Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tips For Getting Strong, Toned Abs

There are many exercises you can do to work the abs. Your core is made up of the abdominals, lower back and hips and creates a foundation for all other movement. Eating several small meals throughout the day helps many people stay more satisfied and reduces hunger. A strong core is important in every aspect of movement; especially power movements.

Core Muscle Strength and Stability Testing

The Plank exercise can be used as the basis for assessing your core strength. Using the ball for crunches requires that you stabilize your torso while balanced on the ball and you end up using more muscles than when performing standard crunches. Reducing your calories without exercise will lead to initial weight loss, but you'll likely reach a plateau and you may also lose muscle. You'll need a balanced diet of carbohydrate, protein and fat. However to get a strong and sexy core and well defined abs, it does take a lot more than just your normal abdominal exercises. You! also need to reduce the layer of body fat covering up your well-defined abs as well as have a regular workout.

Abdominal Exercise

To develop your abs you will perform specific abdominal exercises that work all the abdominal muscles. These muscles stabilize the spine and create a strong center around which the extremities can move. Ab exercises are some of the most popular exercises for both novice and elite athletes. You have your upper & lower abs, as well as the obliques.

If you are doing abdominal exercises in the hopes of getting a strong core and a flat stomach, you aren't alone. A personal exercise plan will get you past plateaus and can help you maintain muscle.

Core Training

You can also perform core stability exercises to improve your torso strength, balance and stability. Other tips for avoiding fat gain include: getting calcium, eating breakfast and eating high fiber foods. Sports coach, Brian Mackenzie, created this test as a w! ay to determine an individual's current core strength and stab! ility an d then to monitor progress over time.

Combining a bit of each - good nutrition, aerobic exercise and core specific strengthening - will go a long way to give you those strong, flat and functional abs.

Josh Shackett writes articles on all subjects people are dealing with today, if you would like to view some exercises you can do to get stronger abs, visit my blog as http://bigger-muscles.blogspot.com I use an exercise ball for my exercises and it works great! Make sure to keep your balance as well.

Nutrition

In order to decrease body fat and gain muscle requires proper nutrition. Make sure you stay well-hydrated by drinking water throughout the day and be sure not to cut calories too drastically or you could inadvertently lower your metabolism.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn calories and manage (or lose) weight. There are also some ! great products that you can use at home, such as a large exercise ball.

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