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3
Steps To Great Abs!
By Marie Borges
Myth: You need to work your abs
everyday.
Truth: The best way to
develop abdominal strength and tone is to
work your abs to exhaustion. You need to
allow your abdominal muscles to recover..this
equates to 24-48 hours of rest time between
workouts. Increase the intensity of your
workouts gradually. If you overdo it, not
only will you be excessively sore (a little
soreness is a good thing, it signifies that
you have worked the muscle enough for it
to repair itself and become stronger in
the process), but you may discourage yourself
because you will need more rest time than
normal and it will be harder to do your
ab exercises.
Myth: The more situps you do, the
better.
Truth: Doing hundreds
of situps will not help you lose abdominal
fat! Situps actually do little to increase
strength because they focus on edurance
and are inefficient; it is hard to overload
the abdominal muscles doing situps. Thus,
you will be wasting your time. Crunches
(yes, crunches) are the best way to overload
the abs and work the entire midsection,
whether you do them on the floor or on a
Swiss Ball (my personal favorite!). There
are many variations of crunches, and each
targets different parts of the abdominal
muscles. While doing crunches, it is imperative
that you focus on proper technique and gradually
increasing resistance. Using this method,
you can fatigue your abdominal muscles using
fewer reps.
Myth: Situps are the key to getting
"cut" ab muscles.
Truth: If you have layers
of abdominal fat covering your abs, situps,
or any other exercise, for that matter,
won't do you much good. For a strong, cut
midsection, keep in mind these tips:
1. Train your abs with resistance. If you
are a beginner, try crunches without resistance
first. As you get stronger, then move to
more challenging moves or crunches using
a Swiss Ball.
2. You need consistent cardiovascular exercise
(helps to burn fat faster, performed at
80% of your maximum heart rate).
3. Cut the fat in your diet to shed body
fat and create definition. This is the only
way your abs will show through! Remember,
great abs are made in the kitchen!
Learn the essential keys to building a
strong core from the experts! To sculpt
your abs now, visit our Abdominal Exercise
website.
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