Saturday 19 January 2013

Abdominal Exercises to Lose Belly Fat

Looking forward to have a flat belly? Let me help you by citing some abdominal exercises to lose belly fat which will not only make you look great but will make you feel good too.

Whether you want to get rid of the extra fat around your middle or you just want to look great, abdominal exercises will help you achieve whatever you are looking for. There are several great exercises which, when performed regularly, will not only make your belly flat but will also help you to look and feel good. The following abdominal exercises to lose belly fat will help you trim down the inches and get a lovely envious figure. Let us look at these abdominal exercises to lose fat and perform them to lose that extra weight and the extra inches.

Abdominal Exercises to Lose Weight

There are several abdominal exercises that can be performed regularly and which help in weight loss. These, combined with a low calorie diet, will help to bring down any excess weight. Let us look into how to lose belly fat fast. These abdominal exercises to lose belly fat need to be performed regularly for faster results.

Exercise One
This exercise involves twisting the stomach in order to lose the belly fat. In order to do this exercise, stand straight on a flat surface with legs close to each other and with shoulder straight. Keep your hands in front of you. Concentrate on your nails and without moving your eyes from the nails, twist towards your left side. Keep your legs still while turning and continue to breathe slowly. Come back to the starting position and now turn towards the right side, in the same way. In order to lose belly fat fast, perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions.

Exercise Two
In this exercise, you will need to sit erect, preferably in the Lotus Posture. With your back straight and your eyes closed, take a deep breath and pull your stomach in, almost as though you are trying to touch your stomach to your back. Hold this position as long as you can, while holding your breath. Exhale slowly and release your stomach. Come to the starting position and perform 10 repetitions of this exercise for a flat belly. Combine this with an abs diet so that there is faster weight and inch loss.

Exercise Three
Lie down flat on your back and keep your hands next to you, palms facing the ground. Take a deep breath and lift your legs till they form a 45 degree angle. Now, with your hands in front of you, bring up your torso. You will be a position in which it will appear as though you are trying to reach your toes. Hold this position for at least 10 seconds. Slowing come back to the starting position and repeat this exercise 10 times. This is one of the several yoga exercises that shows good results.

Exercise Four
Lie straight on your back and keep your hands behind your head. Bend your knees and start cycling. This is one of the best abdominal exercises to lose fat. Do this exercise for 10 minutes daily and see that extra flab disappear.

Exercise Five
Abdominal crunches are other abdominal exercises to lose belly fat. They can be performed easily. Lie straight on your back with hands behind your head. Bend your legs and lift your shoulder blades from the ground. Straightening the right leg, turn the upper part of your body to the left. Do the same with the other side. Do 2 sets of 10 repetitions each. Perform this exercise with your stomach pulled in, for greater benefit. This, one of the best ab exercises to lose belly fat, is an old tried and tested method and it works wonders.

Exercise Six
Simple leg raises are also very effective in reducing the belly fat. Lie flat on the ground, with your hands next to your body. Next, lift your left leg till 90 degrees. Hold the position for a few seconds and bring it down to the start position. Repeat the same with your right leg. Perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions of this exercise for weight loss and maximum benefit.

I hope these above mentioned abdominal exercises to lose belly fat will be useful for you to shed off the excess pounds and look great and feel great too. Perform these exercises to lose belly fat at least four to five times a week for reducing the belly fat, quickly. Team these exercises with a balanced diet and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables for greater benefits.

Friday 18 January 2013

Stability Ball Ab Exercises

Stability ball ab exercises are the perfect way to keep your body fit and of course your stomach flat. Check out the exercises from the content below. Read on.

Working out on a stability ball is one of the best ways to keep your body fit and agile. Our hectic lifestyle seldom gives us the opportunity to exercise on a regular basis. However, if you are able to spare at least half an hour on exercise then it will work wonders for your body. Stability ball ab exercises not only shape up the abs but are also effective for gaining flexibility in other parts of the body. And this includes chest, hips, thighs, shoulders and back. This is because your body is rolling over the ball and you are in constant motion. Ab exercises with ball are a great way to flatten your stomach and get the perfect figure. In this article you shall come across the ball exercises directed specifically towards the abdomen.

