in getting six pack abs. Your total calorie intake will make all the difference to reduce your stomach and get you six pack abs.
A rule of thumb is that 40% of your calories should come from carbohydrates, 40% from protein and 20% from fat.
1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories and
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
That means If your daily calorie requirement is 3000 calories then it should come from...
carbohydrates - (3000 * .40) = 1200 calories (1200/4 = 300 grams of carbohydrates per day).
proteins - (3000 * .40) = 1200 calories (1200/4 =300 grams of protein per day).
Fats - (3000 * .20) = 600 calories (600/9 = 66.6 grams of fat per day).
- Avoid Carbohydrates And Sugar In Your Diet
Too much carbohydrates and sugar causes the body to store them as fat. They are low quality and high stress foods which are loaded with calories.
Although carbohydrates are important, since it is the primary source of energy for the body, but by reducing their intake your body takes fat as the secondary source for energy.
Try to avoid fast digesting carbs or high glycemic index carbohydrates (also known as simple carbs) because it increases the production of insulin, in order to bring your sugar levels back to normal.
As your sugar returns to a normal level, you will feel hungry, and in order to satisfy your appetite you will consume more calories. Insulin decreases the fat burning capacity and increases the fat storage capacity of the body.
Instead of fast digesting carbs you can choose low glycemic index carbohydrates (also known as complex carbs) which are slow digesting carbohydrates, meaning that production of insulin will be slow and gradual.
Carbohydrates which are Low on glycemic index helps to burn fat because it results in slow conversion of carbohydrates into glucose .This helps in maintaining a steady sugar level, resulting in less hunger and craving for food.
- Incorporate Fat Burning Foods In Your Diet
Fat burning foods helps to increase metabolism and burn fat, specially protein. Visit my fat burning foods page, for a list of foods that burn fat and help you to get six pack abs.
Six Pack Abs Step #3 - Exercises For six pack
You need to combine cardiovascular exercises along with abdominal exercises in your workout routine.Cardiovascular exercises will help you to reduce fat by burning calories, where as abdominal exercises will help to tone your ab muscles.
- Cardiovascular Or Aerobic Exercises
Cardio exercises is one of the best ways to lose weight and get a lean body. It helps to elevate the metabolism, resulting in burning calories.
Running on treadmill, walking, jogging are some cardio exercises which you can incorporate in your fitness plan to achieve six pack abs. Along with these you can also choose cycling and swimming as secondary exercises to make it more interesting and not boring.
Cardio exercises should be done early in the morning, as it helps to keep the metabolism up for the whole day. This will help you to burn calories throughout the day, and it will use fat as the main source of energy
To get six pack abs try do cardio 4-5 times a week for 15-20 minutes a day. If you can't take out that much time, then strive for at least 3 days a week.
Exercise ball exercises are one of the best exercises to get six pack abs as it helps you to increase the muscle activity. This is because it stabilizes the body to balance on the exercise ball, and also due to you being elevated from the floor. This leads to more efficient workout for the core region.
Read more
Ab crunches are only effective once you lose your excess fat from your stomach. To get six pack abs ab crunches should be your last step and not the first. Read for ab crunch exercise instructions.Weight training is a great way to burn calories and increase metabolism. It will not only build muscles, but also help you in your quest to achieve six pack abs.
A study shows that the body consumes 30-50 calories to maintain .45 kg or 1 pound of muscle.
The best thing about weight training is that you burn calories even after your workout is complete. This is because, after your workout, your muscles goes into a repairing phase. This increases the metabolism for a longer period which can last anywhere from 24-36 hours. This means that you will burn calories for the next 24-36 hours at rest.
Six Pack Abs Step #4 - Healthy Eating Habits
The way we eat our food also play an important role in getting six pack abs. Factors such as eating breakfast, having 4-5 meals in a day etc, makes all the difference in achieving your six pack goal. Read more
Other factors such as diet, age,genetics also play a vital role for you to achieve six pack abs.
Remember that getting six pack abs is easier, if you understand, that it is not the question of how many sit-ups you perform but how you reduce your stomach fat, that will ultimately determine your results.
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Yoga poses for flat stomach
Healthy eating habits is a way of selecting how we eat our food, for proper body function and to maintain a good health.
