Ways to Get Abs for Everyone

                

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Are you so confused by the many ways to get abs that you haven't even started working out? Too much expert advice getting you down?

Some people say diet is most important, some people say cardio. Some people tell you to do crunches, others say don't. Some people tell you to work out at home, others say you should go to the gym.

Who's right?

The good news is that there really is no one right way to get abs. All of those experts are right.

The bad news is that you have to make the choice. Only you can decide where, when, and how to work out.

Don't worry, though. If you know a little bit about yourself, making a choice that's right for you is simple.

There are really only 2 things you need to do to get stellar abs.

1. Follow a healthy diet 2. Commit to a regular fitness routine

There is a vast variety of ways to go about these 2 tasks, though.

Diet Choices:

A healthy diet should be low in fat, high in fruits and vegetables, and based on whole grains. When you're exercising a lot, you also need a higher protein intake.

Before you decide on the diet plan that works for you, you need to answer 2 quick questions.

* What needs to change in your current diet? * Do you eat out a lot?

Compare your current diet to the recommendations for a healthy diet above. How far off are you?

If, like most people, you see too much fat in your diet, you will need to concentrate on reducing your fat intake. Get rid of the "bad fats" first, such as those in fast-food, potato chips, and other fried junk foods. Then slowly cut out other unnecessary fats. Replace butter with vegetable oil in your cooking.

Do you see a lot of processed carbs in your current meals? These are often found in white bread and pasta. Then cut back on these carbohydrates. Try replacing them with whole grain alternatives.

Do you eat a lot of meat or dairy products? These are a big source of fat and cholesterol. Replace them with low fat alternatives. Consider giving some vegetarian substitutes, such as tofu and soy milk, a try.

You don't have to stop eating out to follow your diet, but you may need to make some changes. Fast food hamburgers and french fries will need to go. But, many restaurants offer low fat meal options. Also, you can request that your food is cooked with vegetable oil rather than butter. Get your sauces and dressings served on the side.

Picking a diet plan that will help you achieve your goals is the most important step. When that's done, everything else will be easier.

The next step is to pick exercises that you will enjoy. Yoga, walking, running, and bicycling are all great cardio workouts. Alternate those with the ab targeting exercises of your choice, and you'll have a fully developed fitness plan tailored just for you.

Even though there are many ways to get abs, the only ones you should worry about are the ones that work for you, because if you aren't happy with your fitness plan, you won't achieve the results you want.

Six Pack Abs Guide. Your guide to avoiding the morass of hype, scams and quick-fix scheme so that you can finally expose the sexy six-pack abs that everyone loves!

Bodyweight Exercises for Abs & Weight Loss

                

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What ab exercise can you do that isn't done lying on the floor?

The exercise is called the Mountain Climber. Now you'll quickly notice that this
is not a traditional bodybuilding ab exercise. You don't lie on the floor and crunch
or do sit-ups in order to isolate one muscle group. That's always been a downfall
of the bodybuilding approach.

Instead, the Mountain Climber is another total-body, efficient and effective
exercise that helps you get more total body results in less time.

Stay in a pushup position, at the top, and slowly bring one knee to your chest.
Place it back to the start position, and alternate sides. Don't round your back
or let your hips move. Keep your abs braced.

Other great, often-neglected total body ab exercises include the chin-up and
push-up. That's right, chin-ups can give you 6-pack abs.

I once trained a woman that had never done chinups (it's really a shame that
more trainers don't train women to get stronger and master bodyweight exercises).

Regardless, after her first workout of modified chins (she could only do the
lowering portion of the exercise, also known in the gym as "eccentrics"), she showed
up the next session marvelling at how sore her abs were simply from doing chin-ups.
Years of ab work had never woken up her ab muscles like 3 sets of modified chin-ups
were able to do. And during the workout, she continued to be amazed at how hard
her were working during this upper body exercise.

