Ab Exercises - Do you want a six pack?
Ab exercises might seem like a quick fix to a complicated problem, but they're not as easy as they seem. Yes, abdominal workouts will help you lose weight. But you won't get the six pack abs you want unless you maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle.
This article on abs exercises will show you the best way to perform each exercise and offer modifications for different-level trainees. So if you're ready to get Abs, let's get started.
To succeed with core workouts, you have to choose the right strategy based on your current fitness level and desired goal. Remember that your abdominal muscles are muscles like any other ones in your body. They grow stronger when you progressively increase the demand placed upon them through training intensity and variety.
Quick definition of some terms: Reps : The number of times an individual muscle group is contracted during a training session. Sets : The number of multiple repetitions performed within one workout session. Sets per body part: The number of sets performed for each muscle group.
A sample training week
Most of the abdominal exercises in this article use a variety of different rep ranges, so you'll have to adjust your workouts depending on where you are in your training career. The following workout is a sample of how you can distribute the exercises in a week, but feel free to adjust it according to your personal program or schedule.
Set A: For the first set choose a weight you can only do 8-12 reps. This will be your warm-up set and should not fatigue you to the point where your form is affected. Try to increase this weight for every rep of each exercise for at least one session per week.
Set B: In your second set, pick an exercise and pick a weight at which you can do 12-15 reps with good form. Do two sets of this with about 90 seconds rest between each set.
Set C: In your third set, pick an exercise and then pick a weight for which you can do 10-12 reps with good form. Do 2 sets with about 90 seconds rest between each set.
Set D: This is the main set. You'll make each of the first three sets very challenging, but you should be able to perform all 12-15 reps in good form. As soon as the last rep is made, immediately move on to another exercise for your next workout session.
If you are more advanced in your training career or if you want some variety during your program, add another two basic sets of Ab exercises to each workout session (examples would be: exercises 4 and 5).