Getting Abs
You can do cardio or weight training almost every day, but if you don't have a defined midsection, something will be be missing. Nothing completes an in-shape physique like a flat tummy on a woman or ripped abs on a man. It shows that you've went the extra mile to get into optimal
Best Ab Exercises
shape. If you do the best ab exercises you can have the body you've always wanted.
There's a good chance that when you were a kid in gym class you were told that regular sit-ups on the floor are the best ab exercise to do. However, they tend to work your hip flexors more than the abs and can be bad for your lower back. Nowadays, most people know that crunches are a superior ab exercise and target the abdominal muscles better. When you do crunches you’ll want to just lift your upper body a short distance off the floor or bench and concentrate on contracting, or 'crunching', the ab muscles hard. Don't put your heads behind your head, as this can cause a neck injury. Put at the sides of your head or fold your arms over your chest.
The only problem with performing crunches on the floor or a bench is that you won't get a stretch in the abs when you do them. If you do crunches on a core ball you can get a nice stretch at the bottom of every rep. Performing abdominal crunches on a core ball will allow you to lower your upper body deeper without a bench or the floor stopping you. This makes crunches on a core ball one of the best ab exercises. You can also perform crunches with a light medicine ball held in your hands above you or behind you for some added resistance. To hit the ab-obliques tie-ins you can add a twist to each side on alternating reps.
Another one of the best abdominal exercises is the leg raise. This exercise focuses on your lower abs. You can do them while gripping and hanging from an overhead bar, though you’re probably better off using arm harnesses so that your grip doesn’t give out before your ab muscles. Many people will only raise their legs up until they are parellel to the floor when they do leg raises. However, you’ll get more out of this great abdominal exercise if you raise your legs up higher and round the lower back some. You also have to avoid swinging back and forth too much when you perform leg raises for your lower abs. Many gyms have equipment that will allow you to do leg raises with back support to prevent swinging. As with crunches or just about any other ab exercise, you can add a twist on each rep.
You don't have to completely eliminate sit-ups from your ab workouts. Decline twisting sit-ups are one of the best abdominal exercises for hitting the abs and obliques. Lie on a declined bench and use your abdominal muscles to pull your upper body up while twisting to each side on alternating reps. Again, you need to avoid putting your hands behind your head and pulling on the neck.
Another one of the top ab exercises can be done on an ab roller. The ab roller will give you some variety in targeting your abdominal muscles. Get down on your knees, grip the ab roller, and roll it forward until your upper body and arms are straight out and close to the floor. This is where you return to the starting position, using your abs to get there.
The best ab exercise for the obliques is the side bend. You can lie on your side and do crunches to the other side as a form of the side bend exercise. You can also hold a light dumbbell or cable in one hand and bend to the opposite side to perform this exercise.
If you want to try an incredible program that includes advice on dieting, cardio workouts, weight training, and ab workouts you should check out The Truth About Abs.
