FitSugar

Get Lifted: Reverse Dumbbell Crunch

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Crunches are a standard ab exercise that many of us try to avoid. Some just dislike crunches immensely and some are bored by the endless repetition. To keep your abs strong and your mind engaged while you engage you abs, you need to mix it up and do variations like this Dumbbell Crunch. The hand weights provide an extra challenge, and this move will tone your shoulders as well as your low abs.

For instructions on how to do this exercise read more.

Lie on your back with a set of dumbbells nearby. Bend your knees and place your heels a few inches from your bum. Place a dumbbell in each hand.
Straighten your arms overhead and lift your feet off the floor so your knees are over your belly button. This is the start position.
As you exhale, use your abs to lift your bum off the ground, squeezing your knees into your chest. Inhale back to the start position. Keep the dumbbells lifted the entire time.
Do a total of 20 to 25 crunches, take a break, and repeat the exercise but reverse the breathing inhaling on the reverse crunch and exhaling as you control your bum back to starting position.

Work It Girl: At Your Desk Abs

FitSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Sitting at your desk doesn't mean you can't work on toning your mid-section. You can work your belly at work without your boss ever knowing you're doing some strength training on the job. All you need to do is pull your navel to your spine, the most basic Pilates move. Here's how:

Sit up straight, keeping your back away from the back of your chair.
Exhale and pull your abs to your spine without curving your back. This will feel a little like a corset. It should feel a little like you are bracing for a punch to the abdomen.
Focus on your low abs; these you can definitely keep engaged while you breathe.
Breathe into your back ribs, wherever you have ribs you have lungs. This is a nice stretch for the intercostals, the muscles between the ribs.
Hold for 30 seconds. Do twice an hour.

Oblique Variation: To challenge your obliques (the abs on the side of the torso) a little more simply tilt your torso slightly to the right and hold that position for 30 seconds. Then, of course, reverse the action by tilting to the left so you can keep even.

Fit's Tip: You can also work your abs when you're waiting at a long traffic light, when stuck in traffic, or heaven forbid, out on a boring date! Try it right now and let me know how it feels.

Source

You Asked: How Do I Strengthen My Abs?

FitSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:30:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering . . .

"Hi Fit,
I am frustrated with my abs. Although I am pretty active, eat well, run a lot and pretty toned and all, my abs are a mess! I have very weak abs and that is the only area where I am completely flabby and loose. Not only does the appearance bother me, but mostly because I want strong abs so that my back is strong too. My question is how do I improve the strength of my abs? I try all sorts of things, but thought if I had a little more guidance on how to strengthen them, I can be on my way to being healthier, stronger and having a tight stomach. If you could help I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!"
– Miss Frustrated

This is a great question and I know you are not alone in this quest, so to see my answer read more.

The abs seem to be a difficult area to tone and while "six pack" abs may be aesthetically pleasing they don't necessarily translate to a strong torso or healthy back. Since we cannot pick and choose the area of our bodies where fat is lost, the best bet for losing belly "flab" is cardio, for all over weight loss.

While you can't spot reduce, you can spot tone (this is important for preventing back problems) and when it comes to abdominals you need to work all four layers of abdominal muscles. Here's a quick run down on the layers going from outermost layer, you have the rectus which turns into the six pack, the external and internal obliques, and the transverse. And you are right you need strong abs to help your back, and here's the run down on what your ab muscles do and exercises for each layer, plus a bonus exercise for your back.

Rectus:
Controls the tilt of the pelvis and can affect the curvature of the lower spine, bends the torso forward
Exercises: Bicycle Crunches and Ball Crunches

Obliques:
Creates intra-abdominal pressure to stabilize the spine, side bending and twisting torso
Exercises: Twist Oblique Crunch and Ab Crossover

Transverse:
Flattens the belly, creates intra-abdominal pressure to stabilize the spine
Exercises: Elbow plank and Side elbow plank

Back Extensors
Stabilize the spine, as well as extend (arch), side bend and twist spine
Exercise: Superman and Flying with an exercise ball

To work your abs you need to do enough reps of an exercise, or variety of exercises, until your abs really burn and feel exhausted. Then repeat the set two more times. Just like strength training, you want to give your ab muscles time to recover, so work them at the most every other day. Your abs, especially your transverse, should engage before you move your arms or your legs to provide stability to the spine. So you should be working them all the time, so if you use the elliptical or stair stepper try not using your hands to force your abs to engage so your time on cardio machines will be doing double duty.

Wow . . . I had no idea I has so much to say about abs.

Source

"Ab"solutely Don't Overwork Your Abs!

FitSugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:30:00 -0700

I know that bikini season is approaching fast. I also know that we are all looking to get those abs in tip-top shape; with this in mind, many of us have the tendency to go a little ab crazy right now. However, if you overwork them, you may be doing more harm than good.

The abs are like any other muscle in the body -- Intense work followed by a period of rest and recuperation (at least 48 hours) is the best way to develop them. Working them out on a daily basis is not a great idea because you are not allowing for that essential rest time. Think about having an intense "ab" day once or twice a week -- This would be a day that you only focus on exercising your abs, proceeded or followed with at least 30 minutes of cardio, of course.

I know it's tempting, but resist the urge to do those once obligatory 100 crunches at the end of your workout every single day. You and your abs can thank me later.