The truth is, any good efficient and effective compound exercise will work your
abs. So you don't have to lie on the floor and bang out hundreds of crunches to
get a washboard stomach. Heck, that's not effective at all.

The 3 keys to abs are:

1) Fat loss through fat loss nutrition

2) Fat loss through interval training

3) Ab strength through efficient and effective exercises

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes
for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen
magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured
multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet,
and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle,
and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information
on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow
cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit
http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Ripped Abs - How to Get a Stunning and Sexy Six Pack

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

Having ripped abs is definitely the sign of someone who keeps
their body in great shape.

When you see a model who has ripped abs on the cover of a magazine, you wonder
exactly what it is they to to look so amazing.

This article will show you the guidelines that people follow to get ripped abs,
and how you can do this too.

How to Get Ripped Abs

RIPPED ABS TIP #1: Lower your body fat percentage.

This is absolutely crucial if you want ripped abs. If you are a man who wants
ripped abs, you will need your overall body fat to be less and 10%. If you are a
woman who wants ripped abs, you will need your overall body fat percentage to be
less than 14%.

A person could have an amazing set of ripped abs, but will not be able to see
them if they are covered up by a layer of fat.

So in order to get ripped abs, you absolutely must lower your overall body fat,
and do it the right way.

RIPPED ABS TIP #2: Total body strength training and high
intensity cardio to raise metabolism.

To lower your body fat and get ripped abs, you need to raise your metabolism.

You can do this by combining total body strength training with high intensity
cardio. By doing this, you will raise your active and resting metabolism. This will
make your body burn more calories while exercising, and also at rest.

Most people try to get ripped abs by doing hundreds of crunches everday. While
this may help you build a strong core, it will not help to raise your metabolism.

If you want to exercise to get ripped abs, you need to add lean muscle mass that
will raise your metabolism. This will help you to burn lots of body fat and see
those ripped abs start to come through =)

RIPPED ABS TIP #3: Eat the right foods.

If you eat 4-6 small meals per day that consist of high quality protein, complex
carbs, and healthy fats, you are one step closer to having ripped abs.

These foods are great for building muscle and burning fat. By spacing them out
throughout the day, you will help to control your appetite and regulate your blood
sugar.

Regulating your blood sugar is very important in the quest to get ripped abs.
If you a big meal, your blood sugar rises drastically. Then, your body releases
more insulin to store the excess blood sugar as body fat.

Eating smaller meals of better foods helps to prevent this.

Remember, good nutrition is the cornerstone of having ripped abs!

So in conclusion, you can see that great nutrition combined with the right type
of exercise is the ultimate solution to having great abs. When you combine these
principles and lower your body fat percentage, you will see those ripped abs start
to come through!

Want to Reprint this Article on Ripped Abs?

Reprinting is welcome as long as the content, links, author bio, and resource
box are all included and remain completely unchanged.

For a FREE 47 page ebook titled How to Fire Up Your Metabolism and Lose Fat Permanently,
go to Ripped Abs and learn
some killer fat loss tips.

Tom is also the author of
http://www.ScamFreeFatLossProducts.com,
where he offers independent reviews of high quality fat loss products.

Tom Gifford is a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) through the American Council
on Exercise and also holds a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Science).
Tom specializes in effective fat loss training for people who have tried all the
fad diets and exercise gimmicks.

The Six Pack Abs DietThe Six Pack Abs Diet

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

The six pack abs diet is really a brand new lifestyle, and if you want that new midriff section, that is what you are going to need to get it.

If you're like most people, dieting is torture. It is a huge change from your normal eating routines.

You've probably shopped around, looking for a diet that said it would give you a lean body, and that wasn't unbearable to live with. You may have even tried a few, only to find they weren't the six pack abs diet you were looking for.

Guess what? They were all misleading you.

The kind of food intake you need to get those six packs requires doing everything differently. It isn't just a matter of what you eat. There is the question of where, when, how much, and why!

