Abdominal exercises are great for tightening up your stomach area. Make sure to attack all parts of core. Different exercises will target different muscles such as upper abs, lower abs, and obliques. Always push yourself to failure in your core routine.
The abdominal muscles respond well to higher rep ranges, which means sets of 12-15, 15-20, and 20-30. Including two or three ab exercises simultaneously (back-to-back-to-back) is called a superset. Supersets are really effective for burning fat and improving muscle definition. Some good examples of abdominal exercises that you can choose from to make your own supersets with are:
Lying down leg lifts- Hanging leg lifts
- Decline bench sit-ups
- Weighted sit-ups
- Planks
- Hip Thrusts
- Mountain Climbers
- In and Outs on a bench
- Crunches on a cable machine
- Russian twists with medicine ball
- Baseball swing on a cable machine
- Various movements with exercise ball
Abs Are Made in the Kitchen
However, lets not forget abs are made in the kitchen. Proper diet and cardio will get you the physique you desire. Even the fattest man or woman can do 100 sit-ups a day but it doesn’t mean they will have a six-pack. You want to avoid foods that are high in fats, and limit your carb intake. At the end of the day, it becomes a science. You shouldn’t be taking in more calories than you are burning. Try to avoid foods like pastas, pizza, nutella sandwiches, fruits high in sugars and all junk food in general. Fight temptations for fast food.
Here’s some high protein, low fat, low carb, and low sugar meals/snacks that can be prepared for an exercising male or female:
- Scrambled eggs (one whole egg mixed with cartooned egg whites) w/ whole wheat bread side
- A mixed fruit cup made up of blueberries and raspberries
- Lean chicken breast with brown rice and steamed or raw broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower
- Whey Isolate protein shake with a green apple.
- Plain rice cakes covered with non-fat and organic peanut butter
- Non-fat Greek yogurt
- Chicken salad (lean chicken breast, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, chickpeas, and olive oil for dressing)
- Salmon with brown rice and steamed veggies
With a proper training routine and nutritional plan, you can achieve your dream body no matter how busy your life schedule is. Be consistent and be patient. Success is around the corner.
Marc Minicucci is the Co-Owner of Pumpie Time Fitness.
