Ab-information.coms Top 10 Six-Pack Abdominal Training Questions

Given their worldwide recognition as experts in the area of health and fitness, it’s not surprising that ab-information.com receives hundreds of questions each week on the topic of abdominal training. The following are the most common questions on developing six-pack abs that we answer of a weekly basis.

Q. Are sit-ups good for fat loss and shrinking my waist?

A. The key to shrinking the waist is getting your diet under control and performing effective abdominal training exercises for the muscles. Sit-ups are no longer recommended for the abs as they primarily target the hip flexors and can be very stressful on the lower back for many individuals.

Q. Should I train abs every day?

A. There is no easy answer to this question. Some experts consider the abs to be just “another set of muscles” and as such you only need to train them a couple of times per week. Other experts counter that the abs are designed for repeated training and can be worked every day. Our advice is to try both abdominal training approaches and see which one seems to work best for you.

Q. Should I work my whole body or just my abs?

A. The real key to overall health and fitness and developing six-pack abs is dropping your body fat levels. Performing a half hour of abs will burn a few calories and perhaps lower your body fat, but training the whole body will do it much quicker and much more effectively.

Q. Do supplements help?

A. Yes absolutely. Despite a clean diet and regular exercise it’s extremely difficult to develop amazing abdominals. You’re fighting a couple of million years of human evolution and your body will fight you for those last 10 or 12 pounds. Check out the Super Abs with Super Supplements page for more information on the most effective fat loss supplements.

Q. What is the best ab exercise?

A. It’s always risky to suggest that one exercise is “best” as what works for one person may not work for another. Still most people find that crunches seem to stimulate the abdominal muscles the best. Unlike those old-fashioned sit-ups that were all the rage for decades, crunches eliminate most of the hip flexor involvement that plague sit-ups. Crunches are far less stressful on the lower back than sit-ups as well. You can do crunches on the floor or using one of those big colorful exercise balls.

Q. Can I target my upper and lower abs?

A. The answer to this question is yes……and no! From an anatomy point of view there is really no upper and lower abs. The abdominal muscle fibers don’t run sideways but up and down (from pelvis to sternum). The reason that most people assume that there are upper and lower abs is because a well-defined midsection has that six-pack look. You’ll see a couple of muscle ridges high beneath the ribcage and a couple low around the bellybutton region. Even though that the abdominal muscle is really one large muscle, it is possible to target the upper and lower sections by performing different exercises. Exercises where the torso moves and legs remain stationary primarily target the upper abs, while the lower abs are hit most effectively by moving the legs and locking the torso.

Q. Will abdominal training help my posture?

A. You bet. Many posture-related problems are related to insufficient abdominal and lower back strength. One of the first things physiotherapists do with rehab patients is start working on their core muscles – the abs and lower back. But why wait until you have posture problems before you start training your abs. You should be training them a minimum of two to three times a week RIGHT NOW!

Q. Will ab exercises hurt my lower back?

A. No. In fact training your abs will actually help prevent lower back problems. Ab exercises are also go therapy for existing lower back problems. Just be careful to perform your exercises with good form and eliminate movements that are stressful to the lower back such as sit-ups and straight leg, leg raises.

Q. Are side bends a good way to get rid of my love handles?

A. Not a chance. Doing side bends to get rid of love handles is based on the myth of spot reduction. Many people think that by doing high reps for the fat deposits around the waist they can somehow stimulate fat loss in this area. But as we keep saying you can’t spot reduce. Only cardio, healthy eating, and weight training to boost the metabolism will effectively get rid of the love handles.

Q. Should I buy one of those home ab-training gadgets?

R. A. Absolutely not! Most of these gadgets are designed to cash in on people’s willingness to do virtually nothing but get great results. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. Most of those crazy contraptions are either dangerous or just not that effective. You can rock back and forth all day but you won’t lose and fat from your waist. If you truly want a rock hard midsection you must clean up your diet. You’ll also need to do 3 to 4 sessions of both cardio AND weight training every week. Save your hard-earned cash for healthy food and a gym membership rather than buying one of those foolish ab-training gadgets.