If you are single and eat out, you probably eat a lot of stuff that's richer in calories than you would ever cook yourself. Sumptuous food is one of the perks of eating out a lot, but it won't help you tone up those abdominals. If you have a family to cook for, they can object to your eating requirements, requesting special foods that you are trying to avoid or even demanding what they want. If they aren't on your diet, then there is no way around it.

What can you do? First, stop thinking in terms of diet. You won't get that kind of body out of a diet, and a good exercise routine, alone, will not shed all the body fat you need to. You have to think about how you live, instead, and make your commitment to a different lifestyle.

There is a trade off here: eating rich food and having a great looking, healthy body.

If you eat out, do a little restaurant shopping and find places that will prepare food the way you want it. Ask if they will prepare your chicken or fish in vegetable oil instead of butter. Try vegetarian cuisine or Japanese food. They are both very low in fat and high in protein.

Chefs can be very understanding. Some restaurants will serve gravy, sauce, and salad dressing on the side. See what they offer that is low cal. Request uncooked vegetables. If you eat with someone else, suggest that they try your new restaurant discoveries, for a change.

Do you eat lunch out? Consider bringing it with you instead. You can eat a pita sandwich while you walk in the park, or do window shopping. Bring in vegetable sticks and fruit for snacks at work.

Instead of counting calories, think of those six pack abs that you long to see in the mirror.

If you are the cook, you can use the same techniques at home, plus a few more. Serve your plate as you cook, leaving out the things you don't need.

Think of yourself first. If you are eating healthier, so is your family. If there is something everyone just can't live without, use low-cal and fat free substitutes to make it. Always serve dessert when you are ready to leave the table. Take turns cleaning up, so you can spend the extra time walking or doing a few reverse crunches.

Remember, a six pack abs diet is a lifestyle. Live it, and soon you'll be living with six pack abs.

Learn more from Six Pack Abs Guide...Eating For A Flat Stomach

So How Can I Really Get Ripped Abs?

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

Next to the ‘bi’s’ and ‘tri’s’ in the arms, the next region that almost every body in the gym may seemingly be obsessed with may be the core…the abs as they are more commonly addressed.

Well, one can’t blame them.

Every guy knows that the cut and sculpted arms and chiseled abdominal muscles are some of the things the ladies are so attracted to and heck, with Janet Jackson or Beyonce showing off their chiseled mid-sections, should it be a surprise that even teenage GIRLS are asking: How can I get my abs ‘ripped’ like that?!

Well, male or female if this sounds like you, then I offer you the following tips.

According to what I personally use, what most boxers implement and what most trainers recommend for their clients, the following exercises are the top picks for toning the abs:

1. Bicycle maneuver.

To do this exercise, you lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head. Bring your knees up to about a 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Breathe evenly throughout the exercise.

2. The Ab-Wheel (My favorite)

-Start with a hand on each grip and kneel down with both knees together on the floor.

-Lock your arms and hold the wheel at your knees on the floor.

-Slowly roll the wheel out and away from your knees and continue going forward until your hands are beyond your head.

-Do not touch the floor; your body should be 3-6 inches above the floor. Return to the starting position by pulling in with your abdominal muscles and arching your back.

-Keep your arms straight and use your core muscles to return to the starting position again. Breathe in at the start and exhale on the way down. 7-10 repetitions equal one set AND one hell of a workout!

3. Crunches:

* Lie down flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.

* Hold your hands wherever you feel comfortable (on your chest or beside your head - just be sure you don't pull on your head).

* The typical crunch is taught by instructing you to simply roll your upper torso forward. This is fine to start with.

* To increase the effectiveness of the crunch movement, push your chest and head up towards the ceiling pushing your lower back flat onto the floor.

* Your anatomy will automatically cause you to follow a crunching pattern.

* Trying to crunch up towards the ceiling will increase the tension on the abs.

* Hold at the top of the movement for a second and squeeze hard.

* Do not lift up into a sit-up as this works the hip flexors and can strain your back.