Best Stability Ball Ab Exercises

This section will cover the stability ball core exercises that are useful for the abdomen and other parts of the body. The exercise ball abs workouts are similar to crunches. The difference lies in the fact that you have to gain stability with the rolling ball. The list of exercises is given below.

Exercise # 1
You have to know the different types of abdominal exercises before performing them with a fitball. Fitball exercises include straight, reverse, cycle and oblique crunches. However, you have to balance with the ball first which will be under your back. Place your feet flat on the ground and lie on the ball on your back. Hold the stable position and start the crunches. The ball shouldn't slip off while lifting your torso.

Exercise # 2
Stability ball lower ab exercises involve back extensions and abdominal rolls. These exercises add strength to your abdominal muscles. While doing this exercise, you need to roll your body with the help of specifically your lower stomach. It's a type of stability ball exercise that also makes your back strong. While moving the ball forward you need to lift your chest a little with hands folded behind your head. The abdomen gets stretched and hence it effectively burns fat from that region.

Exercise # 3
Stability ball shoulder exercises that involve rolling are also meant for the abdomen. Rolling the ball is a very good exercise ball workout meant ideally for shoulders. While doing ab rolls your upper ab muscles get stretched considerably. You have to place your hand on the ball, resting your elbows. Your hands must be parallel to the ground. Stretch your belly button towards your spine, straighten your back and try rolling the ball in the forward direction.

Exercise # 4
Stability ball lower back exercises comprise a bunch of ball twists and trunk exercises. Amongst the core exercises with ball, this is one of the best ways to work out your entire body. You have to take a push up position while hugging the ball with your legs. Grip the ball with your ankle. Your body should be parallel to the ground and palms resting on the floor. Try rotating the ball on either side and then twist your body carefully. Twisting the body adds shape to your waist. Lower back exercises also include back extensions, reverse leg lifts and alternate arm and leg raises.

Exercise # 5
Stability ball chest exercises that are also beneficial for the upper abdomen mainly include chest presses. You will have to include this move in your exercise ball routine. Other exercises include exercise ball chest fly, incline chest press, advanced push ups and intermediate push ups. Advanced push ups are a little difficult. Incline chest press targets the upper body. You can also do the chest exercises with dumbbells. However, these exercises require initial guidance of a fitness trainer.

Exercise # 6
While performing the thigh exercises with exercise ball, a considerable tension is applied on your abdominal muscles. Thus, the overall effect is also experienced by your abdomen. There are a variety of stability ball thigh exercises. The most widely practiced are hip adduction, leg curl, leg extension, rear leg lift, squats, lunges and advanced hamstring roll out. The movements bring about bending and folding of the abdominal regions and thus, shaping it in the right way. You also lose the extra mass from your thighs while doing these exercise ball workouts. Alternate them within your comfort zone and practice regularly.

The most important aspect while doing ball exercises is balancing the ball. Improper balance gives rise to aches in different parts of the body. Thus, take up the right position first and then set up a schedule for the exercises.

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Stomach-Flattening Exercises

Dream of a flat stomach? Then master the following stomach-flattening exercises and make that dream come true.

A flat stomach seems to have become an asset in today's times. Not just an asset, a coveted asset. Have you gotten into that as well? If you share a lifestyle similar to those of the general populace of today, you'll have the patterns of less activity, consuming junk food (at times) and maintaining late nights. All in all, tormenting your body and putting on weight. Then again there is the staring at the screen, at those zero sized models and their flat stomachs and torturing yourself over why you don't have washboard abs like them isn't going to help one bit. You need to take matters in your own hands and go head on into some stomach-flattening exercises.