Article Source:

About The Author

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his Abdominal Training Questions articles? http://abs-information.com.

How Long Does it Take to Get a Six Pack?

Before we drill down to answering the question of, how long does it take to get a six pack? We first need to ask ourselves a few questions. The first question is, why do we want a six pack?

So you need to right now take the time to answer this question. Why do you want a six pack? The answer needs to go deep, deeper than, I want to wear a bikini, or I want to get the girl’s attention. It needs to dive down, so once you have your initial answer and then ask why. Why do you want to wear a bikini? Why do you want the girls looking at you? Why do you want to fit into a wedding dress? Got your answer? Do it again, ask why, and keep asking why until you have the real true and honest answer to your question. Then and only then can we tackle the question of how long does it take to get a six pack?

So now that you know why you want a six pack. We can do go on to, how long does it take to get a six pack? The answer to this question is going to be different for everyone. I can not say a week, a month, 6 months or a year. Because everyone’s body is different, everyone’s determination is different and everyone’s answer to why they want a six pack is different. What I can tell you is some helpful tips to get you there as fast as you are willing to go. But be humble and really consider your current health condition and physical condition, you do not want to be over doing it, and injure yourself while trying to get that “beach body”.

First of all, before you start exercising, you need a good solid diet. A good diet for getting better abs, is one that cuts the fat, and focuses on protein, and lean meats, and carbohydrates. You want to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, and include in your meals a meal replacement shake that is also high in protein.

It is easy to get into a robotic state of nutrition where we eat the exact same foods every day, ingesting the same breakfast, lunch and dinner and the only time we eat differently is when we go out for dinner or someone else cooks for us. It is easier to choose convenience over variety.

Just like our training that we rotate around to prevent boredom, you should rotate your food selection. Normally, you will eat whatever is in your house, so the best strategy to eating a healthy variety is to shop for different foods each week. This will help balance out your diet and help you measure the response a variety of foods. Don’t go for the boring and easy route.

Now as far as exercising and getting your answer to, how long does it take to get a six pack? Good exercise to definitely direct a little more force into the lower area would be the progression of lying leg raises, lying leg raises on a incline and eventually hanging leg raises fully vertical. Lying leg raises on a stability pull is also an extremely challenging and advanced exercise to create razor sharp abdominals.

Finally, the last thing to consider is when you are going to perform your ab workout is training frequency. Again, generally speaking, the more the better assuming your abdominals have recovered. Whether you want to perform it at the end of your workout, before your workout, during your workout or on a day of it's own is up to you. A lot of people say to do the ab workout towards the end of your overall workout. I don't agree with this and if you're abs are your weakest link then they should be given first priority when you are the most fresh, the start of your workout. I hope I have been able to help answer, how long does it take to get a six pack.

Article source:
Visit the author's web site at:
http://buildmuscle.yourtimetoday.com

The Most Effective Way To Obtain Six Pack Abs and A Lean Stomach Learn The Real Truth and Secrets About Abs

First and foremost the most important thing to do in order to get control of losing your belly bulge and get a flat six pack is completely cleaning up your diet. Exercising is important, but your diet trumps all when it comes to losing body fat so that you can be able to see your abs.

There is so much disarray these days and ages about what a healthy diet that pushes fat loss really is... after all, we all are so overwhelmed by conflicting messages in the media about what is healthy and what is not, and you have all of these gimmicky diet books about low carbs, low fat, high protein, vegetarian, fasting, atkins, south beach, liquid diets, and thousands more. There's so much false information, that the average buyer doesn't even know where to start when it comes to eating for fat loss and a healthy body.

Another thing, is to focus incredibly hard on the intensity of your workouts and focus on working the body as a whole in stead just a single body part in order to get the best metabolic response to lose that ever so stubborn stomach fat.

To really get fit, the workouts should have a high intensity level, with short periods of rest in between, work out the largest muscle groups of the body, instead of trying to isolate specific small muscles like the biceps, triceps, or calves.