4. Gorilla Chin-Up/Crunch

This compound exercise works the abdominals, as well as the biceps and Lats. Start by hanging from a chinning bar with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and your hands about 12 inches apart. You should use an underhand S grip to hang from the bar.

Pull yourself up with your arms and crunch your knees up at the same time. You should finish the chin and crunch at the same time. When fully contracted, your nose should be at the bar and your knees pulled up to your chest. Slowly reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

If you notice, these exercises above work not just ONE part of the body, but a variety of muscle groups at the same time, thus making them super-productive and less time consuming to get a whole body work out.

Now, other factors that do come to mind for toning the abs include:

* exercising all areas of your abs,

* breathing through the exercise while executing it properly,

* adding aerobics to your workout program,

* and implementing a properly balanced diet program.

So, there you have it folks, the tips to get your own chiseled abs (and might I add, toned arms and strengthened upper body at that…)

Just be careful not to be too much of a show-off come summertime…(Hey, I may be at the beach too and I’m up for the challenge of an ‘ab-dance off’!

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and co-founder of BodyHealthSoul LLC. Stop by His Abdominal Exercises Blog today for more information on how can I get a six pack?

6 Pack Abs Workouts - Get a Six Pack of Washboard Abs

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

Although exercise is a part of the plan, diet is critical to achieving a low level of body fat and attaining a six pack of shredded abs. Concentrate on green and colorful, non starchy veggies for your main meals and snacks including some complex carbs such as yams and brown rice to round out the plate. Fruit is okay but keep it before noon and only 1 pc per day at most since the sugars in fruit can hinder your goals. Clean meats such as poultry and fish are a better choice for your proteins vs fattier choices. You should also consider protein shakes to help with the intake needed.

Cardiovascular work is your next concern. If you are in need of 20+ lbs of fat loss then you need to work up to 3-5 days of 45 mins moderate cardio work preferably jogging which is your most effective fat burner especially if you wish to see fast results. The appearance of a 6 packs or tummy lines is very finicky so these tips are crucial. You can decrease the cardio to 20 mins 3-5 times per week if you are already quite lean.

In order to make your abs protrude you need to thicken those squares with weighted ab exercises. Try this program for a month and see how you can tighten your mid section in now time by incorporating the suggestions above.

Warm up with 3x20 of the Bent Knee Abdominal Hip Raises making sure those hips flick up off the mat as seen in the clip. Also ensure you are pulling your belly button into your lower back during these exercises.

Next you would follow that with 3-4 sets of 12 Reverse Decline Crunches. You can see again how the hips flick up off the board. This is important to achieve but if you are unable to at first you keep it in mind and keep working at that. Watch to not speed on the down phase. If you can, hold the knees for a second or 2 at the top to really enhance the work.

Inverted Exercise Ball Leg Pull Ins is third and you do need some upper body strength but the good news is that this exercise combines to help strengthen the chest and arms while your abs do the work to pull in the ball. Take your time with this and do each rep with a count of 1, 2, 3 - 1, 2, 3, 4 on return. Breathing out during exertion will enhance the effect. Perform 3 x 10.

Fingers to Toes Abdominal Crunches are also known as V sits, you want to keep chest out, shoulders somewhat back and settled while reaching upward and making sure your arms and legs return at the same time. Work on being able to hold this at the top for a few seconds then repeat. 3x10 is to be done with this exercise.

To make this program well rounded you would want to add 2 oblique exercises and in many cases lower back but for this particular program I focused the time on frontal core. Elbow To Knee Oblique Crunches is a nice basic yet intense addition to round out the workout. 3 x10 should be done for this exercise.

Finishing this program is one of the most intense exercises on this page. Hanging Oblique Knee Raises are counted per side so if you have 10 you do 10 per side! You cannot throw your legs up or you will swing and make things harder so control is a must! 3x5-10 will most likely be all you can get done at this stage since we pre exhausted the middle area with all the above exercises.

