Abdominal Muscle Reviews Weight Loss Diet Nutrition Tips Guide

Abdominal Muscle Exercises With Better Results

By Spiridon Rafter

A traditional sit-up, where you raise your trunk up from the floor with your knees bent or straight, involves the hip muscles disproportionately over the abs. What this means is the hip muscles get more of the workout and the abdominal muscle group gets less. With a traditional sit-up, your abs are not getting trained in the right way.

As an unwanted side effect, there is unnecessary and potentially harmful strain put on the lower back during this type of sit-up. So what are some good abdominal exercises? Read on to find out.

According to a study, the top three abdominal muscle exercises that produce the most striking results are the traditional crunch, leg lifts and v-ups. For the best results with an exercise regimen like this, start with two to three sets of each of these exercises, doing eight to ten repetitions.

Increase By Eight To Ten Repetitions Per Week

Each week, review your options and increase by eight to ten repetitions until you work your way up to a set of forty repetitions in each set. To tone the abdominals, you should ideally do two sets of thirty-five to forty repetitions per day; more than that is excessive.

First, there is the traditional crunch. To do a crunch, you will need to lie on the floor with your knees slightly bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abs by drawing your bellybutton back towards your spine and cross your arms over your chest.

Next, raise your shoulders off the floor while keeping your back straight. Don’t forget to breathe and remember to exhale through your mouth while performing crunches. With your shoulders raised, pause for a moment and exhale. Now slowly lower your shoulders back to the floor without allowing your head to touch the floor.

Lifting Your Legs Straight Up

No great abdominal workout would be complete without leg lifts. To do a leg lift, lie on the floor with hands at your sides and your legs flat. Lift your legs straight up so that they are pointing at the ceiling; then lower them down again without letting them touch the ground.

Continue lifting and lowering your legs for as long as you are comfortable. As an alternative to this exercise, you can also hold yourself up on a bar and do leg lifts by raising your knees to your chest.

You perform a v-up when you lie flat on a mat with your hands extended back over your head, touching the floor. Now raise your torso and legs simultaneously, while keeping your legs straight. Extend your hands towards your feet and if possible, touch them. Hold this position for a few seconds and then return to the flat position.

Consult A Doctor Before You Begin Exercises

Here are some abdominal exercise tips to remember when beginning abdominal muscle exercises. If you have lower back pain or an injury, then consult a doctor before you begin, so that you don’t hurt yourself.

Consult a physician if you are over the age of thirty-five, have a sedentary lifestyle, have high blood pressure, are a smoker, have ever had chest pains or shortness of breath or have a known joint or muscle injury.

This Article was about Abdominal Muscle.

Please Note: All information given on this site is for general information purposes and is not to replace any medical opinion or medical diagnosis given by a qualified medical doctor, a dietitian/nutritional expert or any other medical expert, as individual circumstances may vary. Please see your medical doctor, before any action is taken to alleviate symptoms.

About the Author:
Spiridon Rafter is an author of exercise, diet and nutrition articles including Gatorade Sports Drink, Home Gym Equipment, Treadmill Vs Elliptical, Sports Drink Market, Bowflex Home Gym.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles coming soon.

More Facts About Home Gyms

If you turn on the television you are inundated with images of rock hard bodied celebrities that look incredibly fit. The next time you are standing in line at the grocery store take a look at the magazines.

All feature people with incredible bodies or they are trying to sell you on a new diet and exercise plan to give you the 6 pack abs that the celebrities have. You may think it is impossible to get those abs but it really is not if you have the right tools and the right education.