| Abdominal Exercises |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-201 |
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Everyone has questions about the quest for sixpack abs, says Ask DIY Fitness Expert Stacie Saunders. Below, she answers five of the most common queries: Q: I'm worried I'm doing situps the wrong way. What's the best form? A: Doing situps the wrong way will put stress on your neck and your back. So don't put your hands behind your head -- that just pulls up your neck. Instead, cross your arms on your chest or place them at your sides. And don't sit all the way up. These are crunches. Just crunch your abdomen up a bit and then set your shoulders back again, all the while holding your head off the mat with your chin tucked. Q: How often should I work out my abdominal muscles? A:Your abdominal muscles are a group that you can't really overtrain, but three times a week is more than enough to work out your abdominal muscles. Take your time, and make every rep count. Q: Do all those "as seen on TV" things work? I don't want to join a gym. A: The best thing to do is to ask around and see what works for your friends. That's no guarantee it will work for you, but it's a good start. One product that definitely has potential is an abdominal ball. You can do crunches off the floor with it, for variety. Make sure your lower back, not your bottom, is on the ball. Cross your arms on your chest, tuck your chin, and pull your shoulders up while "crunching" your abdomen. Another exercise with the abdominal ball: Lie on it with your face up and your torso across the top of the ball (figure A). Then drop your shoulders and let your head drop down, to stretch and firm your abdominal muscles (figure B). Q: I've been doing abdominal exercises for a while and need something more challenging. A: Try the abdominal ball! When you're talking about "challenging" abdominal exercises, we mean something that will separate and work the lower, middle, and oblique (or side) muscles. To work those lower abs, lie on a mat with your shoulders slightly elevated, head raised with chin slightly tucked, and knees bent with the abdominal ball between them. Then raise your legs up and down. Or in the same position, hold the ball in the air with your hands while "pedaling" your legs in the air, as if you're riding a bike. To work your oblique muscles, sit on the mat with your knees bent and heels on the mat. Then grasp the abdominal ball between your hands and, keeping your bottom firmly on the mat and your face forward, swing your arms (and the ball) from side to side, pausing to hold the ball on each side of your body for a second. Q: I can't get rid of my love handles. What works for these? A: We can't spot-reduce. I wish we could, but we can't. You have to work your whole body. What helps with that is diet, nutrition, working out the whole body and burning calories. Web site resources for Abdominal Exercises: Abdominal Exercises from Fitness Link.Com Abdominals from Better Bodz.Com Truth About Training the Abdominal Muscles from Simple Fitness Solutions.Com Book: Abs of Steel: Six Weeks Toward Strong Sculpted Abs
By Leisa Hart and Liz W. Neporent
ISBN: 1565301838
Sunset Publishing Corp.
Div. of Time-Warner
80 Willow Rd.
Menlo, CA 94025
Phone: 650-321-3600
Fax: 650-322-1043
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