For the last thing, let us talk about actually training the abs specifically. When it comes down to training the abs, if you want the best results, I always recommend you to forget about the stupid floor exercises for the most part. They are ok for someone that is really out of shape, but most people that are very well conditioned need a much better and intense work out for their abs than crunches and situps. Crunches is one of the abs workouts that actually provides barely any resistance, and remember that resistance is the key to develop and tone your muscles.

I’ve provided a ton of great abs workouts in my book, but one of “THE” most resistant exercises for the abs, is hanging leg raises (but NOT the stupid way you see most people do them in the gym). The key to getting the best results is doing these and actually working the crap out of your abs, is to curl your pelvis bone up as you elevate your legs. Almost and I mean almost nobody ever does this exercise right. To be very honest, a huge amount of people can’t do this at first, but I provide some tips and tricks in my book as to how to progress to doing these extremely accurate.

I know this might sound funny to some people, but the MAIN thing that people are doing wrong to get those flat 6-pack abs is... are you listening to this?

They spend entirely too much time focusing on training their abs! WAY too much time is spent on abs exercises. Sounds crazy, but it's the hidden true.

Remember this, having a flat and visible six pack of abs is all about sliming down to a low body fat percentage. In order to do that, your exercises must mainly focus on stimulating a fat burning hormonal environment in your body, and giving you a higher metabolic rate. This just doesn’t happen when you focus too much of your time focusing and training a small muscle group like the abs.

Instead, you must use the majority of your time working and focusing on training the largest muscle groups of the body like the legs as a whole not just the calves or hamstrings separately , the back, and your chest. This is what speeds up your metabolism and the fat burning hormones that will get you truly lean and sporting a flat six pack of abs!

When it comes to forming the six pack abs themselves, I again refer to any kinds of leg rasing ab exercises, as well as some good floor abs exercises like lying leg thrusts (all described and illustrated in my book).

However, the most maximum definition in the abs and mid section comes from losing that stubborn body fat, and the most effective workouts featured in my book for that accomplishment are various kinds of swings and snatches (unique dumbbell or kettlebell exercises that almost nobody ever does in normal gyms), squats, dead lifts, lunges, step-ups, cleans & presses, mountain climbers, sprinting, and other full body exercises and calisthenics. If you want great looking flat six pack abs, focusing on those instead of focusing so much on training the abs directly is the key to success!

I have provided a fully comprehensive discussion of this topic in my program, which accounts for almost 2/3 of the book, but I'll try to make some nice and simple notes to get people started on the right path to six pack abs immediately. The most important thing is that your diet needs to be as natural and unprocessed as it possibly can. It almost always comes back to the over processing of food that makes the diet unhealthy, and makes it totally wreck your metabolic rate and hormonal balance in your body.

For one example, why would you eat refined grains, when you can eat whole grains (even better than whole grains are sprouted grains, I would usually recommend limiting grain foods overall for best results).

Why would you eat refined sugar, when you can get natural sources of sugar from a high nutrient whole food like fruit. Why in the world would you eat highly processed, refined, and hydrogenated vegetable oils (these are THE most worst I repeat the worst things to eat in the modern diet), why not eat natural sources of healthy fats like nuts, avocados, fish, eggs, coconut milk, organically raised meat, and things like that.

The point I try to get across all the time is to not fall for some gimmick like extremely low carbs (although I do believe in a fairly reduced carb intake as I know that is a big problem for most people), low fat, super high protein, or any other combination that has you focusing on one macronutrient vs. another.

Your body needs all macronutrients it can get to thrive and obtain an assortment of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc. Try to cut out an entire food group will just work against what your body needs in the long run. I get into very much more detail on this exetremly important topic towards losing body fat (especially that stubborn stomach fat) for life in my book.

That’s a little information on how my program for lean flat abs can help you. Well, I hope you plucked several nuggets of information to get you motivated and started on showing off your flat abs in the near future. If you don't already own a copy, be sure to pick up a copy of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book and discover the entire system I've developed for ridding yourself of that extra ab fat for good!

Thanks for listening,

Darius Woodard
The author invites you to visit:
http://www.newweightlosstricks.com

How Long Does it Take to Get a Six Pack?

