The Best Exercises For A Six Pack
September 4, 2011 by admin
Filed under CTL Contributors
So you wish to know how to get a six pack fast? First, it is important to include exercises that work all the different parts of the core group of muscles. If someone who is training simply concentrates on one area of their stomach, there workout won’t be as effective. The best abs exercises, blend working the oblique, which are the side muscles, the lower abdominals, the mid section and also the top section.
One of the most popular stomach exercises is crunches. These are a very effective exercise and very convenient since they can be performed anywhere without any gym apparatus. Another popular exercise which is actually just another form of the crunch is the side crunch, which works out the oblique.
Some of the experts consider the best abs exercises to be included in a Pilate’s workout. The reason for this is due to the fact that in Pilates, the whole focus is on the center of the body which is the core muscles. Any movement in a Pilate’s workout will work the core muscles either indirectly or directly.
Another healthy exercise that some fitness experts considers to be one of the best stomach exercises involves laying flat on your belly, leg straight and then raising your body up using your arms as your hands are clasped together and keeping your body straight as if doing a pushup. Hold this position for as long as you can stand. This is an excellent movement to build the entire stomach.
Remember again though that simply because one individual may consider a specific exercise to be the best stomach exercise that doesn’t definitely mean it’s the best for everyone. Each person’s body is different and will respond differently to certain movements. Any one serious about working on the abdominal muscles will find it most useful to try one or two different stomach exercises and then determine which one they can both feel and get results with.
If one exercise routine simply too tough to do with correct form or does not feel like it has done anything for the muscle group worked, that routine is clearly not the best and the person doing the workout should find what works most efficiently for them.
These are just a few of the exercises you might consider. If you would like to find out how to get six pack abs try this six pack abs workout
How to Breathe For a Tighter Waist
December 13, 2010 by admin
Filed under CTL Contributors
The crunch exercise is a cornerstone of abdominal training. This exercise develops the muscles of the abs to help you build that much-desired six-pack. But did you know there’s a way to perform abdominal crunches that can actually decrease the size of your waist?
The key to this technique is the top position of the crunch where your abdominals are contracted as hard as they are able to.
When you’re in the top position, breathe in and out slowly a few times. Try to relax every other muscle except the abs. This breathing in and out will intensify the muscle contraction (as you will find out very right away).
Here’s how it works:
The muscles of the abdomen are arranged in layers around your midsection, similar in concept to the rings in a tree. While you’re contracting the rectus abdominus (the top front layer of your abs, known as the six-pack) continuously, the deep abdominal muscle fibers are relaxing and contracting every time you breathe.
Each time the deep fibers relax, your rectus abdominus (because it is contracting so hard) will squeeze them in a little more, making your waist-area a little smaller and tighter.
The reason this works to tighten up your waist is straightforward. Usually, most people’s abdominal muscles just sit there. They don’t stay tight, therefore your abdominal area tends to relax forward and outward.
This technique teaches your abdominals to maintain a degree of tightness and tone in them even when you are relaxed. This keeps your abdominals in, leading to a visually smaller waist.
The Abdominal Crunch, when performed in this fashion, can be effective for decrease waist size even without additional fat loss training and eating.
That being said, you will get better results with this exercise if you do use a targeted fat-loss training program while using this technique.
Are Your 6 Pack Abs Still Not Showing?
October 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under CTL Contributors
You may be getting discouraged, and it’s hardly surprising, because you have exercised those six pack abs for so long, and they are still not defined. How many more crunches do i have to do to get them developed enough to show as a great set of six pack abs?
Firstly, you are not the only one that this has happened to, there are many more people in this situation, so take heart, and with a few changes, your abs and six pack will be defined very soon. Even with the best of intentions, which can be seen by the number of crunches we perform daily, not every one can get their perfect abs to show. You feel that your abdominal muscles are way stronger, nevertheless they still don’t show, so what exactly is going on? Well, what you need to do first is to make absolutely sure that it is your abs that you are targeting in your crunches, an also make sure that you are not rushing through them. For many workout enthusiasts, it is the number they can do in a fixed time that is important, but that lowers the level of the exercise. To benefit more, you need to hold each contraction of the abs for a few seconds, and if you are rushing to beat the latest record of number of the crunches in two minutes, then you cannot do this, and the crunches will not be as successful for you. So slow the exercises you are doing, and improve the quality of your exercises, and any other workouts you do that target the abs muscles.
The next thing you need to do is to find out what your body fat ratio is – you will be able to do this on the weighing machines at the gym if your bathroom scales don’t tell you. This number should be around 12, but if yours is a lot higher than this, then that explains why your 6 pack abs are not defined. The body fat ratio is an indicator to inform you how much body fat you have, and the bigger the number, the more layers of fat your body has. The more fat you have, the more layers of fat are covering your abdominal muscles, so if you have been doing your exercises correctly, your abs will be well developed but just hidden by too much fat.
Now then, if too much is the cause of your abs to not be defined as great six pack abdominals what are your options? You obviously need to lose some of those fat from your body, and crunches alone will not do this for you. You need to do some cardio exercises, to lose some fat. Don’t panic this doesn’t automatically mean that you have to work even longer in the gym each day. You will probably spend less time on your abs exercises, and more time doing cardio. If you can eat a little less, you will be well on your way to losing some body fat. Make sure your diet is healthy for you, and not over doing the alcohol. The occasional drink is fine, but drinking alcohol on a regular basis is just providing your body with too many unneccessary calories.
So, to summarize, do your exercises properly, lose some body fat and your 6 pack abdominals will be defined and showing like those on others you’ve been jealously watching.