In our quest to reduce stomach fat, we try to perform number of crunches, but more often, we our disappointed with the results. One reason is that we don't pay attention as to how we eat our food.
Adopting healthy eating habits is one of the important steps for you to get effective results for your workout, as it helps your body to burn fat.
Some Healthy Eating Habits To Reduce Stomach Fat Are......
Healthy Eating Habits #1 - Eat Slowly and Chew Your Food Well
A research shows that, when you eat slowly you not only enjoy your meal, but you also consume lesser calories.
The reason is that your brain takes 20 minutes to confirm that you are full. So if you eat fast, then by the time you finish eating, you would have eaten more than your body requirement.
Another healthy eating habit is to chew your food well. This helps to digest the food better, thus leaving you with fewer digestion problems.
Healthy Eating Habits #2 - Avoid Television When Eating
When you are distracted, you don't notice how much you are eating, and invariably you eat more than you should, and this can cost you lot of calories. It is also observed that you indulge yourself in snacking when you are in front of television.
It is always better to avoid television when eating your food. This will help you from overeating, thus leading to lesser calorie intake.
Healthy Eating Habits #3 - Have 4-5 Regular Meals In A Day
Having 4-5 meals at regular intervals will help you to increase your metabolism.This will allow your body to burn more calories, thus causing you to lose extra weight.
Another important point is not to skip your meals, as it leads to more hunger and craving for food.
Healthy eating habits #4 - Avoid Snacking By Having Breakfast
Breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight. They also consume less calories in the day and absorb more of minerals and vitamins than those who avoid it.Eating proper breakfast in the morning keeps your stomach full, and you energized. This also helps you to control your snacking.
Try to incorporate whole wheat breads, low fat milk, cereals and fresh fruits in your breakfast, as they are helpful in providing enough energy to the body, as well as keeping your hunger down.
Healthy Eating Habits #5 - Drink Water
Fruit drinks, sugar drinks, bottled drinks etc are full of calories, and they lead to stomach fat. An alternative to these beverages is water, which is calorie free.
Water is very important for our body not only because of its cleansing properties, but also because it keeps us full and hydrated. It is recommended to have at least 8 glasses of water every day for proper hydration of the body.
Try to avoid diuretics such as alcohol, soda, coffee, as it causes the body to lose more water.Along with these eating habits, also try to follow a healthy diet. You should always avoid canned and artificial foods and instead choose organic and natural foods in your diet. Choose green leafy vegetables and whole grains instead of foods that contain high sugar/carbohydrates and fats.
In your quest to reduce weight quickly, you should never follow crash diets, as it will lead you nowhere, instead you are likely to gain more weight when you stop dieting.
According to a recent study crash diets makes the bones weaker, which in turn causes the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
Dieting also slows down the metabolism in your body.
Crash Diets May Actually Prevent You From Losing Weight
You resort to dieting in order to lose weight but do you lose weight?- The Weight You Lose Is Mostly Water
Crash diets leads to dramatic decrease in body weight in a short period of time, but this loss in weight is much due to loss of water than fat, because water is associated with carbohydrates stored in the body as glycogen (Glycogen is the storage form of glucose in animals and humans which is analogous to the starch in plants).So When you return to a balanced diet the weight loss due to water is regained.- You Usually Gain The Weight You Lose ........Sometimes More
When you return to a normal calorie intake, you are likely to gain more weight than before, because as you restrict your eating, the body starts eating your muscle tissue for energy, and it holds on to your fat reserves.
Fatty tissue has a lower metabolic rate , meaning that you will burn less calories, and so you regain more weight than before.
Dieting Can Be Dangerous, Even Deadly
Do you think crash diets really work? i don"t think so. Rather it can be deadly.
What happens when you eat less?
You can easily damage some of your vital organs in the body like your heart, liver and kidneys. You could even die .
When you do crash diets you think it will burn fat, but the body thinks you are starving and it holds on to your fat reserves.
The brain gets all its energy from sugar and if you are not eating enough carbohydrates (sugar and starches), then your body goes into starvation mode. It starts eating the muscle tissue for survival. About two thirds of that energy it drives from body fat, and one third from protein-rich minerals.
