Contrary to popular belief, doing millions of crunches will
not sculpt your abs. While there is a time and a place to
use the beloved crunch in your waist slimming effort, this
alone will not create the body of your dreams. The key to
creating an enviable midsection lies in your ability to
effectively challenge your abdominal muscles.
The "crunch" movement only targets your upper abdominal
muscles, the ones found between your rib cage and belly
button. Imagine you are doing a crunch - better yet, get
down and do one - notice where you feel the burn. Those are
your upper abs.
To effectively sculpt your waist, you will need to focus on
strengthening your upper, lower and side abdominal muscles.
In order to achieve an overall look of symmetry your flat
abs routine should consist of at least one exercise for
each portion of your midsection.
A surefire way to kick up the intensity, and thus the
results, of your abdominal workout is to add resistance
training. By working your midsection against resistance you
open up the possibility for greater muscle stimulation
which equals greater results. You can do this by using a
medicine ball, cable machine, elastic band or dumbbells.
First, consistent cardiovascular exercise is needed to burn
off stored energy.
Follow these three tips to ensure your success:
* Choose an aerobic exercise that uses major muscle groups
such as walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, biking
anything that uses your big muscle groups. The more muscle
groups you are using, the better.
* Find an exercise that you enjoy. This will make it easy
for you to stick with it. I often get asked, "What is
the best exercise?" The best exercise is something you
enjoy doing. That way you will look forward to doing the
activity.
* Make sure that you are exercising aerobically for at
least 30-60 minutes three times a week. However, feel free
to do it longer and more frequently.
Second, to uncover your abdominal muscles we have to
discuss....your eating habits. I'm sorry to say it, but the
food that you put in your mouth will surely have an effect
on the size and shape of your waist.
Use these three pointers to help you slash fat:
* Eat small meals frequently throughout the day and avoid
overeating.
* Processed foods should be kept to a minimum or avoided
completely.
* Load up on vegetables and lean meat before partaking in
grains or starches.
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Machelle Lee owns and operates The Invisible Gym in Santa
Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become
physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced,
healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you
can visit her website.
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