Try this for a month then change your program again to focus on other weak areas. You can reintroduce this program or try a newer AB program later along the line since you want to change things at least every 4 weeks. Shapefit.com has an excellent arsenal of abdominal exercises to help you toward your goal of 6 pack abs.

Kris created ShapeFit.com to provide quality health and fitness information to people from all over the world. He has an extensive background in strength training, nutrition and wellness planning. ShapeFit.com currently provides over 2,000 pages of free health and fitness content to over 300,000 visitors every month. ShapeFit.com provides numerous diet and exercise articles on building lean muscle, burning body fat, increasing energy levels and living a healthy lifestyle. Some of the fitness tools include weight loss diets, muscle building workouts, and weight loss advice.

The Quick and Easy Way to Tone Up Your Abs - Part 2 All About Abs - Nutrition

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

First Class Eating Habits = First Class Abs 90% of Ripped Ab Gurus Have Fantastic Nutritional Habits

Why Nutrition is 90% or More of Your Success

Let me explain this particular concept as it seems that the current direction is to buy fat burning pills, ab machines and do daily training. The problem is with all that training and other facts is they will never have as much influence on the layer of fat covering your abdominals as a good metabolic meal will that helps your body burn away fat every day.

Turning your body into a fat burning furnace should be your #1 priority.

Eating 5-7 meals per day is critical in order to make your body a calorie burning machine; you must supply it with 5-7 small but frequent meals. The reason you do this is because you will be continually burning calories to utilize the food. Be cautious of portion size. Eat too much of anything and you’ll never see those abs!

The more meals you have, the more your body must use energy to burn it. It’s like a furnace. You will RAISE your metabolism simply by eating more frequently.

You see if your nutrition isn’t nearly perfect, your body will always store some fat. And that fat will most likely be kept in the abdominal region. The only way to get to the sub-10% body fat region is with rock-solid nutrition. Countless people cannot do this. Their eating habits are never correct, they don’t track what they eat and they do not have the discipline necessary to eat correctly all of the time (with some cheat meals in there of course). The group of people who can do that are competitive bodybuilders.

Does this mean you can’t do it? Heck no! You just need to be acutely aware that having a ripped abdominal region is about a low percentage of body fat. To get that low, your nutrition needs to be impeccable. The more disciplined you are, the more fat you’ll burn and the more muscle you’ll keep. The lower your body fat becomes, the more your abs will show.

It’s just that simple but it’s not that easy. In the next few steps, you are going to learn exactly what you need to do in order to turn your body into a fat burning machine.

Step 1: Calculate How Many Calories a Day You Need to Lose Fat

Listen, figuring out how many calories a day you need to lose weight really isn’t too hard. And with the formula I’m about to give you plus a very cool website, you can easily track where you are and what you need to do daily to reach your goals. So lets’ begin!

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, THEN LOSING, MAINTAINING OR GAINING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE!

Step 1:

Take your current body weight in pounds (lbs) and multiply by 11.

Example: 194 lbs x 11 = 2134 calories This is what I need to just keep what I have, without moving. But remember, you do move. So you have to then calculate your metabolic factors into this… so off to step 2...

Step 2:

Figure out your metabolic factor according to the table below.

But first, some definitions to help you determine where you might fit in:

Slow Metabolism: You basically look at food and you seem to put on pounds. You can gain weight by eating salads but it’s difficult to lose the weight.

Moderator Metabolism: You can gain weight if you try. You can lose weight if you try. You really don’t have trouble losing weight depending on what you want to do.

Fast Metabolism: You are the skinny guy or gal who can eat *ANYTHING* and it makes no difference. Gaining weight is difficult. Losing weight can happen overnight. Just by watching T.V. you seem to shed pounds.

