Best Abs Exercises
Ab Exercises - The Best Ab Exercises
By Vince DelMonte
When it comes to getting a solid six pack,
doing the right ab exercises is crucial. You
can spend hours doing needless sit-ups that
aren't really going to have all that much benefit,
much to your disappointment. Taking the time
to choose smart ab exercises will save you not
only gym time, but a great deal of frustration
as well. In this article we will discuss the
best lower ab exercises and the best home ab
exercises as well.
The best movements for the abdominal muscles
are going to be ones that reduce your overall
stability. The reason for this is because this
will require all your muscle tissues, even the
ones deep within the core, to contract in order
to maintain balance. When you perform regular
sit-ups, for example, they are really only going
to target the more superficial muscles; one
that will still help, but not get you near the
results you could be seeing.
So what ab exercises are ones that reduce your
balance?
Basically, anything done on an unstable surface
is going to get the job done. This would include
movements such as walking across a balance beam,
performing one leg squats, one arm shoulder
presses, or bent over dumbbell rows standing
on one leg and of course, utilizing an exercise
ball for any laying abdominal movement you perform.
Working on a BOSU ball and stability ball ab
exercises are also excellent options. As long
as you have a set of free weights and stability
ball then these would qualify as your best home
ab exercises as well.
By far the most effective lower ab exercises
are hanging leg raises while you use your lower
abs to rotate your pelvis which is the secret
to performing this effectively. Lying leg raises,
lying leg raises on a 45 degree incline and
cable crunches are also rock hard ab exercises.
Another area you might want to venture into
with your ab exercises are those that utilize
heavy weights.
While this will not necessarily get you 'cut'
so that all your individual muscles are showing
- that takes having low levels of body fat,
what weighted movements will do is help further
build the muscle tissue and make your abs "pop".
The more muscle mass you have, the faster your
metabolic rate will then be, so in an indirect
way, that could in fact help you burn off excess
body fat.
Furthermore, doing weighted movements will
also increase your strength greatly, reducing
the risk of injuries from any other type of
exercise you may attempt. Weighted ball crunches
with a stability ball on your chest is my favorite
home ab exercises.
When choosing when to perform your ab exercises,
if you are looking for performance, do them
on a separate day from all your other work.
Just like any muscle group, you want to be fresh
when you do them.
If, on the other hand, you are more just doing
them to help build some strength, but more to
round out your exercise program, then you should
be doing them at the end of your workout session.
This will prevent them from fatiguing early,
because they are going to be predominately used
in all the other lifts you perform (heavy squats
for example).
In many cases this rule can be bent though.
For example, if a client comes to me and their
abs are the weakest muscle group then performing
them at the end of the workout makes no sense
because they will be pre fatigued from the workout
and you will not be able to train them as intensely
so prioritizing your abs at the start of the
workout can become the exception in this case.
So, next time you are creating your workout
and are picking out ab exercises, keep these
points in mind. Having good dedication to performing
these exercises on a regular basis and then
following a clean diet based around raw vegetables
and proteins are the two main components to
developing that six-pack you're hoping for.
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About the Author:
Vince DelMonte
is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at
http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com
He specializes in helping chubby guys and
gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements
or dieting.
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