Using Resistance Bands In Stomach Exercises

Using resistance bands can be an effective component of any workout routine, and stomach exercises are no exception. There are a number of exercises targeting the midsection that incorporate resistance bands. Resistance bands come in a variety of difficulties, usually indicated by the color of the band itself (e.g., green can be little resistance, yellow may be medium, red for difficult, etc.). Choose a resistance level that is appropriate for you, then move up as necessary. Do not overdo it by immediately grabbing the most advanced band you can find, as this can lead to injury. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Seated Crunch This exercise provides the same benefits as the basic abdominal crunch, but with less neck strain and without the possible discomfort that comes with lying on the floor, since it uses a band rather than gravity to provide resistance. For this stomach exercise, you will need to be sitting in a straight back chair which you can somehow loop your band through. Sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor and about as wide apart as your hips. Contract your abdominal muscles, and slowly bend forward to about a forty-five degree angle. Repeat for an entire set. Be sure to keep your feet on the floor and your back as straight as possible. One-Arm Band Pull Put the chair away and stand up, again with feet hip width apart. Put your hands above your head, holding the band about eighteen inches apart. Keeping your left hand overhead, bring your right hand out to the side, elbow bent at about a ninety degree angle. Hold your left arm still as you contract your abdominals and lower your right arm until your hand is in line with your chest. Hold this position, then slowly return. Repeat for an entire set, then switch hands. Keep your back straight and avoid bending or leaning at the waist. For an additional challenge, do this exercise standing on one foot. Perform the exercise with both hands while standing on your left foot, then do it all again on your right foot.

Twisting Roll-Back For this stomach exercise, you will need to sit on a flat surface, preferably the floor. Use a mat or towel for cushioning to ease possible strain on your tail bone. Sit down with your legs bent and heels on the floor. Your toes should be pointing up-- do not put your feet flat on the floor. Loop the band around your feet, put one end in each hand and put your hands together. In a rolling motion, lower your torso toward the floor about forty-five degrees. As you do this, twist to the right and spread your hands to the sides. Hold for a second, then rotate back to the middle and raise your torso back to start. Your heels should remain on the floor throughout the exercise. Do a full set, then switch to the left side.

Easy Six Pack Abs-tips For Easy Workout

You are always busy. You don't have enough time to go to the gym. You don't even have time to stand up away from your computer. But you have a dream. A model's body. A six pack abdominal glory. Want to get that dream?

There are some easy abdominal exercises that you can do even at home. Here are some exercises that can easily be done:

• Crunches

Almost all people know how to do this. This exercise targets the upper abdomen. It's one of the basic but effective exercises. To perform crunches, you need to lie on a flat surface with your hands in your chest or behind you head. Contract your abs, then hold for 2 seconds, then return to your lying position. Proper crunches are in a continuous and controlled fashion. Concentrate on your abdominal muscles to pull your upper body up. Avoid using the neck or shoulders to push yourself up. This incorrect practice will cause stress and strains.

• Side Crunches

They are basically the same as regular crunches, except that the main focus is on the oblique muscles which are also called love handles. It also uses the same technique, only that you are crunching to either side of our abs. This would burn the sides of your abs.

• Lying Leg Lifts

This exercise targets the lower abs. with this kind of exercise, you are on the same position as with the crunches, you lie flat on your back and lift your legs six to twelve inches of the ground. This would exercise the muscles in the lower part of the abdomen. When performing leg lifts, place your hand under your buttock. It adds leverage and helps you get your feet elevated.

If you want to add more weight into the exercise, attach padded weights into your ankles. These weights can be purchased at the local sports store. If you do not want to buy weights, you can simply fill up old tube socks with enough clean, unused cat litter to make one or two pound weight.

• V- Crunches

It's almost like lying leg lifts except your chest is at a 45 degree angle starting out. Sit at the edge of a bench and reach back just enough to support yourself from completely lying on the bench. Once you've stabilized, bring your knees toward your chest. You would be creating a V motion. The base of the V would be your abs.

• Cat stretch

It's the same with the movements made by a cat when they stretch their back. This simple action is a quick and easy exercise. Get down on the floor with your hands and knees, with muscles relaxed and looking straight ahead. Next, tighten your abdominal muscles while thrusting you back upward as far as you can. Maintain the position for five counts before lowering your back.