Metabolic %

Under 30 years old Slow Metabolism- 30% Moderate Metabolism- 40% Fast Metabolism- 50%

30-40 years old Slow Metabolism- 25% Moderate Metabolism- 35% Fast Metabolism- 45%

Over 40 years old Slow Metabolism- 20% Moderate Metabolism- 30% Fast Metabolism- 40%

Example: 2134 calories x 35% (33 years old and with moderate metabolism) = 746.90

I took my calories needed above just to sit here and not move and multiplied it by my metabolic factor and I find that I need an additional 746.90 calories because of my specific metabolism.

Step 3:

Put it together. 2134 + 746.90 = 2880.90 calories I need 2,880.90 calories to maintain my current weight with my current activities.

Note: You can also adjust your metabolic factor if you do something that might take you to the next level. If you are a moderator metabolism person but you do distance running, it might make more sense to put your self in the fast category since you burn a lot more calories.

Step 4:

Lose Weight: I would take 2880.90 – 500 = 2380.90

Note: 500 calories a day is just a general term everybody uses to say that adding this amount is within safe limits. Eat too much, and you end up storing fat. Cut too many calories and your body just goes into starvation mode and ends up retaining more fat. 500 is a safe, recommended guideline. You can also eat 15-20% below your maintenance calorie levels to get a more accurate and aggressive plan. Avoid eating below 20% for very long as your body’s will start to slow down.

Step 5:

You must track what you are eating so you’ll know if you’ve made your goal for the day. And tracking food does not have to be complicated with weights and scales.

It's a shame that so many people just start training and never figure out what they need to eat daily to reach their goals.

You can keep doing the math over and over as you reach a goal.

Step 2: Calculate How Much Protein You Need a Day to Keep Muscle

Often overlooked, protein is the key component to building muscle but keep in mind; it’s also the same fundamental that will help you keep muscle. What this means to you is that if you get enough protein during this ‘cutting’ phase, you’ll burn more fat and keep more muscle. You want to keep as much muscle as possible because you want those abs to show.

As discussed before, having a low body fat percentage is core to the ripped effect but having abs to show is common sense. Protein has many functions that you’ve learned about in the Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding, one of which is to help promote and maintain muscle.

Step 1:

Take your body weight in pounds Example: 194 lbs

Step 2:

Find your body fat % Example: 15.7% (which is .157 for the step below)

Step 3:

Take your body weight in pounds and subtract the % body fat Example: 194 lbs - (194 x .157 = 30.45 lbs of fat) = 163.54 lbs of lean body weight

Step 4:

Take your lean body weight and multiply by 1.14 Example: 163.54 lbs x 1.14 = 186.4g of protein a day

Step 5:

Divide your daily protein requirements by 5-6 meals and that is what your protein target is for each meal. Example: 186.4/6 meals = 31.07g of protein per meal As you will see, a person who is 286 lbs of lean body weight will require a lot more protein. And a person who is 286 lbs should not be consuming the same amount of protein if their percentage of body fat is 35%. But why use 1.14 for protein requirements?

The RDA recommends .75g of protein. But that's been shown to be too low for active athletes.

Some sites will recommend 2.0g of protein. But that seems a bit high and your body will have trouble absorbing that not to mention you will probably have a lot of excess calories which can lead to fat gains.

1.14-1.5 is the most efficient range for most active, healthy adults. This range will help build muscle but not lead you into a high protein diet. Feel free to adjust within that range if you feel you need more protein.

Step 3: Divide Up the Calories in 5-7 Meals Per Day (Ratios)

At this point you know how many calories a day you need to burn fat and how much protein you need to maintain the muscle. Your goal is to burn fat, not lose weight and certainly not lose muscle! What’s next?

Just divide up your daily calorie requirements by 5-7 meals a day in order to determine the calories per meal and your protein goals.

That might seem like a difficult tasks but once you start using some type of fitness tracking program (like FitDay) it becomes very easy to hit your targets and understand portion control.

If you don’t track what you are eating, then dividing this up will be nearly impossible unless you eat the same things every single day (boring).

There’s nothing fancy to this step.

