Flatten Your Abs-- Exercises That Actually Work Related Links Slim Your Thighs and Buns With These Exercises Home Remedies for Acne Natural Masks for Acne Updated May 7, 2009 By Amanda Gillespie, Featured Columnist Most of us hate some part of our bodies. Ask anybody. They secretly hate their thighs or their butt or something. But almost everyone I know has a secret hatred of their abs. Why the heck won't they get flat, no matter how much I exercise and diet? Truth be told, your middle is different from the rest of your body. It's stronger. That makes these muscles very difficult to impress with normal exercise. To get your abs' attention takes time and a multiple-angled strategy. You have to hit them from several different angles. Remember when Janet Jackson had those amazing abs? She finally revealed on Ellen Degeneres' show that she did an ab roller, the kind that looks like a rolling pin and that you roll out like you are scrubbing a floor. Well, she did this torture for like 40 minutes a day. Here is what works for me: 1. Basic 100. Ask any really thin person what's their secret and they won't tell you. But I have listened closely over the years to friends who never have trouble maintaining their weight, and a consistent theme emerged. They all do 100 sit-ups a day. So, I started doing this 100-a day thing. I started out with 25 for the first month. I got up to 80 a day by the third month. Ladies, it really does make your abs stronger. 2. Rolling Pin. This means getting down on your knees and doing the scrubbing the floor motion. Your abs hate it. But it does make them flat over time. The reason that the rolling pin or "ab roller" works is that it is actually a plank. The plank hold is a highly effective way to flatten your abs. Then, the rolling pin makes the plank hold harder by forcing your abs to maintain your back in a safe position through a range of motion. That's about the hardest thing you can ask your abs to do. 3. Kick. Ladies, remember Tae Bo? Well, even if you don't, almost all forms of martial arts require leg kicks. And it leg kicks that are the world's best exercise for to shrinking the sides of your waist line and that lower part of your belly that is below your belly button. 4.Vertical Leg Crunch. It is what the women is doing in the picture above. Raise your legs and crunch up toward them. Try for 3 sets of 15. 5. Plank holds. These are killers but they truly work to flatten and strengthen your abs. Aim for a hold of at least 1 minute before resting. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Finally, a word about the difference between crunches and sit-ups. Some of you may be asking- -are sit-ups what I mean or are "crunches" better than sit-ups. I know the controversy over which is better is all the rage. Sit-ups supposedly are worse than crunches because they don't engage a muscle called the "psoas". These are the muscles that connect your back to your legs and enable you to pull your legs closer to your chest. Supposedly, sit-ups activate the thighs more than the abs..blah,blah, blah. For this reason, you'll see a lot of words around the web devoted to downing sit-ups as a way to whittle your waist. Listen, this is what I know first-hand. Most people don't do sit-ups or crunches. So, the question of which is better is just nibbling at the margins. Ask yourself this question. Is your stomach sore after you do 100 st-ups? Can you feel it in your abs? If you can, then that means you have used those muscles. Period. Don't stress over whether you have just done a sit-up or a crunch. Believe me, you can't raise your body up from the floor without using your abs. Just can't do it. So, aim for 100 a day. Better yet, rest every other day for faster results, since your body needs a day of rest for your muscles to get stronger. If you use an exercise ball to do your abs work, you'll also accelerate your results. Why? Because the ball forces you to maintain your balance, and your body burns calories when it tries to maintain its balance. After about a month, you will notice a little something. You are starting to lose weight. The added muscle fibers will burn about 70 calories a day per pound of muscle. Nice bonus. Find out more information on daily routines that can help you lose weight:Get Your Thighs Skinny--Thighs, Legs Buns Exercises / Small Steps to Lose Big Pounds / Smoothies You Can Make At Home Sign Up Now--it's free, fast and easy |
chootoo Health. Beauty. Possibility. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
TM
About Us Privacy Policy Disclaimer Advertise Terms of Use Write for Us All material of this site is (c) copyrighted, chootoo.com. All rights reserved 2008 -2011, and all prior years. |
