Whenever you are doing and ab workout, think about having a strong core – moving fluidly from your core in a straight line, no matter what your exercise. Think of you body like an engine piston, making the same steady motion each time.
Once these become easy, hold onto weights or a resistance band to make them harder. While it is popular, do not have someone hold your feet down – this works your hip muscles more than your abs.
Breathing is essential for effective crunches—be sure that your exhalations and inhalations as you crunch up and come back down are very slow. [2] X Expert Source Monica MorrisACE Certified Personal Trainer Expert Interview. 18 November 2019. Work the sides of your abs with side-crunches. After raising your shoulder, twist from your abs to the side so that your elbow touches the floor. Without returning to the floor, twist to the other side as well, Touch each side 15-20 times. Bicycle crunches, are even harder: pick your legs up off the ground, bending your knees so that your lower legs are parallel to the ground. With every crunch, alternate pumping your legs as if you were riding a bike.
Keep your legs straight throughout the exercise. For a challenge, do a “hanging leg lift. " Hanging from your hands off of a pull-up bar, raise your straight legs up until your body forms an “L. " You can add weights or hanging medicine balls as well to make the exercise harder.
If you don’t have an ab roller, use rounded barbell weights instead.
Make planks more difficult by adding “toe-taps:” lift one foot off the ground 6 inches (15. 2 cm) and return it slowly. Lift each foot 20 times.
Ears over your shoulders. Shoulders over your hips. Hips over your knees. Knees over your ankles.
Perform 20 sit-ups, 20 push-ups, and 2 minutes of planks during commercial breaks on TV. Take a break from the computer and do 20 crunches every hour during work. Perform 10-15 minutes of simple exercises right when you wake up in the morning, or before bed. Take the stairs, run to work, or bike to the store whenever possible.
Push-ups: Place your toes and both hands (shoulder length apart) on the floor. Focus on keeping your spine straight as you lower yourself to the ground so your nose is roughly 6 inches (15 cm) from the floor. Slowly push back up to your starting position. Aim for 20 reps. (Biceps, Triceps, Pecs) Pull-up: Grip a horizontal bar with both hands so your palms face towards you body. Using your arms, pull your chin above the bar and slowly lower yourself down. Aim for 5-10 reps. (Biceps, Triceps, Deltoids) Wall Sits: Sit as if you were in a chair with your back against the wall. Your legs will form a right angle at the knee and you back should stay straight against the wall. Hold for one minute at a time. (Quads, glutes). Squats: With your feet shoulder length apart, slowly lower your butt to the floor. Try to keep your knees directly in line with your ankles, not leaning over them. Slowly return to standing position. This exercise is great with weights as well. Aim for 15-20 reps. (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes).
Interval training is a workout that requires short bursts of vigorous activity followed by longer periods of low activity, like jogging around a track and sprinting every 4th lap. Researchers believe that interval training helps burn fat four times faster than exercising at the same intensity for longer times. [4] X Research source
Substitute baked potatoes for a side salad. Eat yogurt and granola in the morning instead of eggs and cheese. Cut back on red meat and eat chicken or turkey instead. Plan small snacks like fruit and vegetables to keep from hungrily over-eating during a meal. Eat slowly – it takes 20 minutes for you to feel “full,” but if you eat quickly you’ll continue eating food until this point.
Refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, pasta, and rice. Processed Sugars, found in sweetened juices, soda, and candy, are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream but brings your metabolism to a crawl. Saturated Fats, found in fried food, fatty red meat, and most fast-food. [6] X Research source
If you maintain similar diet each day, simply adding 30 minutes of daily exercise will burn away calories and flatten your stomach over time. Similarly, switching from a high-calorie breakfast like bacon and eggs to sometime like yogurt and granola will decrease you “net calorie” use significantly. Use a fitness tracker, like Nike Fit, Fitbit, or MapMyRun to monitor how many calories you burn when you exercise.