A study shows that many crash dieters have been eating their heart muscles for protein in nourishment to keep the brain alive.
Crash Diets Causes Fainting.....
As you know, minerals are essential for proper muscle function apart from other functions.
When you do dieting, you tend to lose vitamins and minerals such as potassium and sodium, and thus the vital organs in the body fail to perform their respective functions properly.
It can get even worse if you are taking diuretics(drugs that make your body lose water).
Low calorie diets along with diuretics can cause your kidneys to dump larger quantities of sodium and potassium into the urine, causing you to lose more water (because minerals pull water along with them).
Losing large quantities of water makes your blood pressure to drop, which causes you to faint.
Dieting Leads To Bone Reduction
Calcium is need for maintaining proper nerve function and immune defenses. If there is not enough calcium in the foods you eat, then this mineral is lost from your bones. As a result the bones become weak which leads to the risk of reduction in bone density, causing fractures and osteoporosis.
We all need nutrients for proper function of our body but losing weight quickly through crash diets leads us nowhere except dissatisfaction and numerous side effects. So the sensible way to lose weight is to focus on healthy eating habits along with some exercises.
The benefits of yoga poses are not only limited to your health, but it also helps to tone your abdominal muscles and to remove tummy fat.
It will be beneficial, if you incorporate these yoga poses along with other flat stomach exercises to get more effective results for your ab workouts.
Yoga Pose#1: Dhanur-Asana (The Bow Pose)
Note- Consult your physician before performing the below yoga poses.
This yoga pose makes the abdominal muscles fully exercised. Obesity is also cured.
1. Lie down on the ground with your face downward facing. Inhale deeply.
2. Bend your knees and grasp your ankles with your hands, keeping all the five fingers of your each hand on the inner side of the legs.
3. First raise the hind part of the body and then raise your chest.
4. Bend your legs backwards and look at the sky.
5. It should be like a tug of war between the legs and hands, so that your entire body comes to rest on your navel (bend your body in a bow shape).
6. Hold the position for 20-30 seconds.
7. Slowly come back to the original position, while exhaling the breath.
8. Relax.
9. Repeat the pose 1-2 times.
People suffering from high or low blood pressure, migraine or serious neck and back injuries should avoid this pose.
Yoga Pose#2: Pavana-Mukta- Asana (The Wind-Releasing Pose)
This yoga pose has a good effect on the stomach, as it assists in releasing trapped digestive gases. It is very helpful in removing tummy fat and increasing the blood in the body, thus relieving the body from exhaustion.
1. Lie down on your back and stretch your legs.
2. Now leaving the left leg stretched, bend your right knee and bring it near the chest.
3. Now inhale and press your bent right leg on your chest with both hands interlocked on the leg.
4. Keep the breath full in your belly and go on pressing the leg.
5. Stay in this position for 20-30 seconds.
6. Now start exhaling.
7. Lift your head and try to touch your bent knee with your nose.
8. Inhale and bring your head back in normal position.
9. Take the bent right leg down and exhale.
10. Repeat with your left leg, and then with both the legs.
11. Repeat this pose 3-5 times.
Yoga Pose#3: Chaturanga-Danda-Asana (The Plank Pose)
This pose is very helpful in toning your abdominal muscles specially the internal and external obliques and rectus abdominus. It also strengthens your back and leg muscles.
1. Place your hands and knees on the floor, with your wrist under the shoulder. Your hands should be straight, so that it supports the weight of your upper body with knees lined up under each hip (like a push up).
2. Pull your navel towards your spine, contracting your abdominal muscles. Make sure your hands and thighs are parallel to each other and in a vertical position.
3. Raise your right leg and extend it behind you.
4. Bring your right leg down and place the tip of the feet on the floor.
5. Now raise your left leg and extend it behind you.Bring your left leg down and place the tip of the feet on the floor. Make sure to maintain your torso position.
6. Your body would be in a plank position as you balance on your hands and tip of the feet.
7. Make sure your abdominal muscles and your legs are tight to maintain the position.
8. Hold it for 30-45 seconds or as long as you can.
9. Repeat the pose 3-5 times.
10. Do this yoga pose 3-4 times a week.
Do not drop your head and don't lift your hips into a v-position. Also try to maintain a straight line from head to heals distributing your weight equally.