Most Effective Exercises

The deal is that you need to include a proper diet and carry out varied forms of cardiovascular exercises to get a flat tummy. Only a change in one's lifestyle will ensure that there is a flat stomach somewhere on the agenda. But you need to also carry out some specialized exercises. Here are some of the easiest abdominal exercises that one can take up at home.

Plank Pose
Place a mat on the floor and lie on your stomach over it.
Now slowly lift your body into a push up mode by placing equal pressure on the toes and elbows.
Now keep your back absolutely straight and your body as straight as a plank.
Maintain this position for 30 seconds to a minute.
Side Bends
Take a dumbbell in your right hand and with a shoulder width distance between your feet, stand with slightly bent knees.
Now place the left hand behind your head and start bending sideways to the right.
Take the dumbbell lower and lower as you bend.
Try to take it till your knees if you can.
Hold for 2-3 seconds and come up to the original position.
Repeat on the other side.
This exercise can be done for as many reps as one wants, because it is a non taxing and is a great way to lose belly fat.
Side Crunches
Lie flat on your back and bend your knees, placing your feet flat on the ground.
Place your hands behind your head and then crunch sideways.
Lift your right knee and your left elbow in a crunch so that you feel the tension on the sides.
Repeat on the other side.
Do a set of 10 on each side and increase with more sessions.
Leg Raises
Sit on the floor and place your hands under your bottom. Keep the palms up.
Now extend the legs right out and join them together.
Now raise them off the floor in one swift movement at a 45 degree angle.
Make sure that the pressure is placed on your back.
Hold the pose for 30 seconds to one minute, if you can.
Come back to the original position and start all over.
Start with 10 repetitions, increasing with number as the weeks pass.
Holding Breath
Sit on the ground with your back absolutely straight.
Breathe deeply and evenly.
Exhale slowly and evenly until you feel that your stomach starts to form a vacuum.
The vacuum should be such that you should feel your belly button touching your spine.
Maintain this position for sometime (8-10 seconds) You should feel a pull on the sides and slight pain as well.
Repeat this 10 times.
Medicine/Stability Ball
This is one of the best exercise ball workouts that you'll find.
Lie flat on your back, bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the ground.
Use a medicine or stability ball that is 5 pounds and hold it over your chest.
Ask a partner to stand at your feet.
Flatten the arch of your back and push your lower back to the ground.
Now lift yourself so that your shoulders are 6 inches or so above the ground.
You have to feel the pull in your abs.
While you curl up, throw the ball to your partner.
Hold the crunch till the time your partner throws the ball back to you.
Catch the ball and come back to the original position.
Repeat 10 times.

Monday 14 January 2013

Best Ab Workout for Men at Home

One can have the best ab workout for men at home and need not visit the gym for an ab workout. The only thing you should remember, that you have to be consistent in your efforts at home, else getting the killer abs may not be possible.

The abdominal muscles, commonly known as the ab muscles, start at the end of the rib cage and continue till the pelvic muscles. The rectus abdominus muscles are the protector muscles as they shield the vital organs located in the abdomen, namely the stomach, kidneys, liver, etc. However, this is the muscle, where you will see maximum fat accumulation as well. So that one can get the ripped abs, it is important to follow best ab workout for men. Now arises the question, how does one know, which is the best ab workout for men. An abdominal workout, which comprises upper ab exercises, lower ab exercises and love handle exercises, is the best ab workout. You will now ask, is it necessary to go to a gym to get six pack abs? No, one does not have to go to a gym to get six pack abs. We will now take a look at the exercises, which can be made a part of the best ab workout for men at home.

Best Ab Exercises

Whatever be the reason you want to have a ripped abs, you have to ensure you do the right abdominal exercises for the same. Along with the best ab workout, you also should have an appropriate diet. If you neglect your diet, you will find it difficult to get to your goal.

