You can find plenty of suggestions for abdominal workouts if you search online, but how do you know which one will really work? You can take classes, buy machines, go to the gym or just do sit-ups and crunches.
Everybody has opinions about ab workouts: which individual exercises are the most effective, whether you should do something old or new, whether it should be done on a machine, how often they need to be done, etc. It doesn't matter which approach you think is best, what matters is that you work your whole body. This will actually help your ab region as well because you will be burning calories while you tone your groups of muscles.
Regardless of the abdominal exercises you choose to include in your physical workout routine, make sure you add in some resistance training as well. This can mean lifting weights, or using any kind of resistance machine, whether at home or at the gym. If you truly want to see results, you can't just do exercises that target your abs, you need to do a variety.
Even if you are working on other parts of your body, your stomach and abs benefit too. This is true for cardio workouts as well which should be included in your routine too.
Ab rollers are useful, inexpensive tools that are great for ab workouts. This tool is small and easy to move around and store in the home. An ab roller looks like a wheel with handles, and that's all it really is. All you do is kneel down in front of it, take hold of the handles and roll it toward and way from you.
While everyone has heard of doing crunches as part of an abdominal workout, if you do them on a medicine ball you can get better results, as your range of movement is greatly enhanced on a ball. Medicine balls are about the same sizes as soccer balls and are heavy; don't confuse them with stability balls which are larger and also have some good uses. You can also do plank exercises on the medicine ball; this is where you put your hands on the medicine ball and put the rest of your body in a push up kind of position. If you want to make this more challenging, do leg lifts while you do this kind of exercise. If you aren't used to doing these kinds of exercises, though, you can do them on a regular mat before moving up to the medicine ball.
When you work your abs you can also do leg lifts. When you do them regularly these simple (but powerful) exercises can make a big difference. To do leg lifts, you start by laying on your back with your arms on the mat, palms down. Bending your legs a little bit, raise them up as high as you can, hold them for a couple of seconds and then lower them back down. At first, you may have trouble raising the legs very high; don't worry, as getting them off the floor at all will be beneficial, and you'll gradually be able to get them higher.
The weighted crunch machines you use at the gym or buy for your home, whether you're using Nautilus or a different brand, are good because they allow you to control exactly how much resistance you work with and you can adjust the machine based on what you are capable of working with. Machine weighted crunches are typically a lot more effective than traditional crunches.
Ab workouts, then, can take many different forms, although all the exercises end up targeting the same muscle groups.
In conclusion, it is a good idea to do abdominal workouts that are not too difficult for you because then you will be more likely to stick with them. Remember, in terms of working out and being fit, consistency is the answer. There's nothing bad about doing one type of exercise for a while and then changing things up every few months; in fact, this can often be quite beneficial. The important thing is to do something that's effective, whether it's one of the ab workouts we've covered here or another good alternative.
Everybody has opinions about ab workouts: which individual exercises are the most effective, whether you should do something old or new, whether it should be done on a machine, how often they need to be done, etc. It doesn't matter which approach you think is best, what matters is that you work your whole body. This will actually help your ab region as well because you will be burning calories while you tone your groups of muscles.
Regardless of the abdominal exercises you choose to include in your physical workout routine, make sure you add in some resistance training as well. This can mean lifting weights, or using any kind of resistance machine, whether at home or at the gym. If you truly want to see results, you can't just do exercises that target your abs, you need to do a variety.
Even if you are working on other parts of your body, your stomach and abs benefit too. This is true for cardio workouts as well which should be included in your routine too.
Ab rollers are useful, inexpensive tools that are great for ab workouts. This tool is small and easy to move around and store in the home. An ab roller looks like a wheel with handles, and that's all it really is. All you do is kneel down in front of it, take hold of the handles and roll it toward and way from you.
While everyone has heard of doing crunches as part of an abdominal workout, if you do them on a medicine ball you can get better results, as your range of movement is greatly enhanced on a ball. Medicine balls are about the same sizes as soccer balls and are heavy; don't confuse them with stability balls which are larger and also have some good uses. You can also do plank exercises on the medicine ball; this is where you put your hands on the medicine ball and put the rest of your body in a push up kind of position. If you want to make this more challenging, do leg lifts while you do this kind of exercise. If you aren't used to doing these kinds of exercises, though, you can do them on a regular mat before moving up to the medicine ball.
When you work your abs you can also do leg lifts. When you do them regularly these simple (but powerful) exercises can make a big difference. To do leg lifts, you start by laying on your back with your arms on the mat, palms down. Bending your legs a little bit, raise them up as high as you can, hold them for a couple of seconds and then lower them back down. At first, you may have trouble raising the legs very high; don't worry, as getting them off the floor at all will be beneficial, and you'll gradually be able to get them higher.
The weighted crunch machines you use at the gym or buy for your home, whether you're using Nautilus or a different brand, are good because they allow you to control exactly how much resistance you work with and you can adjust the machine based on what you are capable of working with. Machine weighted crunches are typically a lot more effective than traditional crunches.
Ab workouts, then, can take many different forms, although all the exercises end up targeting the same muscle groups.
In conclusion, it is a good idea to do abdominal workouts that are not too difficult for you because then you will be more likely to stick with them. Remember, in terms of working out and being fit, consistency is the answer. There's nothing bad about doing one type of exercise for a while and then changing things up every few months; in fact, this can often be quite beneficial. The important thing is to do something that's effective, whether it's one of the ab workouts we've covered here or another good alternative.
About the Author:
This article writer is a California semi-retired writer who enjoys talking about workout themes for blogs that include www.exerciseequipmentguide.com.
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