Yoga Pose#4: Bhujang-Asana (The Cobra Pose)
1. Lie down with your face downward (touching your forehead to the ground).
2. Let your palms touch the ground just below your shoulders, as wide apart as your chest.
3. Now raise your elbows a little.
4. Start inhaling, while you raise your front body up to the navel.
5. Give maximum curve to your chest and abdomen, while looking upwards.
6. Do not separate your heels.
7. Hold the pose for 20-30 seconds, and then come back to the original position, exhaling.
8. Keeping your left cheek on the ground, leave the body in a relaxed state.
9. Repeat this pose 3-5 times.
Along with these poses, always try to have a balanced diet, and try to incorporate some cardiovascular exercises in your routine, so that you get maximum benefit for your workout.
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Effective Swiss ball exercises for a flat stomach
How to reduce stomach fat : beat the bulge
Do you know? fat burning foods which are rich in protein and fiber-rich carbohydrates encourage the body to use more fat as fuel, thus helping you to burn stomach fat.
If you have gone through my blog, you would have realized by now, that to get six pack abs, ab workouts are not enough as it only tones the muscles, and not burn stomach fat. Therefore one of the ways for you to burn fat, is to incorporate some fat burning foods in your diet.
Fat burning foods gives your metabolism a boast which leads to improved ability to burn your calories.
Fat Burning Foods That Burn Stomach Fat Are....
Protein...
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Breast
- Pork
- Egg whites
- Soy protein
Protein exerts a greater metabolic effect than carbohydrates or dietary fiber. It saves muscle when you burn calories and helps to keep your hunger down.
I would suggest you to take 1-2 grams of protein per pound(.45kg) of body weight daily, spread over 5-6 smaller meals.This will increase your metabolism, and burn more stomach fat.
A study shows that a protein rich meal helps you burn stomach fat as it significantly affects thermogenesis(process of increasing body's metabolism) when compared to fat-rich meal.Those of you who are vegetarians, soy protein is a great fat burning food option, and when coupled with healthy fat will help you burn stomach fat.
Whole Grains
- Oatmeal
- Brown rice
- Whole-Wheat bread......
they are high in fiber with good source of energy.
Whole grains digest more slowly which releases insulin slower and steadier as you eat them, thus keeping you full for longer period of time. This benefits your muscle mass and helps you to reduce stomach fat.
Calcium Benefits
Calcium from low fat dairy products is a good fat burning food option that promotes weight loss, because they promote energy expenditure over a 24 hour period.
Vitamin C Benefits
- Tomatoes
- Red and green bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Leafy green
- Kiwi
- Peaches
- Berries
- Citrus fruits....
are a great source of vitamin c, and if you have adequate levels of vitamin c in your body you are more likely to burn stomach fat during moderate workouts than those of you with less quantities of it.
Fat Can Help You Burn Fat
Another interesting fat burning food option is healthy fats......
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Peanuts
- Avocados
maximizes your fat burning potentialNever follow crash diets in order to lose weight quickly. It never works, but if you incorporate some of the above foods in your diet along with your stomach exercises, you will for surely achieve the waistline you always wanted.
A good core workout not only strengthens your abdominal muscles but also gives you a good posture and balance.
It is important that you follow these core workout tips, for effective workout results.
Core Workout Tip#1- Avoid Doing Lower Abs First
Lower ab exercises are more difficult to perform due to the greater weight of the lower body and also because rectus abdominis is weaker than the upper abs. Therefore an important core workout tip Is not to train your lower abs first.
Training the stronger section of the abs first will make it a lot harder for you to perform harder lower stomach exercises, as it will be fatigued, thus preventing you to perform decent number of reps.
Also remember that it is always better to perform ab exercises last whether it is upper or lower abs in your exercise routine.
Core Workout Tip#2- Breath Properly During Core Workout
When you reach the top position of the crunch, make sure to exhale. This helps in contracting your ab muscles, also try to hold it for a few seconds as this maximizes muscle involvement.
Core Workout Tip#3- Do Isometrics
Doing isometrics is a great core workout tip. Isometrics helps to tighten the ab muscles, which results in, you getting ripped abs.