Long Arm Weighted Crunch
Most of us have done the regular abdominal crunches. The long arm weighted crunches are intensive as compared to the regular crunches. It helps in working the upper abdominal muscles. To do this abdominal exercise for men, lie down on your back with feet placed closer to your buttocks. Hold dumbbells in both your hands and extend your hands above your head. Exhale as you crunch and lift your shoulders and head off the floor. Extend your hands in front of your knees. Hold the position for a few second and come back to the starting position and repeat the exercise.

Weighted Oblique Crunch
This exercise should be a part of the effective ab workouts. It is a compound exercise, which targets the oblique muscles and the upper ab muscles. Lie on the floor with the feet flat on the floor. Hold one dumbbell with both the hands. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor, twist to the right, hold for a few seconds and come back to the starting position and repeat the same on the other side.

Reverse Crunch
This is one of the good lower ab exercises for men, hence should be a part of the lower ab workout for men at home. Lie on your exercise mat, lift your feet off the floor and bend them at 90 degrees angle. Place your hands on the mat and try to bring the knees as closer as you can to your chest. Hold the position for a few seconds, release and repeat the exercise again. This exercise should be repeated in the lower ab workout routine at least 20 times.

Planks
This ab exercise for men should be a part of any good ab workout for men at home. To do this exercise, come down on all your fours. Place the elbow on the ground and curl the toes under. Alternatively you can place the palms on the floor and curl the toes under. Contract your abdominal muscles and lift your entire body off the floor. Make sure your lower back does not dip. Hold the position for as long as you can. This exercise helps in working the core muscles and also helps to build core strength.

Designing an Ab Workout for Men

Designing an easy ab workout at home is a difficult as well as an easy task. It is difficult, if you do not know how to design the workout. However, once you know how to design an ab workout for men, then it is an easy task. There are three types of sets, which can be used to do ab workout. The first technique is doing straight sets. In this, you do an exercise for 1 to 3 sets and then move on to the next exercise. The next is called super set technique. In this, you alternate between two different exercises without any rest between them. After the super sets comes circuit technique. In this technique, you increase the number of exercises and do them without any resting time between them. It is best to start with straight sets and then move onto super sets before you start with circuit training. Remember, a best ab workout routine for men is the one, which is able to work the muscles and show results.

Before you do your self designed ab workout at home, remember not to forget the warm up exercises. At the same time, it is necessary that you include some form of cardiovascular exercises in your schedule. The cardiovascular exercises will help you to lose weight and shed the excess fat. If you have had any stomach injury, etc., it is best to talk to your health care professional before you do an ab workout at home.

Friday 11 January 2013

Best Ab Exercises for Men

Need to build a great set of abs? Then you'll need some of the best ab exercises for men. And the following article will give you exactly that. Continue reading for more details.

Which man would not like to have the perfect set of abs? All of them would. Standing by the pool side as you casually take the shirt off and there for the world to see are those perfectly toned and muscled abs. Or you saunter in from the steam room with nothing but a white Turkish towel draped around our waist (quite modestly), and hugging the perfect abs. Yeah. All men would want that. But that is not possible if you do not have abdominal exercises scheduled in. And not just any ab exercises, they need to be specialized to get you results. Cause only the will hit the nail on the head and produce abs that are the envy of all. Let's just move to the best ab workout for men then and show you how it's really done. Ready?

Best Ab Exercises at Home

When it comes to ab exercises, one cannot simply depend on the exercises alone. One has to also factor in the important role that a diet plays in shaping those abs. You need to consult a nutritionist who will write out a schedule for you to follow.