Preparation Ideas:

* Grocery shop for the entire week so you have an ample supply of food

* Prepare things in bulk so putting together meals is quick and easy

* Use Tupperware as it’s easy to clean and easy to control portions

* Use the grocery list from the Beginner’s Guide to pick and choose foods that are proteins, carbohydrates and good fats

Step 4: Review the Nutritional Fundamentals

On page 68 of the Beginner’s Guide there are some nutritional fundamentals that you must master overall in order to get your nutrition dialed in and it working for you. When you turn your body into a fat burning furnace you need to review these key concepts.

* Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance level. If you use a more aggressive calorie deficit, then do not keep calories too low for too long; increase calories to maintenance or maintenance +10-20% 1-2 days per week. * Getting your ratios correct (50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fats) * Eating 5-7 meals per day * Having a lean protein source with every meal * Getting the good fats and avoiding the bad fats * Drinking enough water * Eating as many natural and unrefined foods as possible * Keeping your total fats and saturated fats low. A little bit of good fats (seeds, flax, fish) is better than a no fat diet.

Stay tuned for Part 3 that will discuss Ab training and the question that everybody wants to know - How Many Times Per Week to Train Abs?

If you can't wait, the Beginner's Guide to Abdominal Training is just one bonus book in the Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com

Ace Abs Without Crunches, Cradles, Or Sit-ups!

                

>>  Be Sure That You Will Never Get Six Pack Abs Unless You Know These Strategies <<

 

I know what many of you are thinking reading the title of this article. I also thought the same once. It cannot be done! Attaining a stronger, visible, set of abdominal muscles has always been a common goal in people’s fitness training programmes and yet, paradoxically, many (most) of these people never actually achieve this goal.

Being involved in the fitness industry I see the same problem over and over again. The problem can be spelled out like this.

M-A-C-H-I-N-E-S!

Now, while there is nothing innately wrong with abdominal equipment, it does bring with it a whole host of potential problems. One of the most prominent is that people simply do not use the equipment correctly. Another is that they erroneously believe that somehow the machine will do half the job for them!

A third problem is that to some extent abdominal cradles, and the assortment of similar cradle designs, are essentially lifting your head for you thus eliminating the need for that much effort.

There is a way to work the abdominal region however that requires little movement, but that is highly effective, as the emphasis is purely on you to put in the effort without a machine in sight!

This method involves the use of deep focused breathing whilst squeezing (with varying degrees of intensity) your abdominal muscle. To some it seems too simple and yet, performed daily and with gusto, it is a wonderfully natural and invigorating exercise that promotes tighter abdominals and, as an added bonus, aids in strengthening the internal organs.

Try the basic exercise below each day for the next week and feel the benefits.

1. Stand (or sit) comfortably.

2. Inhale into your belly (not your chest) and feel it expand.

3. Once full with air, being your exhale, and squeeze your abdominals at the same time.

4. Do not rush this exhalation. It should be smooth with no impediments. A good way to perform this exhale is through pursed lips.

5. Repeat at least ten times.

Note – Do not squeeze and try to force the air out while holding the breath. Breathing exercises such as this may be dangerous. Ideally, perform where fresh air is circulating. Having experienced this you should be feeling great! Your abdominals will have been exercised, you will have breathed deeply, and energised yourself in as little as ten breaths!

It is worth saying that you should not utilise one hundred percent muscular contraction in your first attempts at working your midsection this way. It may lead to injury. Instead, focus on incrementally adding tension as you become more proficient at it.

There are many other methods for working the midsection that one can do without machine based, or standard movements, but as a start the above exercise should provide you with food for thought on how one can get a great core workout in without having to wait in line at the gym for the abdominal cradles to be free!

Have at it!

Tim Webb is a fitness instructor, Ju Jutsu instructor and competitor. He specialises in easily accessible deep breathing exercises that combine breath and mind together. His site http://www.breathforsuccess.com/ offers a product that provides deep breathing exercises for invigorating yourself, relaxing, and highlights how your breath can be tied in with your goals to move you towards them in record time!