Isometric means tightening your body part and holding that position for few seconds.
- Tense each muscle in your abs and hold it for 8-10 seconds, then relax for 8-10 seconds.
- Do 10-20 sets.
You can perform isometrics anywhere on your couch, office or in your car.
Core Workout Tip#4- Avoid Fast Digesting Carbohydrates
- Eating fast digesting carbohydrates limits the fat burning capacity and increases the fat storage capacity, because it increases the production of insulin in the body.
- Instead choose slow digesting carbohydrates (low glycemic index carbohydrates), in which the conversion of sugar in glucose is more steadier and gradual. Low glycemic index carbohydrates (also known as complex carbohydrates) will keep you full for longer period of time, thus reducing your total calorie intake.
- Avoid regular sodas, sports drinks, white bread, white potatoes etc.
- Choose oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruits, whole wheat, legumes, brown rice and vegetables.
Core Workout Tip#5- Vary Your Rep Speed
Change your rep speed from slow and controlled to fast. This will help you to build more power, size and strength to your muscle fiber in the midsection.
Core Workout Tip #6- Hanging Leg Raises Are Best For Lower Abs
Note- Consult you physician before attempting the exercise.
1. Jump to grab a high bar, so that your body hangs freely without touching the floor.
2. With a slight arc in your lower back, hang with your arms fully extended.
3. Bend your legs to 90 degree angle, and raise your thighs as high as possible, contracting your abdominal muscles.
4. Inhale and hold your breath when you bend your legs to 90 degrees.
5. Exhale before lowering your legs to the initial position.
6. Try to do 2-3 sets of 5 reps. As your muscles develop, increase your reps to 10.
Variation - As the bent-legs exercise becomes easy, do with straight legs.
Make sure that you stretch before you grab the bar to avoid pulling your muscle. Remember not to swing your body, and try to raise your thighs as high as you can.
Core Workout Tip#7- Decline Roman Chair Sit-Ups Are Best For Upper Abs
Note- Consult you physician before attempting the exercise.
1. Set the bench at an angle of 30-45 degrees.
2. Rest your legs through the pads and sit on the bench.
3. Place your hands behind the head, and lean back till you touch the bench.
4. perform crunches. Raise your upper body till its vertical.
5. Do 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps.
Make sure you don't go to far down when performing crunches.
Besides these core workout tips, you must remember that, for your abs to show up, You need to remove the fat from your belly first. So you must pay attention to what you eat .
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It is not only hard to reduce stomach fat, but if you are planning to get those abs, it is important that you first get rid of your bulge.
Stomach fat is the last thing that you want yourself to be associated with. It is not only unhealthy and ugly but can cause the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Ways To Reduce Stomach Fat Do you know? much of the fat trapped inside your stomach is air and gases, while the rest is liquid and food.
- Avoid swallowing air by eating slowly.
- Avoid drinks that produce gas.
- Foods like dried fruits, cauliflower, cabbage, sprouts, peppers are likely to create indigestion, which leads to formation of air inside the stomach.
- Avoid excess Salt intake as it makes you retain more fluid, contributing to stomach fat and feeling of sluggishness.
- Fried food causes bloating, as it digests slowly.
- Avoid long gaps between meals and eat slowly.
- Consume Foods Rich In Monounsaturated Fats
A study shows that monounsaturated fats are highly effective against heart disease and diabetes, and it significantly cuts down the risk of breast and lung cancer.
Foods such as olive oil, nuts, and seeds, dark chocolate, almonds, are healthy and they help to reduce stomach fat.
- Choose Boiled Foods to Reduce Stomach Fat
Boiled foods are a great source for providing nutrients to your body, without any fats in them.
Try to incorporate boiled vegetables in your diet, because of their nutritious properties, and also because they have water content in them, thus helping you to keep full and satisfied.
In order to make the bread soft after baking anti-enzymes are added to the dough. This causes your stomach to bloat.
Stress produces a hormone called cortisol. This hormone stimulates the appetite and causes cravings for fat. It also causes the body to store fat in your stomach.
- Forget About Sit-Ups And Crash Diets To Reduce Stomach Fat
No matter how many crunches you perform, you are unlikely to beat the bulge. In fact your waist might look even more bigger.
