There are plenty of stomach exercises out the for those who want to shape their core and strengthen their midsection. This may be both a blessing and a curse. It is easy to find plenty of exercises and routines that work the midsection, but how does one know which ones are any good? Well, listed here are what appear to be some of the best around, according to recommendations by fitness experts. If you want to work on your stomach, but are not sure where to start, then this "all-star team" may be a good jumping off point. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.
Crunchless Crunch
Regular crunches are great for working the rectus abdominus (the muscles at the front of your stomach), but they do very little for the transverse abdominal muscles deeper in the midsection, plus they tend to put strain on your back and neck. This first exercise corrects that, working the transverse muscles with no back or neck strain. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.
Hip Lift
Remain on your back for this stomach exercise. Put your arms at your sides with palms facing up to the ceiling. Put your legs straight up in the air so that the soles of your feet are facing the ceiling and your legs make about a ninety degree angle with your torso. Keep your knees unbent and as straight as possible. Now, contract your ab muscles so that it feels like your belly button is being pulled toward your spine, while at the same time gently lifting your hips off the floor. Raise your hips to height of a few inches, keeping your legs extended straight upward. Hold this position, then slowly lower your hips back to the floor. Repeat for an entire set.
Long Arm Crunch
For this stomach exercise, remain on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Lie back and extend your arms straight back on the floor as though you are reaching above your head. Contract your abs and slowly lift your arms, head and shoulders off the floor to about a thirty degree angle. Hold it, then slowly lower your shoulders back to the floor. Repeat for an entire set. Be careful not to lead with your arms, keeping them straight and alongside your head.
Some other honorable mentions include the vertical leg crunch, torso twists, and any Pilates routine that emphasizes the core. Feel free to research some of these exercises more once you have mastered the three above. Now that you are armed with some of the better stomach exercises, you are on your way to a trimmer tummy!
There are always right ways and wrongs ways of doing something. Same goes for stomach exercises. This article aims to highlight the wrong ways of doing some stomach exercises. You should be wary of these habits, as they can lead to injury, besides not having any positive impact on your body. Of course, as with doing other exercises, make sure you consult a professional before your begin and always warm up properly. Now, keep these tips in mind when doing your stomach exercises.
Knees Up!
When you are performing stomach crunches, always keep your knees up, with your feet flat on the floor. Knees should be bent and pointed upwards. Also keep them centered. If you lean your knees to either side, you are putting pressure on your vertebrae unnecessarily. Putting pressure on your back could lead to serious back injury.
Sit-ups?
The traditional sit-up actually does nothing for your stomach. Sit-ups will mostly strain your hip muscles instead of help you flatten your tummy. When doing sit-ups also, you tend to pull your torso with your arms. This of course is not the point of this exercise. What's more many people tend to perform sit-ups quickly, thus have the momentum forcing the torso go up and down, instead of utilising any muscle group. Instead of the sit-ups, try the crunch which is the better alternative.
The Straight Leg Lifts
Yet another 'old school' stomach exercise is the straight leg lifts. When doing leg lifts, you tend to work out your lower back rather than your stomach muscles. Besides that, this exercise also puts a lot of pressure on your back, which could lead to possible back injury.
How many reps are good enough?
In the case of stomach exercises, never exceed more than fifty reps. If, after doing fifty reps, you don't feel or see any results, then perhaps it is not going to do much good even if you try doing more. As you gain more strength and build more muscles, and should you feel like the exercises that you do are too easy for you, try a more challenging exercise instead of doing a simple one for more than fifty reps.
How does sleeping come into the picture?
Did you know that the way you sleep could have an impact on your stomach exercise routine? For example, let's say the way you sleep causes you back pain. This will make it more difficult for you to target your stomach area during your exercise in the morning. One sure way to get an aching back is if you sleep on your stomach. Sleeping on your stomach makes your back arch in an unnatural way, causing an annoying ache later in the morning. So the best way to sleep is to lie on your back with your knees on a pillow. Not only will this keep your back in line, it will also keep you away from that painful back during your exercise routine.
Resistance? What resistance?
In order to be effective, all stomach exercises need some sort of resistance. This can come in many ways: gravity, a resistance band or even an exercise ball. Any exercise that has no amount of resistance (for example the standing broomstick twist) will not have much impact on your stomach muscles. The good thing about a standing broomstick twist is that it will not do any harm, and is a good way to warm up. Just don't expect it to help reduce the size of your tummy.
Remember, the right techniques in exercise are vital to your well-being. The above are but some tips to guide you to avoid injury and to prevent you from wasting your time. You should constantly do extensive research before you start on a new routine, and consult a professional and a physician before you embark on any exercise.
Both Janet Somer & Juzaily Ramli are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Janet Somer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food And Drink, Aquarium Fish and Fitness. Go to website to find out more about. Janet Somer's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Juzaily Ramli has sinced written about articles on various topics from Camping, Fitness and Fishing. Juzaily Ramli and Tommy Lehmann own a blog that provides free for all. Feel like losing some of that stomach fat but don't have the time to do i. Juzaily Ramli's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.