Abs ( How To )

Mar 30, 2011 by Tatianna

 

I wanted to share some tips about Abs. Abs are actually not that hard to get if you know what to do.

First of all, I would like to say, your abs or your core ( the proper way to call your abs ) is one of the most important fitness foundations you have to develop. If you don’t have a strong core, your fitness routine will not go far. You have to develop strength from your core and them build on that foundation.

To build strength in your core:   Begin by holding an elbow plank position for 1 minute and two rounds, every day before and after your workout.   If that becomes to easy to do, elevate your legs onto a chair and do the same, 1 minute of two rounds before and after your workout. When that becomes easy to do move your elbows more forward to increase the challenge, and do again 1 minute and two rounds before and after your workout.   To increase the challenge hold the plank and bring one leg towards your chest as if you were marching, switching the legs back and forth.  When you feel like the things above become more easy to do, instead of a chair, elevate your legs against a wall and then do a plank for 1 minutes of two rounds, before and after your workouts.   Just doing all of those strengthening challenges your core will begin to gain strength and you will start seeing the difference in your over all workouts.  This is to build your core foundation, now lets get to other fun things.

To have strong and toned abs you have to understand how your body works.  You can’t just do abs exercises alone and expect amazing results.

Some time ago, very long time ago, I heard a story that Britney Spears does 500 crunches a day to get the abs she has.   To me, that not only sounds absurd, but I am sure 500 crunches a day will not get you the great results you want.  Who wants to do 500 crunches a day?  I don’t.  Plus crunches just don’t work, they are a complete waste of time.   The movement of a crunch is not dynamic, it is up and down and only somewhat works the top of your abdominal.   And if you do that every day, within about a week, your body will get use to that movement and then you are totally wasting your time.

In order to get abs of your dreams your workouts have to be dynamic and you have to engage your abs in every exercise you do. That is what you are suppose to do, your core supports your body in every movement, that is why it’s called The Core.   If you learn how to use your core in every movement you do, not only in your workout but through out your daily life – you will have the abs that you always wanted.  Using your abs in simple movements such as walking and getting out of bed will also strengthen your back, reducing the risk of back problems in the future.  Now to other fun tips 🙂

Your body does not burn fat off one targeted area. In order to get abs, you have to burn fat from all over your body. But as I stated earlier in this post, every single exercise you do, your abdominal’s is the place you have to extract the force from.  Let it be, running, walking, plyometrics, push-ups, pull-ups, burpies, side-burpies, step ups, lifting weights etc.   Learn to engage your abs – and you will have abs.

My personal favorite abs exercise of all is – Hanging Leg Raises. The best exercise ever.  If you are hanging on a bar, raise completely straight legs up all the way where you can touch the bar with your feet.   Beginners of course will not be able to do that, so you will have to start with hanging knee raises first.   But once you master those, you can straighten your legs and do it the hard way.   Begin by doing 3 sets of 10 reps, once that becomes more easier to do, on the 10th rep hold for 10 seconds.   That is the best and the most effective abs exercise, it targets all of your abdominal muscles and builds an amazing strength.

I will soon be posting workout videos and I will begin with a demonstration on how to strengthen your core to build your fitness foundation.

Let Me know how you liked my post 🙂 Leave me a comment if you have any suggestions or other abs tips that you can recommend,  I love feedback

Tatianna

PS – You might also like my “How to Get a Firm Butt” post