Alternating Curls
Lie on a mat and bend your knees placing the feet firmly on the ground.
Put your hands under your head to support the neck and slightly raise your shoulders from the ground and tense your torso.
Now move your entire torso to the right side while bringing the left knee up.
Try to touch your forehead to the knee and then go back.
Do not place your shoulders back on the ground but continue with the curl on the opposite side.
Do 20 of these on both sides and a set of 3.
Pushing Out
This exercise works out the upper abdomen maximally well.
Lie on your back and keep your legs shoulder width apart.
Now raise yourself with a crunch and try to push your hands maximally out from the thighs.
Make sure that you do not let go of the crunch and maintain it throughout the exercise.
Hold this position for a minute then go back to the ground.
Repeat 5 times.
Elbow Plank
Lie on your stomach and come up to a push up position, except that the entire weight rests on the forearms and your elbows touch the ground.
Keep your shoulders absolutely straight and do not let them slouch.
You'll feel a pressure in the entire upper portion of the body.
Now tighten the abs till you feel a tension in the abs.
Stay in this position for 30 seconds.
Beat Abs
Lie on the back and place your hands under your head to support the neck.
Raise your legs at a 30 degree position above the ground. The lower you place your legs, the better the workout.
Now raise your shoulders slightly above the ground and raise your legs up and down, very slightly.
They should never touch the ground.
You'll feel a stretch and tightness in the abdominal region.
Do this for a count of 20 seconds and rest.
Do two more sets in the same manner.
Bar Crunch
You will need a bar to hang from for this one.
Hang from a bar with both arms bent at the elbows.
Your legs should be folded at the back of the knees.
Now keeping the upper body straight, raise your knees as high as you can.
Try to bring it into the chest and hold for 5 seconds.
Then take the legs back down and repeat 10-15 times.
Stop if the shoulders start to ache.
There you go, now you have a list of some of the best ab exercises for men. All you need to do now is devote sometime to these, be serious about your workout and in sometime you'll have those washboard abs that you'll want to flaunt. And we won't mind, we really won't mind at all.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Easy Stomach Exercises

Fighting stomach flab with easy to do stomach exercises is indeed possible. But remember you have to be consistent, with the exercise routine. Scroll down to know, which are the stomach exercises you can include in the workout.

The stomach is one of the difficult areas to shed off extra flab. Hence, you will see fighting the flab around the stomach all the time. If you want to have six pack abs, there are some steps which you will have to take. There are some simple stomach exercises, which are a must. Without exercises you will not be able to achieve washboard abs. Often people feel that doing some exercises will help in reducing the stomach flab and continue eating all that they can lay their hands on. This is exactly where people go wrong. To lose stomach flab, it is important you keep a tab on all that goes into your mouth. A healthy diet has to become a way of life for you. In this article, we will concentrate on the easy, yet best stomach exercises.

Simple and Easy Stomach Exercises

When you are doing the stomach exercises at home, make sure you have the correct alignment. Proper alignment will give effective workout and also reduce the chances of injury while doing the flat stomach exercises. While doing these exercises, if you feel any sort of pain or cramps, stop doing the exercises immediately. If you continue to do the exercise, it can aggravate the condition.

Leg Lifts
For most of the people, the lower stomach is the problem area. Hence, we will start with the lower stomach exercise before we do the upper stomach exercise. Lie down on your back and place your hands next to your buttocks. Keep your back straight and lift both your legs off the floor, till they are perpendicular to the floor. Hold for a few seconds, lower your legs till they are about 6 inches off the floor. Hold in this position for a few seconds and lift the legs again up. Do not touch the legs to the floor, till you finish 10 to 12 counts of the exercise.

Reverse Curl
This is a great exercise to reach the goal of a flat tummy. Lie flat on your back and place your hands next to your buttocks. Bend your legs at the knee and lift your legs off the floor, such that knees are placed exactly above your hips. Gradually draw your abdominal muscles towards your spine and lift your hips off the floor. Hold the position for a few seconds and slowly come back to the starting position and repeat the abdominal exercise another 12 times.

Oblique Crunches
If love handles is the problematic area for you, then you should include this stomach exercise in your workout. You can do this stomach exercises at home easily. It is also one of the stomach exercises after pregnancy. Lie with your back on the floor and place your feet on the floor. Place the ankle of the right leg on the left knee. Interlace your fingers and place them behind your head. Slowly lift your shoulders off the floor, twist to the right and try to touch the left elbow to the right knee. Come back to the starting position and repeat the exercise on this side 10 to 12 times before you change sides and repeat this love handle exercise on the other side as well.