When you do crunches, you are working your core muscles, but not the fatty tissue. You need to reduce stomach fat first, for your abs to show up.
To reduce stomach fat incorporate cardiovascular exercises such as running, brisk walking, cycling, swimming etc for a minimum of 3 days in a week. This will increase your metabolism and help you to burn calories.
For burning maximum calories and loosing weight, try to perform cardiovascular exercises along with weight training.
Weight training along with cardiovascular exercises depletes glycogen stores rapidly in the body.Thus to replenish energy, your body will use fat as the primary source of fuel.
Along with the above points, you can incorporate fat burning Foods In Your Diet which is one of the healthy ways to reduce fat.
Visit my fat burning foods list page.
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Yoga poses for flat stomach.
Ab crunches have two opinions about them. Some say it is helpful in developing ripped abs, while others say it does not work.
In my opinion ab crunches does help in toning the belly, but if you are thinking it will help you in reducing your tummy fat, then you are mistaken. You should always remember that if you have 6 inch layer of fat around your waist, stomach crunches will never work for you, no matter how many crunches you perform. Ab crunches only tones your ab muscles.
Different types of stomach crunches if done properly will yield good results as long as you pay attention to the above points.
Some Basic Ab Crunches Are....
note- consult your physician before performing the below exercises
It is helpful for upper abdominal muscles
1. lie on your back and bend your knees.
2. Make a cross type position on your chest, with your right hand on your left shoulder and vice-verse.
3. Without moving your lower back to upper half part of the body slowly rise.
4. Exhale when you do ab crunch and inhale when you lower your back.
5. Do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps, taking rest for a minute after every set.
Remember to focus on your middle section when performing the ab crunches. You should feel the strain in your ab muscles, if not you are not doing the right way.
1. Lie down on your back, with your hands placed straight along the body, and palms facing towards the floor.
2. With bend knees slowly raise your legs in the air, and cross your legs
3. Now raise your hips off the floor and perform stomach crunches.
4. Do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps, taking rest for a minute after every set1. Lie down and bend your knees.
2. Keeping your feet flat on the floor, place your hands behind the head with your elbows projecting outwards.
3. Perform stomach crunches. Your left elbow should touch your right knee and vice-verse.
4. Do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps, taking rest for a minute after every set.
Besides performing these ab crunches, you should follow a balanced diet along with healthy eating habits. Also try to do incorporate cardiovascular exercises in your routine, which will help you to get better results.
For full oblique workout visit how to lose your love handles page.
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Lower ab workouts for toning lower stomach
How to reduce stomach fat : Beat the bulge.
Exercise ball exercises are a great way to tone your abs. It not only strengthens the abdominal and lower back muscles, which helps you to flatten your belly, but it also improves the balance and flexibility of the body.
Exercise ball is often referred to as Swiss ball. Other names for exercise ball are stability ball, balance ball, yoga ball, Swedish ball etc.
Benefits Of Exercise Ball Exercises
Exercise ball exercises helps you to increase the muscle activity, this is because it stabilizes the body to balance on the Swiss ball, and also due to you being elevated from the floor.This leads to more efficient workout for the core region.
A study shows that the muscle activity is significantly higher for exercise ball exercises when compared with floor crunches.
Swiss ball not only gives you the element of fun and excitement as you get accustomed to it, but it is also inexpensive, when compared with other exercise equipments.
Some Exercise Ball Exercise Are.....
Abdominal Crunches Using Swiss Ball
Note- consult your physician before performing these exercises
Be sure to check your weight chart before selecting a Swiss ball.
1. Sit on the Swiss ball, with feet spread wide.
2. Bend your knees and move your feet forward slowly.
3. Lower your hips towards the floor.
4. With a upright position, lean back slightly with the lower back comfortably pressed against the ball.
5. Put your hands behind the head.
6. Tighten your abs as you curl your body forward, and hold it for two seconds. Make sure to maintain your balance on the ball as you curl your body forward.
7. Exhale as you curl and inhale as you return back
8. Do 15-reps
Swiss Ball Exercises - For Lower Abs (reverse ab crunches)
1. Lie on your back pressed into the floor, with your hands on the side and palms down.
2. Raise your hips towards your chest, contracting your lower abs and lift the ball by curling your tailbone up.
3. Exhale when you lift the Swiss ball and inhale when you lower your hips slowly to the starting position.
Make sure to focus on your lower abs, and do the exercise with a slow movement.
