The Best Stomach Exercises

The stomach is one area of your body that gets noticed very easily if it's a little flabbier than it used to be. If you gain a little extra weight in your legs or arms it's not noticed as much. However, if you are packing on some extra pounds in the stomach area it is very likely that other parts of your body are picking up extra pounds as well.

You cannot just target fat in one area. So if your only plan is to do hundreds of ab crunches a day without exercising the rest of your body and reducing your fat intake, you'll be in better shape but you will not see the results you want.

Start by boosting your metabolism with some cardio exercises to get that heart rate up.  A good fast-paced walk or jog three times per week is a great way to accomplish this.

Experts say a good cardio workout can increase your metabolism by up to 24 hours!

A Quick Metabolism Exercise

Below is a sample workout that can be done to help give your metabolism a quick boost so you can burn calories.

1) Perform 30 seconds of hard exercise like running in place.

2) Perform 60 seconds of moderate exercise (casual jog or brisk walk).

3) Repeat this process 5-10 times.

4) Cool down for 3-5 minutes.

Everyone admires beautiful abs. Women and men alike consider ab exercises to be some of the toughest exercises of all. However, this is not true. Abdominal exercise can be easier than you think. Both the upper and lower abdominal muscles need to be worked to get the best overall look and strength. There are a variety of crunch positions that will work but here are three of the best ab exercises for women who want to get great results.

Exercise ball crunches - This is a good one if you are just starting to exercise and greatly helps exercise your stomach muscles.

Step 1 - Sit on the ball and place your hands on the back of your head and walk your legs out lowering your body on to the ball until your upper back and shoulders are all that remain on top of the ball. Legs should be shoulder width apart.

Step 2 - Lift your pelvic to straighten your lower back and tighten your buttocks and contract the abdomen muscles.

Steps 3 - Keeping your elbows pointing out to the side slowly raise the shoulders slightly being careful not to pull the neck. You should feel the crunch in the abdominals; the thighs and buttock muscles will be working too.

Step 4 - Hold the position for a moment then slowly lower the shoulders to the ball and repeat for as many times as you can perform the exercise without straining.

Rest for 30 seconds or less between sets. Do 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions every other day.

Workout Pass.com

Floor bicycle movement. This exercise does not require any equipment.

Step 1 - Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and legs straight out.

Step 2 - Contract your abdomen muscles and lift one leg bending your knee while raising your shoulders slightly off the floor without pulling your neck.

Step 3 - Bring your elbow and knee together bending so that the elbow and knee just touch.

Step 4 - Lower and then change sides so the alternate legs in a bicycle movement touching knee to elbow. Repeat .

Move through the positions slowly. You can vary this ab exercise by bringing the knee and elbow of the opposite sides together requiring the upper body to turn slightly from side to side. This maneuver is very effective and works the oblique as well as both the upper and lower abdominals.

Hanging Knee Raises. This is a most effective exercise but needs gym equipment (Captain's Chair. )

Step 1 - The body is held upright by the arms resting on padded arm bars with the feet handing down. The lower back is straight and supported by a back rest.

Step 2 - Contract the abdominal muscles and lift both knees slowly up toward the chest,

Step 3 - Pause and then slowly lower the legs back down to the starting position. The muscles are constantly contracted throughout the exercise.

This abdominal workout is the most effective because it works both the upper and lower abs, back and arm muscles for an overall core strengthening exercise.

The Best Results

It's not enough to just focus on doing abdominal exercise. For women especially, - you can have rock hard abdominal muscles, but if there is body fat covering them you won't be able to see them. To make these exercises not only pay off but really show off you need to consider the following;

- Eating a well balanced diet low in saturated fats

- Doing a cardio or Aerobic warm-up before a workout

- Stretching both before and after exercise for increased flexibility

- Making regular exercise part of your lifestyle

Conclusion

Pay attention to what you eat and when you eat. It is as important as exercising if you want to lose weight or maintain an ideal body weight. If you want results you have to do the things that are needed to get the results. It is as simple as that. Once you get started in any exercise program it will become second nature and a part of your everyday routine. So suck in that stomach and get the beautiful abs you always wanted.

Ab Crunches

Abdominal Crunches have been the standard abs exercises for tightening and strengthening the abdomen muscles for as long as I can remember.  There are several different types of abdominal crunches you can do that don't require home or gym equipment.  These crunches may not all be as effective as those done with high tech gym equipment, but they are still good to do if you can't get to the gym or are away from home.

When doing regular crunches always remember there is no arching of the back or pulling the neck forward.  Keep the chin off the chest and face looking forward and upward breathing out on the lifting and in on the lowering of the upper body.

Best Abdominal Exercise # 1. Regular Crunches. This is done lying with your back flat on the floor with your ankles crossed and knees raised toward your chest.  Hands can be put together in the front or placed behind the head with elbows straight out to the sides.  Contract the abdomen muscles and lift your shoulders off the floor.  Do not strain your neck and leave your lower back flat on the floor. 

Best Abdominal Exercise # 2. V Crunches - Using a chair, sit on the edge of the seat with your arms straight down to the side and holding the sit.  Keeping the back straight, lean the body back so it is at a 45 degree angle (like the first line of a V) .Then contract the abdomen muscles and lift the legs up toward the chest to make the knees form the second line of the V.  This abs exercise works the lower abs.  Keep your back straight with no arching of your lower back when lifting the legs.

Best Abdominal Exercise #3. Floor leg lifts -  Another good abs exercise to work the lower abs is to lie flat on the floor with your legs straight, hands to your sides or under your buttocks and lift your legs about 6 - 10 inches off the floor and hold for a few seconds.  Hold the position for as long as you can without straining your neck or arching your lower spine.  Repeat as many times as you can. While performing the exercises keep your abdominal muscles contracted and your lower back flat on the floor.