Before we drill down to answering the question of, how long does it take to get a six pack? We first need to ask ourselves a few questions. The first question is, why do we want a six pack?

So you need to right now take the time to answer this question. Why do you want a six pack? The answer needs to go deep, deeper than, I want to wear a bikini, or I want to get the girl’s attention. It needs to dive down, so once you have your initial answer and then ask why. Why do you want to wear a bikini? Why do you want the girls looking at you? Why do you want to fit into a wedding dress? Got your answer? Do it again, ask why, and keep asking why until you have the real true and honest answer to your question. Then and only then can we tackle the question of how long does it take to get a six pack?

So now that you know why you want a six pack. We can do go on to, how long does it take to get a six pack? The answer to this question is going to be different for everyone. I can not say a week, a month, 6 months or a year. Because everyone’s body is different, everyone’s determination is different and everyone’s answer to why they want a six pack is different. What I can tell you is some helpful tips to get you there as fast as you are willing to go. But be humble and really consider your current health condition and physical condition, you do not want to be over doing it, and injure yourself while trying to get that “beach body”.

First of all, before you start exercising, you need a good solid diet. A good diet for getting better abs, is one that cuts the fat, and focuses on protein, and lean meats, and carbohydrates. You want to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, and include in your meals a meal replacement shake that is also high in protein.

It is easy to get into a robotic state of nutrition where we eat the exact same foods every day, ingesting the same breakfast, lunch and dinner and the only time we eat differently is when we go out for dinner or someone else cooks for us. It is easier to choose convenience over variety.

Just like our training that we rotate around to prevent boredom, you should rotate your food selection. Normally, you will eat whatever is in your house, so the best strategy to eating a healthy variety is to shop for different foods each week. This will help balance out your diet and help you measure the response a variety of foods. Don’t go for the boring and easy route.

Now as far as exercising and getting your answer to, how long does it take to get a six pack? Good exercise to definitely direct a little more force into the lower area would be the progression of lying leg raises, lying leg raises on a incline and eventually hanging leg raises fully vertical. Lying leg raises on a stability pull is also an extremely challenging and advanced exercise to create razor sharp abdominals.

Finally, the last thing to consider is when you are going to perform your ab workout is training frequency. Again, generally speaking, the more the better assuming your abdominals have recovered. Whether you want to perform it at the end of your workout, before your workout, during your workout or on a day of it's own is up to you. A lot of people say to do the ab workout towards the end of your overall workout. I don't agree with this and if you're abs are your weakest link then they should be given first priority when you are the most fresh, the start of your workout. I hope I have been able to help answer, how long does it take to get a six pack.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7908.shtml

Ab-information.coms Top 10 Six-Pack Abdominal Training Questions

Given their worldwide recognition as experts in the area of health and fitness, it’s not surprising that ab-information.com receives hundreds of questions each week on the topic of abdominal training. The following are the most common questions on developing six-pack abs that we answer of a weekly basis.

Q. Are sit-ups good for fat loss and shrinking my waist?

A. The key to shrinking the waist is getting your diet under control and performing effective abdominal training exercises for the muscles. Sit-ups are no longer recommended for the abs as they primarily target the hip flexors and can be very stressful on the lower back for many individuals.

Q. Should I train abs every day?

A. There is no easy answer to this question. Some experts consider the abs to be just “another set of muscles” and as such you only need to train them a couple of times per week. Other experts counter that the abs are designed for repeated training and can be worked every day. Our advice is to try both abdominal training approaches and see which one seems to work best for you.

Q. Should I work my whole body or just my abs?

A. The real key to overall health and fitness and developing six-pack abs is dropping your body fat levels. Performing a half hour of abs will burn a few calories and perhaps lower your body fat, but training the whole body will do it much quicker and much more effectively.

Q. Do supplements help?

A. Yes absolutely. Despite a clean diet and regular exercise it’s extremely difficult to develop amazing abdominals. You’re fighting a couple of million years of human evolution and your body will fight you for those last 10 or 12 pounds. Check out the Super Abs with Super Supplements page for more information on the most effective fat loss supplements.