Exercise Ball Exercises - Reduce Love Handles (obliques)
1. Put your one side against the exercise ball and bend your bottom knee for support.
2. Put your hand behind the head.
3. Lift your torso off the ball (bending it towards the hip).
4. Hold it for two seconds.
5. Exhale as you lift and inhale as you lower your torso.
6. Do 10-reps and then switch sides.
Exercise Ball Exercises - Knee Rolls For Obliques
1. Lie down on your back with your arms straight out to the sides and with palms down.
2. Put your knees over the ball and roll it towards the right side.
3. Roll down as far as you can and then return to the starting position.
4. Pause for a moment and then roll down towards the left side.
5. Inhale when you roll the Swiss ball downwards and exhale when you move upwards.
If you follow the exercise ball exercises along with your ab workout routine, and have a balanced diet, it will definitely help you tone your core area with much greater results.
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Effective ab crunches for flat stomach
Lower ab workouts for toning your lower stomach
Yoga poses for flat stomach
Do you know? tummy fat causes greater risk of heart disease and diabetes.
If you have tummy fat you are unlikely to get those six pack that you always desired. Doing sit-ups or crunches everyday would not make any difference.
You might be following every tip from your trainer or reading articles from the net, but there are some interesting facts that you must know about stomach fat.
Eating Too Much Carbohydrates And Sugar Causes Tummy Fat
The reason you accumulate stomach fat is because you are having too much sugar/carbohydrates in your diet. Your body not only does not burn them but it actually stores it around your stomach area.
It is important that you pay attention to what you eat. You should always avoid eating highly processed and high sugar, as they are low quality and high stress foods. Sugar is not only loaded with calories, but has lot of negative health effects such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, osteoporosis etc.
Try to choose foods that have natural sugar in them such as fruits, vegetables, beans, sweet potatoes etc.Stress Makes You Fat
Daily stress causes you to do binge eating leading to metabolic syndrome, which results in increased tummy fat.
Metabolic syndrome produces a hormone called cortisol which causes you to gain excess body fat on your stomach and around your waist.
Getting Older Makes Your Tummy Fat
You might be wondering that you are putting on weight even when you haven't changed your eating or exercise habits. The answer to this is...... you are getting older.
When you get older your metabolism drops, therefore the bodies ability to burn calories slows down even with the same exercise routine. It is recommended that you should increase the duration of cardiovascular exercises, in order to balance the slow down in metabolism as you get older.
A study shows that men must increase their running distance by every 1.4 miles annually after the age of 30, if they want to maintain their metabolism and lean muscles, and not gain tummy fat.
Late Night Snacking It is generally seen that when you are in front of television, you are likely to snack as well.
You tend to eat more when you are distracted, this is because you are not concentrating on how much you are eating. This can be dangerous, and it can cause stomach fat. Those snacks may end up costing you 500 or more calories.
A simple change in your eating habits along with cardiovascular exercises will make a lot of difference in cutting down your tummy fat.
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Do you know what are love handles?
Well it is referred to as deposits of fat around the waist, also known as spare tire. The general term for love handles is obliques.
To complete your abdominal workouts, it is important that you work your love handles which run diagonally from your lower ribs to the hipbone. They are responsible for your trunk rotation and lateral flexion of the torso.
Strong obliques not only give proper definition to the abs, but also improves your posture, balance and agility.
There Are Two Types Of Obliques Muscle
1. External obliques
It is a superficial and largest muscle, occupying the sides of the anterior wall of the abdomen. In most people this set of muscle is not visible due to the fat deposits, and due to the small size of the muscle.
2. Internal obliques
This set of obliques muscle creates a V-shape, that runs around the front hip to the lower ribs. It works with the transverse abdominal muscle, to support the contents in the abdominal region.
Only Sit-Ups Or Crunches Don't Tone Your Obliques
To eliminate love handles many products offer spot reduction,which is very unlikely.Doing 200 crunches a day would also not make any difference to your waistline.