Get on the Ball: Abdominal Twist

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:00:26 -0800

I love using an exercise ball to tone my middle. The Bicycle Crunch is a great move, but if you're looking for a new one to try, here's one called Abdominal Twist. It's similar but targets your lower abs and obliques. It's one of my favorites to do while watching TV.

To see how to do this move, read more.

Stand in front of an exercise ball. Hold the ball with one hand (so it doesn't roll away) and lie down. Bend your knees and straddle the ball with your legs. Extend your arms next to the sides of your body with your palms facing down. Lift your feet off the ground so your toes are pointing up toward the sky, and gently squeeze either side of the ball to keep it in place.
Before starting the exercise, draw your naval toward your spine to engage your abs. Then slowly rotate both knees to the right. Then come back to center, and rotate both knees to the left, and then come back to the center. This is one repetition.
Complete three sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Let Pilates Move You: Twisted Obliques

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:32:00 -0800

If your abdominal strengthening routine is feeling stale, why not put a twist on it?

This variation on the basic "sit-up" targets the obliques. Try it at home or the gym soon and let us know what you think of it.

Move 1) Lie on your back with bent knees and twist both legs to the left until your legs are on the floor. Bend elbows and interlace fingers behind your head. Really cradle and support your head.

Move 2) Exhale pulling your deep abs in to your spine, lift your head and upper back off the floor using your abdominals. Keep your shoulders square to the ceiling because it's so easy to cheat. Really focus on your left shoulder coming off the floor as much as the right one by actively reaching it towards your right hip.

Inhale and slowly lower your head. Repeat 9 more times before switching sides.

Fit’s tip: It is good to stretch your spine and obliques before doing the sit ups. To stretch, lie in the twisted position from "Move 1", but reach your arms straight out to the side and rest them on the floor. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds on each side.

To see how not to do this exercise read more

View 1 Photos ›

Pilates Video: Saw Off Your Baby Toe

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:15:00 -0800

Looking for a way to work your abs and stretch your back at the same time!!! I love multitasking exercises like this one with one of the best names in the Pilates repertoire Saw off your baby toe.

Try it. I think you will like it. Plus, it is a great exercise to do in a series with the Twist.

Remember to really pull yourself back to upright with your abdominals. The more you work your abs, the bigger stretch you will get for your back.

ExerciseTV: Belly Bulge Blast

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:25:52 -0800

Feel like you need to blast you belly back into action after your Thanksgiving feast? This short, full-body workout targets the abs while working the arms and glutes, too! During the busy holiday season it can be difficult to find time to workout, so when I saw this brief yet powerful workout over at ExerciseTV, I knew I wanted to share it with you. The folks at ExerciseTV were generous enough to share this video with me and to sponsor this post. So get ready to work off some of that pumpkin pie!

You should definitely check out the extensive video library at ExerciseTV. There is no reason to ever be bored with your workout again!

Got Back Pain? Try Pilates

FitSugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 02:30:00 -0700

You all know that I love Pilates. I started practicing the method because of chronic back pain. After trying physical therapy and yoga, it was doing Pilates regularly that got me out of pain. When I say regularly, I mean 5 to 7 days a week. Mr. Joe Pilates said that all it takes is 20 minutes of these exercises a day to keep the core in shape. I can attest to the truth of that statement. I am a walking, dancing, running, yoga practicing, skiing example of the power of Pilates. There are now some studies that prove the benefits of Pilates as a rehabilitative tool.

Queen's University School of Rehabilitation Therapy studied physically active 20 and 55 year olds with chronic back pain (just like me!!!). They found that the subjects that followed a regime of equipment-based exercises of the Pilates method, that strengthen core muscles in the lumbar-pelvic region, fared better than the subjects that simply consulted with physicians and other health care specialists. The Pilates group overall had 46% more pain relief and these improvements were visible a year later. Were those folks doing their 20 minutes a day? The study didn't say, but some of the basic Pilates concepts really help in activities of daily life.

Pilates teaches you how to stabilize your spine as well as how to safely increase spinal flexibility. I believe wholeheartedly that working with a certified Pilates practitioner is the way to go if you are trying to get out of pain. Although the private sessions are expensive, the pay off is great, less pain and more strength. Once you learn how to engage those deep abs and work your core, there is no going back.

Photo: Melanie Johnson
Power Flow Pilates, New Haven, CN

Take It to the Gym: Printable Love Handle Workout

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:23:24 -0800

I know not everyone likes to do ab work next to his or her laptop. I know I am unique in this case. For all of you that go to the gym and want a little guidance (not from your iPod - but a tangible piece of paper) here is a print out version of the Love Handles workout. Now you can really take it with you where ever you choose to exercise.

Pilates Twist: 10 sets

Keep reaching energy out the top of your head.
Twist with just the ribs, not the pelvis.

Can Can: 10 sets

Really pull your navel to your spine as you straighten your legs

Twisted Crunch: 10 times, each side

Make sure to lift both of your shoulders evenly off the floor

Side Plank and Thread the Needle: 3 times each

Really lift the pelvis up
Press the hand firmly into the ground
Scoop though your abs to "thread the needle"

Dumbbell Side Bends, 10 sets

Make sure to bend just to the side, not forward or backward.