More than nearly any other subject I get questions on is the subject of how to get abs. There is a lot to be said for abdominal muscles and I think that although a great set of abs may be great to parade along a beach there are many more important reasons to get abs.
In thinking about how to get abs I want to be clear that the central part of your body which includes your abs and your lower back as well as your sides is a very important part of your body. Just think how you would not be able to reach over or to the side or even to keep your body upright if you did not have a strong set of abdominal muscles. So more than just vanity a strong set of abs is very important to our health.
How to Get Great Abs – Are Your Abs Hiding?
For many people there is a lot of exercise going on in the abdominal region and this may consist of situps, crunches and leg raises, but if you are hiding your abs then what is the point?
The first thing you need to do is pinch your fat on the front and side of your stomach and see how much fat is sitting there.
Are you a little too fat? There is no such thing as spot reducing your abs so it is best to try and lose whatever fat you have been getting a good diet going.
Exercises for Great Abs
The best way to get abs is by working your muscles correctly. For most of us there are two key types of exercises and those are upper ab exercises and lower ab exercises. To work these two parts of your abs you need to do crunches and leg raises.
Crunches – If you do not know yet what a crunch is then I would be glad to tell you. Basically a crunch is just an exercise where you lie on the floor with your lower legs to the knee resting up on a bench or chair (make sure you are lying on some kind of mat) you just do a half a situp, that is you raise your shoulders up about 6 inches off the floor and then drop them back down. If you are doing this correctly then you will feel the pull in your abs and will not be able to do more than 15-20 reps before you just can not raise your shoulders anymore.
Leg Raises – I love doing this exercise. You again lie down on the floor and bring your knees up toward your chest and then back down straight on the ground. I find that if I hold onto something behind my head that it makes it a lot easier to do this exercise. Again if you can do 15-20 reps of this you are doing well and over time you will be able to do more as you get more sets in.
These two exercises can be done like any other muscle group which is about two or three times a week and you should do two to three sets per workout that you are working abs. The days after your first workout you will find that your muscles are quite sore the next day. Your abs will get stronger quite quickly and not nearly as sore the next day over time.
Did this post tell you what you need on how to get great abs? If you have any questions please comment below and either I or someone else should be able to help.
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on Fitness