In order to tone your obliques you will first need to reduce your tummy fat through cardiovascular exercises and a balanced diet and only then you will see effective results for your workouts, because getting rid of love handles is just the matter of reducing body fat.
Exercises For Love Handles
Note- consult your physician before performing these exercises
This exercise tightens your back muscles which is important especially for love handles. Tighter back muscles helps to create a balance, which reduces fat from your stomach and your back.
1. Lie on your stomach, with your arms stretched out or on your sides parallel to your body.
2. lift both your feet along with your knees with some distance from the floor.
3. Now flutter your legs rapidly for about 20-30 seconds.
4.Take a break for a few seconds.
5. Do 10-15 reps.
This exercise targets your internal and external obliques.
1. Lie on your back and bend your knees.
2. Put both hands behind the head.
3. Lift your head.
4. Twist your head to the left, while bringing your right elbow to touch your left knee with right leg stretched out.
5. Now twist your head to the right, while bringing your left elbow to touch your right knee with left leg stretched out.
6. Do 20-25 reps.
You can Also visit my page on how to reduce love handles with exercise ball exercises.
One of the important factors in your ab workout routine, which is often neglected is the lower stomach area.These are One such set of muscles that needs to be worked properly for you to get those perfect abs.
Don't forget that lower stomach exercises will only be beneficial if you do other things right ....maintaining a proper diet, healthy eating habits, cutting fat intake etc.
Incorporate Cardiovascular exercises such as aerobics, swimming, cycling.....etc along with your lower ab workout, as it burns body fat.
Lower ab workouts are more difficult to perform mainly because lower abdominal is weaker than upper portion and also due to more lower body weight. I will recommended, that you perform your lower ab workouts first and then your upper abs. By doing this you will not feel fatigued.
Some Of The Lower Ab Workouts are...
Note-Consult your physician before performing these exercises.
- Lower Stomach Exercises # 1 : Hanging Leg Raises
1. Jump to grab a high bar, so that your body hangs freely without touching the floor.
2. With a slight arc in your lower back, hang with your arms fully extended.
3. Bend your legs to 90 degree angle, and raise your thighs as high as possible, contracting your abdominal muscles.
4. Inhale and hold your breath when you bend your legs to 90 degrees.
5. Exhale before lowering your legs to the initial position.
6. Try to do 2-3 sets of 5 reps. As your muscles develop, increase your reps to 10.
Variation - As the bent-legs exercise becomes easy, do with straight legs.
Make sure that you stretch before you grab the bar to avoid pulling your muscle. Remember not to swing your body, and try to raise your thighs as high as you can.- Lower Stomach Exercises # 2 : Leg Lifts
1. Lie down on your back with hands on your bottom(use a rolled up towel to support your lower back).
2. Slowly raise your feet 6-18 inches off the ground while keeping your head planted on the ground.
3. Hold your feet for at least 5-10 seconds, or as long as you can.
4. Bring your feet to the ground slowly and make sure not to drop them.
5. Do 2-3 sets of 5 leg lifts.
Variation- As your feet are in the air you can put your left foot above your right foot and vice-verse.This will help your oblique muscles.
- Lower Stomach Exercises # 3 : Seated Leg Lifts
1. Sit on a bench or chair with your hands in the air.
2. Keeping both knees bent, slowly raise them and bring towards your chest.To avoid injuries do not let your lower back to arch.
3. Hold it for a few seconds, as you contract your abdominal muscles and then straighten your knees, so that it is fully extended.
4. Don't put your feet on the ground and perform 10-reps at a go.
5. Do 3-sets of 10 reps.
- Lower Stomach Exercises # 4 : Pelvic Tilt
1. Lie on your back with knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Place your hands straight over your head or under your bottom.
3. Tighten your stomach muscles (pulling your belly button towards the spine) while pressing your lower back against the floor.
4. Hold it for 5-10 seconds.
5. Do 10-20 reps.
- Lower Ab Workouts # 5 : Standing Trunk Twist
1. Stand with your feet apart, keeping your legs and waist in one place
2. Twist your body to the right (with a punching motion), with your left arm as the punching arm and vice-verse
3. Do 100-reps (50 on each side)
As your fitness improves, you can increase the number of repetitions for the above lower ab workouts.
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