Vertical Crunches
This is a great stomach exercise for women at home. Lie with your back on the floor. Interlace your fingers and place them behind your head, so that your neck is well supported. Lift your legs off the floor and extend them up in the air and cross them at the ankles. Gradually lift your shoulders off the floor and try to touch your forehead to your knees. Hold and slowly release and repeat the exercise.

Belly Tuck
If you are looking for stomach exercises at your desk, then this is an appropriate exercise to be done at home. You can do this stomach exercise anywhere. Stand or sit erect. Contract your abdominal muscles, so that the abdominal muscles are pulled towards the spine. Hold the legs contracted for a few seconds. Release the repeat the exercise as many times as you can in the entire day. You can also do this exercise, even when you are driving to work.

Most of the stomach exercises mentioned in this article on 'easy stomach exercises' can also be practiced by kids. However, care should be taken that the kids are monitored, when they are doing the exercise, so that they have the right posture. You can also do these stomach exercises using weights as well. You can either make use of dumbbell weights or plate weights.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Russian Twist

Would like to know what a Russian twist is? Have you ever heard of Russian twist exercise? Read the article to find out the complete information...

What is a Russian twist? It is an exercise where the target is the abdominal muscles. As the name suggests, the abdominal muscles are worked on to make them stronger. Along with the abdominal muscles, even your lower back muscles are worked on. This original twist doesn't include any fitness equipment, however, many trainers like to use weights and medicine ball as variations. The level of these exercises is intermediate. So anyone, who is undergoing fitness training, regardless of fitness level, can perform this abdominal exercise. Remember, this is not a sport, but an exercise routine which can be performed in the gym, or from the comfort of you own home. In our following article, we will go over different exercises which can be done at any time of the day and any location.

Seated Russian Twist
Place an exercise mat on the floor and sit on it.
Keep your knees bent at 90º angle and heels planted on the floor.
Extend both hands in front of you and clasp them in front of your stomach.
Lean back slightly and keep your back straight.
Twist your torso, taking shoulders and chest towards right side. Breathe normally.
Now twist towards the left side. Keep a fluid movement from right to left.
Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps each side. You can increase the sets over time.
Standing Russian Twist
Take the medicine ball in both hands, keep feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart.
Keep your back and legs straight, shoulders relaxed, and feet firm on the floor.
Extend both arms in front and hold the medicine ball at shoulder level.
Now twist towards your right keeping both arms straight throughout.
Twist as far, towards the right, as you can go. Repeat on the left side.
Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps each side. You can increase the sets over time.
Russian Twist with Medicine Ball
Place an exercise mat on the floor and sit on it with the medicine ball.
Keep your knees bent at 90º angle and place your heels planted on the floor.
Hold the ball with both hands, keep close to chest, your elbows out, and shoulders relaxed.
Make sure your back is straight, and breathe normally throughout the exercise.
Twist towards your right and then to the left side. Keep your chest up at all times.
Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps each side. You can increase the sets over time.
Kettlebell Russian Twist
You can do this exercise standing up, or while seated.
Hold the kettlebell as you would the medicine ball.
Keep back straight, shoulders relaxed, and chest out.
If you want to do a seated kettlebell twist, then follow the steps given above for the "Seated Russian Twist".
And, if you want to do a standing kettlebell twist, then follow the steps given above for the "Standing Russian Twist".
Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps each side. You can increase the sets over time.
These were some simple to follow exercises which you can perform. Including these exercises into your regular workout routine can be more beneficial if you like to play sports like baseball, golf, lacrosse, etc. Here, the abdominal muscles are twisted from side to side a lot, and the specific twists can be very helpful in keeping them strong. As I mentioned earlier, you can do these exercises at the gym, or at home.