Category: Weight Loss Exercise

Exercises for abs are an important way to strengthen your midsection, also known as your core, and to give you stability and awesome looking abs.

Everyone thinks that there is some kind of a secret but really the best way to build a great set of abs and get that stable core is to diet, stretch, and work the right muscles in the right way.

First things first, even with a great set of abdominal muscles you are going to have trouble showing them off if you have even a thin slab of fat covering them up. So it is important to keep your down.

Next comes stretching. I want to make sure that you have a useful set of muscles when you have strengthened them. One of the best ways to have great muscles is to make sure that you have been stretching so that you can have the range of motion that goes along with the increased strength and stability that the following exercises will give you.

Finally we get to the exercises themselves that will help get you stronger.

There are three parts that you want to work on in your abdominal area. There are the upper abs, lower abs, and the obliques, which are the muscles on your sides right above your hips.

Exercises for abs – Upper Abdominals

The way to work your upper abdominals is to exercises that lift your upper body off of the ground. This could be as simple as doing crunches, situps or a curl up.

These exercises will put pressure on your upper abs. As far as sets and reps go you will want to do 2 sets of 20-25 reps 3 times a week. Some people say to do ab exercises everyday but this will lead to overtraining I believe.

Exercises for abs – Lower Abdominals

To work the lower abdominals you need to lift your legs off the ground while lying down. There are a few exercises that I like and those are leg raises, and seated knee ups on a bench.

Again the best way to work your your core is to do 2 sets of 20-25 reps of each exercises, 3 times a week on non-consecutive days.

Exercises for abs – Obliques

Your obliques are on your sides and the best way to work these muscles is to make sure that you are putting pressure on your sides by lifting  or twisting on each side.

The easiest exercise to start with is by standing up straight and leaning to one side, then straight back up, and then leaning to the other side.

This may seem easy but you will feel it tomorrow.

Another exercise that works well is twists, just sit on a bench and then rotate around facing one side and then rotating around to face the other side.

Again a couple of sets of each of these exercises are quite doable and should not be very hard or tiring, you will feel it the next day though.

If you are doing these ab exercises every two or three days they should not take you more than about 10 minutes a workout. This will get you in better shape and you will notice big changes within 3 to 4 weeks at most.

My family have all been going to a local Structural Chiropractor for the last few months and finally a few weeks ago I dove in too. She took some pictures and aligned my body, and sent me for X-rays and finally after all this let me know that I had some real back problems that she is working on aligning.

Although I don’t have bulging disks I do have a lot of decay and thinning in the discs which is causing pain and mobility problems.

A bulging disc, also known as a herniated or ruptured vertebral disc, is a common problem. It happens when one of the spinal discs is pushed out of its normal alignment, causing part of the disc to bulge out. This can cause a lot of pain.

The discs are soft cushions that separate each of the bony spinal vertebrae to give the spine flexibility and prevent the vertebral bones from being damaged by rubbing against each other. They also cushion the spinal nerves that surround the spinal cord.

What Is A Bulging Disc?

These discs, like many of the structures of our body, tend to become more brittle and less flexible with age. In many people, the discs begin to deteriorate from around age 30.

Just about everyone will have less flexible discs by the time they reach the age of 50 or 60.

Less flexibility means that the discs are more easily damaged. So bulging disc pain is something that many people will suffer from as they grow older.

The reason that a bulging disc is so painful is that often times, when the disc is pushed out of alignment, the spinal nerves can be pinched.

This is especially likely if the person already suffers from spinal stenosis, where the space around the spinal cord and nerves has gradually narrowed over the years. This kind of thing can be happening gradually without a person knowing, until pain begins at a certain point.

Herniated Discs

Herniation of the disc may happen suddenly, for example when a person lifts something heavy or has an accident or a fall. Then the pain is likely to come on suddenly and severely.

In other cases it may happen gradually over time, as the spine is strained over and over. In those cases, the pain may be occasional, becoming more and more of a problem until the person seeks treatment.

What kind of pain from a Bulging Disc?

Sufferers from a bulging disc will often experience pain like an electric shock that results from the compression of the spinal nerve. This shock type pain may be felt going down your arms (when the problem is in the vertebrae of the neck) or down your legs (when the problem disc is in the lower back region). You may also have tingling or numbness in your arms or legs, and general muscle weakness.

In rare cases a herniated or bulging disc can also cause problems with urinating or having bowel movements, often accompanied by numbness in the genital area. This is a medical emergency and you should get help right away.

Treatment for a Bulging Disc

Sometimes surgery is needed, but in many cases a herniated disc will heal with rest. However, it is important to seek medical advice with any back problem. Your doctor can check that there is nothing more serious wrong with you, and prescribe pain relief medication if necessary for your bulging disc.

When doing any kind of exercise and even at times when you are not doing any exercise you will notice your core of your body. Your core is the muscles right around your torso, that is the muscles of your abdominals right around your lower back and everything in between.

The muscles of the core of your body give you the ability to stand upright, to bend over, to pick things up, to lean and also for you to turn around. Think of all the times during the day that you use these core muscles and you will realize that this is indeed a very important part of your muscle to keep strong.

Low back pain is very common. It affects 4 of 5 people at some time during their lives. It is the leading cause of disability for those aged 19 to 45 and is the second most common cause of missed work days (after the common cold) for adults younger than 45. Low back pain becomes more common as people age.

On the flip side of a strong core is a weak set of core muscles. If you have any back problems you may be dealing with weak core muscles (I am a little sensitive to this as my wife has a bad back and a stronger core has not helped) and strengthening these core muscles will give you less pain and a lot more agility.

How To Train Your Core – Abdominals

To strengthen your core lets look at the muscle a bit separately. To start in the front you can strengthen your abdominal muscles by doing crunches or situps as well as lying down on your back and doing some kind of leg lifts.

For these abdominal exercises do them for about 20-30 reps for three sets. A related set of muscles are on your sides called the obliques. You can strengthen your oblique muscles by standing straight up with your hands on your head and then leaning over to one side, coming back up straight and then leaning to the other side. do about 15 reps on each side for three sets.

How To Train Your Core – Lower Back

To strengthen your lower back you will want to do the same exercise as your obliques except bringing your body forward and then back straight up. Do not go too far as you do not want to overextend these muscles. Another great exercise is the pelvic tilt. Do do a pelvic tilt lie on your back with your legs bent and just push your pelvis straight up.

Pilates has become really popular over the last few years and if you have seen one of those Windsor pilates commercials you will notice how much they focus on core muscle training where traditional cardio always seems to focus on your arms and legs.

You should do all of these core training workouts as one workout three days a week. The important thing to really remember is that if you have a strong midsection to your body you will have better strength and flexibility throughout your body and this will help you throughout your day.

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