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Weight Loss Exercise

Upper Ab Workouts

The upper abs are often the strongest area of the abs on people who do not work out or who do basic workouts. Still most people look to get their upper abs into better shape.

These three exercises, the butterfly, the curl, and the bench sit ups, all work the upper portion of the abs for a great workout.

Best Upper Ab Exercise – The Butterfly

The butterfly may look a little silly, but it works for a good start to an upper ab workout.

Sit on the floor as you would for a basic crunch: knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart, back on the ground. Let your knees drop out to the side and your heels come together. Your legs will form what looks like the wings of a butterfly, giving this exercise its name.

Keeping your legs bent, come up into a crunch, hold, and return to the starting position. This exercise keeps you from relying on your leg muscles the way you can do in a traditional crunch and works out the upper abs.

How To Do Ab Curls

The curl is very similar to a crunch as well, but it requires more upper ab strength.

Doing this upper ab exercise may be tough when you are just beginning, but keep working at it because it works really well. Lie down with your knees bent as you would with a crunch. Put your arms down at your side.

Slowly lift your head, neck, and chest and roll in as you would for a crunch. While you are rolling in, let your hands slide along the floor; do not lift them or use them for support. Then return to a sitting position. Most people definitely feel a burn from this upper ab workout.

Bench Sit Ups

The final exercise for an upper ab workout is a bench sit-up.

This exercise is to be done on a bench but can be modified at home if you do not have a bench available. Choose freeweights that will hold down your legs. For most people, a ten-pound is good. Lie with your feet at the top of the bench’s incline. Put the on your feet and then lie back.

Do a sit-up or crunch; the should hold your foot down. Learning to balance yourself is part of this exercise, and it will force you to rely on your ab muscles for strength. By beginning with this upper ab workout routine, you should begin to get your upper abs into shape quickly.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Why You Should Have a Fitness Buddy

Getting physically fit is a very daunting task that takes time, patience, money, and endurance. Often, many women feel as if they are all alone in their journey and do not have someone to talk to or someone who understands their plight.

When this happens, they tend to want to give up and go back to their easier but unhealthy lifestyles. Having a workout, diet, and fitness buddy is such an important part of a successful lifestyle change.

Why Do You Need A Fitness Buddy?

fitness-buddyFirst and foremost, people tend to stay more motivated when they have someone else there to encourage them along the way.

A buddy can help stay on your case when you start to “slack off” and they can also help you compare successes. They can really help you to maintain your accountability.

In addition, a fitness buddy offers up some friendly competition, which also stimulates and maintains motivation.

Sometimes people simply need a friendly reminder that they need to do things, and a fitness buddy is perfect for this.

They can help to remind you it’s time for your workout, or that you need to go grocery shopping for some fresh produce.

No matter what the reason, they make a great resource for helping to keep you in check, and sure that you’re holding up your end of the bargain.

When Can A Buddy Help You Out?

If you enjoy walking around your neighborhood as a form of exercise, a walking buddy is extremely important for safety reasons, and so you will have someone to chat with along the way.

Walking with a partner makes the entire trip seem much easier and it helps it to go by faster.

This concept also applies to working out at the gym. Your fitness buddy can be your spotter and can encourage and motivate you to lift just five more pounds this week.They can also be good for carpooling so you both save a bit of money on gas and on transportation.

When you feel a bit discouraged, you can turn to your buddy for advice or help. They can be a great support system in times of need or when you’re just feeling down.

It’s also nice to have someone who is going through the same thing you are, and whom you can share a goal with. There are countless reasons why having someone to share your fitness journey is a good idea for you, but for them as well.

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Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan

Keeping to a gestational diabetes diet plan is very important if you have been diagnosed with diabetes during pregnancy.

It is vital to your own health as well as the health of the baby that your blood sugar levels are managed and controlled during your pregnancy.

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is diagnosed when women who have not been diabetic before develop diabetes during pregnancy. Most pregnant women are tested for it as a matter of routine.

It happens because the needs of the baby for glucose, which provides energy, interfere with the body’s normal insulin-based regulatory mechanism.

If you maintain close contact with your health care provider during your pregnancy and take any medications that they prescribe as well as following the gestational diabetes diet plan that they will help you to formulate, there is every chance that you will have a normal birth with a healthy baby.

The diabetes often goes away when the baby is born.

The main principles of a diet plan for pregnant women with diabetes are the same as for other forms of diabetes.

Here Are some Eating Tips If You Suffer From Gestational Diabetes

Avoid refined sugars, including high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and any foods that contain them.

Bluebarries for better healthReplace sugared desserts with fresh fruit.

Eat regularly, with smaller meals and healthy snacks spread evenly through the day.

Choose whole grains over refined grains, e.g. brown rice over white rice, bread and pasta made from whole wheat flour instead of white. This adds fiber to your diet which helps to delay the absorption of the natural sugars present in whole foods.

Eat more vegetables, both to fill you up and to increase your intake of fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Manage your carbohydrate intake. This does not necessarily mean eating fewer carbs, but it is important not to eat too much at the same time.

Spread carbs through the day and be sure to eat a little before going to sleep and soon after waking in the morning.

You may be advised to cut down on fatty foods, especially if you were over before the pregnancy began or have gained more than expected during the pregnancy.

Most gestational diabetes diet plans will involve counting carbohydrates in some way. You will either be advised to eat a certain number of carbohydrate grams at each meal, with some flexibility of course, or you will be taught an exchange system where each food has a certain value.

We cannot give specific figures here because individual diabetics have different requirements of carbs and other foods. Diabetes can be a dangerous condition and it is vital that your individual case is managed correctly.

If you do not understand the gestational diabetes diet plan that you have been given, do not rely on information from websites but check back with your health care provider.

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