help with abdominal workout?
ok, I’ve been doing sit ups and crunches on a regular basis but i can seem to tone my lower abs. i can spot like the top four packs but what exercise can i do so the bottom 2 packs, hopefully 4, can be shown? how bout the love handles? thanks
It is almost impossible to target a specific area and notice a significant amount of change. To lose stomach fat, it will be necessary to focus on your entire body. Here are some steps that will help.
1. Eating more will boost your metabolism. Eat 6 small meals each day. Eat non-processed fresh fruit for breakfast when you wake up. Add eggs and bran cereal to this meal. Eat another serving of non-processed fresh fruit for your second meal a couple hours later. For lunch, eat a serving of meat, preferably skinless white portion chicken or fish, broiled or baked, not fried or processed. Add two servings of non-processed fresh vegetables to this meal. For your next meal, eat one or two servings of non-processed fresh vegetables. Then for dinner, eat another serving of meat, preferably skinless white portion chicken or fish, broiled or baked, not fried or processed. Add one or two servings of non-processed fresh vegetables to this meal.
2. Eat the right foods. With your 6 meals, eat only low glycemic foods. Eating low glycemic foods allows you to eat foods high in carbohydrates without storing your carbs as fat. Low glycemic foods have a glycemic index of 20-49. Occasionally, your meals can include foods with a glycemic index of 50-69. Avoid any foods with a glycemic index of 70-100. Avoid processed foods and eat only fresh foods. Here is a website that lists the glycemic index of various foods:
http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/gifoodlist.html
3. Drink the right beverages. Replace sodas and sweetened beverages with water and hot herbal teas, especially green tea without sugar or artificial sweeteners. Avoid alcohol, including beer, liquor and wine.
4. Improve your cardio health. Begin doing at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercises 4-5 times each week. Walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, biking and aerobics are good cardio exercises.
5. Replace fat cells with muscle cells. Begin doing at least 30 minutes of weight training 3-4 times each week. Be sure to exercise each muscle group. Some resistance exercises require only your body weight and all muscle groups can be exercised with a set of dumbbells. Dumbbells are more productive than machines or a barbell because they force you to exercise rarely used stabilizer muscles. Here is a site that illustrates various exercises that can be performed in any environment:
Homepage: http://exrx.net/
Exercise directory: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
6. Give muscles time to rest. Muscles need at least 48 hours to fully recover from a weight training session. Split your weight training into at least 3 days to give them adequate time to recover. Here is an example.
Day 1. Upper Body Weight Training and Cardio
Day 2. Lower Body Weight Training and Cardio
Day 3. Rest
Day 4. Upper Body Weight Training and Cardio
Day 5. Lower Body Weight Training and Cardio
Day 6. Rest
7. Do Less. On your Upper Body Weight Training days, choose a few compound exercises that work several muscle groups at once. Find exercises that work your chest, back, arms, shoulders, and abs. Also choose some compound exercises to perform on your Lower Body Weight Training days. Find exercises that work your thighs, glutes and calves. For each exercise, find a weight that allows you to perform 8 repetitions but not 12 repetitions. Perform 3 sets for each exercise. This will cause your muscles to tone. It will be necessary to perform 3 sets of at least 20 repetitions for abdominal exercises such as sit-ups or crunches.
Here is a suggestion.
Upper Body Weight Training
Bench Press: Chest, Shoulders, Arms 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Shoulder Press: Shoulders, Chest, Arms, Trapezius 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Bent Over Row: Back, Shoulders, Trapezius 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Sit ups: Abs, Obliques 3 sets, 20 reps
Lower Body Weight Training
Squats, Lunges, or Step-ups: Quads, Inner Thighs, Glutes, Calves 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Deadlift: Hamstrings, Erector Muscles, Glutes, Inner Thighs 3 sets, 8-12 reps`
8. Stretch to increase muscle health. Stretch for 5-10 minutes before and after exercising. Be sure to stretch each muscle group. Here is a site for various stretches:
Stretch directory: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
9. Warm up for at least 5 minutes before stretching or exercising. Walking or biking are good ways to warm up. Warm muscles are less likely to strain. This will help you perform exercises that involve your lower back muscles, including lunges, step ups and squats.
10. Sleep to help your body recover. Sleep at least 8-10 hours each night. Your body needs ample time to repair itself and recharge.
lie down on the floor, face up.
Keep your hands on the side of your thighs.
lift both legs up to about 45 degrees and down back again. Do not let your legs touch the floor. Repeat for about 10-15 reps for 3 reps.