Q. What is the best ab exercise?

A. It’s always risky to suggest that one exercise is “best” as what works for one person may not work for another. Still most people find that crunches seem to stimulate the abdominal muscles the best. Unlike those old-fashioned sit-ups that were all the rage for decades, crunches eliminate most of the hip flexor involvement that plague sit-ups. Crunches are far less stressful on the lower back than sit-ups as well. You can do crunches on the floor or using one of those big colorful exercise balls.

Q. Can I target my upper and lower abs?

A. The answer to this question is yes……and no! From an anatomy point of view there is really no upper and lower abs. The abdominal muscle fibers don’t run sideways but up and down (from pelvis to sternum). The reason that most people assume that there are upper and lower abs is because a well-defined midsection has that six-pack look. You’ll see a couple of muscle ridges high beneath the ribcage and a couple low around the bellybutton region. Even though that the abdominal muscle is really one large muscle, it is possible to target the upper and lower sections by performing different exercises. Exercises where the torso moves and legs remain stationary primarily target the upper abs, while the lower abs are hit most effectively by moving the legs and locking the torso.

Q. Will abdominal training help my posture?

A. You bet. Many posture-related problems are related to insufficient abdominal and lower back strength. One of the first things physiotherapists do with rehab patients is start working on their core muscles – the abs and lower back. But why wait until you have posture problems before you start training your abs. You should be training them a minimum of two to three times a week RIGHT NOW!

Q. Will ab exercises hurt my lower back?

A. No. In fact training your abs will actually help prevent lower back problems. Ab exercises are also go therapy for existing lower back problems. Just be careful to perform your exercises with good form and eliminate movements that are stressful to the lower back such as sit-ups and straight leg, leg raises.

Q. Are side bends a good way to get rid of my love handles?

A. Not a chance. Doing side bends to get rid of love handles is based on the myth of spot reduction. Many people think that by doing high reps for the fat deposits around the waist they can somehow stimulate fat loss in this area. But as we keep saying you can’t spot reduce. Only cardio, healthy eating, and weight training to boost the metabolism will effectively get rid of the love handles.

Q. Should I buy one of those home ab-training gadgets?

R. A. Absolutely not! Most of these gadgets are designed to cash in on people’s willingness to do virtually nothing but get great results. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. Most of those crazy contraptions are either dangerous or just not that effective. You can rock back and forth all day but you won’t lose and fat from your waist. If you truly want a rock hard midsection you must clean up your diet. You’ll also need to do 3 to 4 sessions of both cardio AND weight training every week. Save your hard-earned cash for healthy food and a gym membership rather than buying one of those foolish ab-training gadgets.
About The Author

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his Abdominal Training Questions articles? http://abs-information.com

How To Get 6 Pack Abs Fast

Achieving a six pack of abs is the dream of most guys that I know. Achieving the six pack can be a never ending battle and often a very frustrating one. The answer to the question how to get a six pack of abs fast has eluded on the whole men and women for what seems an eternity. Part of the puzzle is that for each fitness leader you ask you will probably obtain just as many separate answers. Much of the truth about achieving a six pack of abs is bogus. This article can help.

I listed 5 areas that advertisers and marketing experts use to draw those of us that are unsuspecting and desparate to try anything to achieve those elusive abs. If you are like the rest of us you long for those ripped abs and that v-taper waistline. Isn't that why you are reading this? Here some pitfalls to avoid in your quest for the six pack:

1. Many so-called "health foods" are actually smartly disguised junk foods that in reality stimulate you to add more belly fat... Yet the diet food marketing industry continues to tell stories to you so they can boost their profits.

2. Ab exercises like crunches, sit-ups, and ab machines are the LEAST helpful method of getting rock hard and washboard abs.

3. Boring repetitive cardio exercise routines are NOT the greatest way to lose body fat and expose those six pack abs.

4. You DON'T need to throw away your money on expensive "extreme fat burner" pills (that don't work) or other bogus products. Eating healthy with the right foods will get you much further in your quest for abs than any supplements on the market.

5. Ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers, and other infomercial ab-gimmicks... They're all a complete waste of your time and money. Despite the misleading infomercials, the perfectly chiseled fitness models in the commercials did NOTget their perfect body by using that "ab contraption"... They got their picture perfect body through aggressive workouts and sound eating habits.

