!#8# Get Six-Pack Abs - Don't Just Do Abs Exercises | !8: Captains Chair Exercise Equipment Sale Off

!±8± Get Six-Pack Abs - Don't Just Do Abs Exercises

New Year's around the corner. So are New Year's resolutions. One of the most common resolutions in my corner of the woods has to do with abdominal fitness. People either want to get a flat stomach or get six-pack abs. Some want exercises to lose belly fat, some want diets. For some this year's resolution is the same as last year's. Even though they've watched what they ate or did abs exercises regularly.

I'm going to go on a limb and bet you hear the same resolutions your neck of the woods.

Read this article to the end, and you'll know what you need to do to not have the same resolution next year.

As far as getting six-pack abs, people seem to think the only way to get there is to do tons of crunches. Then do some more.

That's a myth. You don't get six-pack abs (or keep them if you've already gotten them, for that matter) if you only do abs exercises. Besides, the abs exercise of choice is the traditional crunch - not the most effective way to workout your abs.

To best understand what's involved in getting six-pack abs, how the abs exercises you do or will soon do work, a very brief overview of your abdominal area.

It's made up of 4 muscles. The one that gives you the 6-packs abs look is the abdominis rectus. Then you have the transverse abdominis. This one's right behind the one that makes your abs look great. You use it for sucking in your belly. If it's toned, you look narrower. On the sides of your abdominal area you have the internal and the external obliques (one on each side), with the internal obliques lying below the external.

You need to exercise all those muscles if you're to have the great abs you desire. Some abs exercises are best for one or another of these muscles. Which means that, for best results, you can't do just one type of exercise.

The best exercises for the abdominis rectus are: bicycle maneuver, leg raises on a power tower (captain's chair), crunches on an exercise ball, vertical leg crunches and Torso Track exercises (in that order, according to a study by the American Council on Exercise.

The best exercises for the obliques are: leg raises on a power tower (captain's chair), bicycle maneuver, reverse crunches, planks (hover), and vertical leg crunches.

Planks engaged your transverse abdominis (the muscle behind the muscle you see when you see six-pack abs). So is sucking in your belly. Ball tosses are great for it.

Now, the sad part.

You can have six-pack abs and never see them. Between the abdominis rectus and the skin, there's a space that your body fills with fat. An endless space, if you allow it.

A very thin space, if that's what you want.

Depending on how much fat you have over your fine abdominis rectus, you may need to exercise the rest of your body or to exercise the rest of your body and change your eating habits.

Exercises such as jogging and swimming are good at increasing your metabolism (make your body use up energy faster) and they're good for your heart too. Treadmills and elliptical machines would be good exercise machines to get the same results. Exercises bikes and rowing are not as effective at using up calories as treadmills or elliptical machines, but if you like them more, by all means, use them.

Exercises with weights or resistance bands are good at increasing your muscle size. Larger muscles use up more energy and take up less space than fat, so you end up being thinner. For most bang, from the point of getting six-pack abs that are visible, work on your largest muscle groups first (i.e, start with the chest, end up with the forearms).

And if you've made it so far, why not go all the way and get flexible too. You can do yoga or just hold a few stretches regularly.

Changing your eating habits involves a bunch of things, such as what you eat, how often, how much, and when. But if you want six-pack abs, you want to change your eating habits, right?

Now that I got you healthy and trim, let's go back to getting you a six-pack.

Traditional crunches, according to the study I mentioned earlier, come in at # 11 (for both rectus abdominis and obliques) and they're about half as effective as the top 2 (bicycle and leg raises). That doesn't mean that if you love doing them you should stop. But if you don't have preferences yet, learn to love the top 5 exercises.

Not one of the top exercises but all of them. Because variety will help you stick with your abs workout routine and because they use the muscles slightly differently. Your abs are intended to do 3 things for you: help you stay erect, bend, and twist. So make sure your final abs routine has at least one exercise for each of these activities.

If you need ab machines to get yourself to work your abs consistently, get ab machines. Whether you use an ab machine or not, make sure you don't forget form. Improper form can cause back or neck pain. It can get you uneven muscles. Even if it does neither, it diminishes the effectiveness of your exercises.

Form means you don't pull on your neck or head. Form means that you don't allow other muscles to assist the muscles you're exercising (your legs, for most people). Form means you don't lurch, that you move evenly, that you use the whole range of motion the exercise requires. Form means you inhale when you're contracting muscles and exhale when you relax them.

One simple thing to do to increase form is to tighten your stomach a bit for the duration of every move, so you're pulling your belly button in a bit.

Now that you know the best abs exercises to get six-pack abs, have at it. (If you haven't exercised in a while, it's best if you consult with your doctor first).