Millions of dollars are spent each year to convince us to buy useless products that we don't need so we feel like we know how to get 6 pack abs fast. It is so simple for us to fall for their claims, which are often over-exaggerated. Don't be fooled by their million dollar advertising. You will only be disappointed in the end.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_8555.shtml

Three Keys To Obtaining Six Pack Abdominal Muscles

Introduction

One of the biggest misconceptions about getting six pack abdominal muscles is that you must spend hours in the gym concentrating on ab exercises. That's not true!

In fact there are three keys to gaining a six pack:

1 Healthy Diet

2 Exercise

3 Tightening up the abdominal muscles

Key #1 - Diet

You have a six pack hidden under the fat. You need to lose body fat to reveal it so a healthy diet is vitally important.

One of the best ways to develop a fat-free abdomen is to eat more often, say six times per day. Your body is pretty smart and when it realises that you're eating regularly it will store less food as fat because it won't need fat stores for future use.

Eat healthy food such as the following:

* High quality meat such as fish, chicken, turkey. and organic beef or lamb (but not bacon).

* Nuts, beans and seeds. These are loaded with healthy fats, fiber, and protein.

* Complex carbohydrates such as cereals, potatoes, wholemeal pasta and wholemeal bread.

* Plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and side salads.

* Plenty of water, preferably spring or filtered. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice into some of your glasses of water.

A typical day would include a healthy breakfast, two light meals and in between snacks of fresh fruit, nuts and water.

Key #2

Try to do some cardiovascular exercise, which is good for the heart, builds stamina, and burns fat.

This is any activity that increases your heart and respiration rates, which can be any type of exercise that you feel comfortable with.

Walking is an excellent form of exercise and can be easily incorporated into your daily routine.

If you have the time to do more then try to do some high intensity workouts, incorporating interval training, ie a period of intense activity followed by a rest and then intense activity again.

Such exercises include:

* running

* cycling

* rowing

* trampolining

* skipping

* aerobic classes

It's also good to incorporate some high intensity strength training to increase muscle tissue. Such exercises would include:

* squats

* lunges

* chest presses

* chin-ups

* pull-ups

* press-ups

* Back pulley exercises

* weight training with dumbbells and barbells,

Key # 3

To obtain six pack abdominal muscles do some exercises which tone up the abdominal area such as:

* jack knives,

* suspended leg lifts

* abdominal crunches

Doing 50 - 100 crunches a day on alternate days will tighten up your stomach muscles.

To do this lay on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the ground. Place your hands lightly on the back of your head and then raise your upper body as close to your knees as you can, keeping your bottom on the ground. Slowly return to the starting position.

Start out by doing 3 sets of fifteen repetitions and then gradually increase this as you get fitter.

A variation on this is to twist your upper body slightly as you're sitting up and touch your right knee with your left elbow. The next time that you sit up touch your left knee with your right elbow and alternate in this way. It makes the exercise a bit more interesting and exercises the side muscles also.

The abdominal crunch is more effective if you use an incline board. To do this lie back on the board, put your feet under the footpads and crunch up about halfway. Sit up slowly so that you use your abdominal strength to complete the move - not momentum.

If you have access to a leg-raise station use this to do some vertical leg raises. To do these rest your elbows on the station, hang straight down and lift your legs from your pelvis without bending your knees. Do not use the momentum of your body to complete the action. Instead use your abdominal strength to complete each rep.

Functional Fitness Trainer

I would highly recommend getting your own functional fitness trainer, who will work out a program that's specific to you and your own personal needs.

Functional fitness is a system of training that is truly holistic and utilises movements that are natural to the body. It enhances the health and strength of every muscle and focuses on improving the strength of the body's core, which is the abdominals and lower back.

Finally, be consistent and don't give up. If you continue with a low-fat diet, at least 30 minutes of cardio three or four times per week and toning up the abdominal area it should take you about eight weeks to have rock hard six pack abdominal muscles. So what are you waiting for!

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_9844.shtml