• Bicycle Crunch

To do this, start y lying flat on the floor. Put your hand beside your head then raise knees up to 45 degrees angle and them perform a pedaling motion like what you do when you ride the bicycle.

• Standing Side Bends

Standing side bends encourages the loss of fats in the oblique muscles. To start, stand up straight with the stomach sucked in, legs straight and hands on the sides. Simply lean the body from left to right being careful not to rotate the hips and while keeping body facing front. There is a variety of side bends, this is the torso twists. Instead of bending side to side twist or rotate the upper body from left to right while keeping the legs straight.

You can remove your flabby stomach and replace it with six pack abs, as long as you have disciplined and of course the will to do so.

Why Do People Do Exercises For The Stomach

Exercises for the stomach muscles are among the most popular type of exercise done among people wanting to build a better body. When anyone plans a workout program to build and strengthen muscles, abdominal workouts are always included in the routine. Why is this? Why are more people concerned with their stomach muscles then any other part of their body?

There are several reasons for this. The first reason should be for health reasons. It has been documented that people carrying around a lot of extra fat around their stomachs are at a greater risk of certain health conditions then people that may be carrying the weight in other areas of their body. This reason alone is enough to entice many people to exercise their stomach, and a major reason why doctors suggest doing exercises for the stomach.

The stomach is the core of the person's body, when the stomach is strong; it helps make the rest of the body look and feel stronger. This is another reason to do exercises for the stomach. Most people want to feel strong and be strong, whether it is so they can do their jobs, play with their children or just to feel better about themselves. Also, when the stomach is strong, it helps to take away pressure from several muscles in a person's back. Considering that back problems are a big problem with many people, this is another good reason to keep the stomach muscles strong by exercising them.

The next reason, and usually the biggest reason are looks. People tend to think that a good looking stomach equals an overall good looking body. There are not too many people that find a bulging stomach attractive. When people look in the mirror, or someone passes by them that they want to impress, usually a natural reaction is to suck in their stomach.

Women that have just had a baby are usually extra concerned with their stomach muscles, and find themselves wanting to do exercises for the stomach as soon as they are able to. This is not only for appearance sake but also for health reasons since their stomach muscles really need to be strengthened after their bodies have been put through childbirth.

Health and looks are the primary reasons to do exercises for the stomach, but people have many different reasons motivating them to actually do exercises for the stomach. Perhaps swimsuit season is coming up, which is usually the time most people really get interested in doing exercises for the stomach and they just want to look their best.

Maybe a high school reunion is coming up and a person wants to look extra good, or a person is getting married which is another very popular time for wanting to tone up stomach muscles. Maybe their doctor has told them they need to or maybe it is just to have more self confidence in them. No matter the reason may be, as long as the person is motivated enough to continue their program until they see results then the reason is a good one.

Lose Your Belly By Improving Your Posture

Everyone knows the children's song about the leg bone being connected to the hip bone, but how many people really take it to heart? Obviously, everyone knows that the leg bone does in fact attach to the hip bone; that's not the point. Probably not many people really stop to think about how related and interconnected the parts of the human body really are. In an illustration of this point, the back and stomach muscles are all affected by one another as they form a girdle around the lower torso. It stands to reason, then, that your posture affects how your tummy looks, and the strength of your stomach muscles affects your posture.

Stand Up Straight This first step to losing a belly is to stand and sit up straight. This actually has a few different effects. First of all, slouching accentuates belly fat, so simply sitting up will make you appear slimmer. Second, proper posture help improves the strength of your back, which of course makes it easier to maintain proper posture longer. Third, poor posture leads to back pain, which makes stomach exercises difficult. Having good posture will make it easier for you to work out your stomach muscles and whittle down that belly. Lastly, a nice straight posture enhances blood flow throughout the body, particularly to the legs and lower back, both of which are involved in many stomach exercises. So, if you are trying to lose a belly, the first step is to simply sit and stand up as straight as possible as often as possible. Do that, and you are already on your way!

Back Extension For the reader familiar with the crunchless crunch, this move will seem similar but backwards. For this exercise, you will need to start by lying on your stomach with your forehead on the floor. You may use a mat or towel to cushion your pelvis and head. Position your arms by your sides, palms up. Contract your back muscles to lift your torso off the floor. Hold the contraction briefly, then release and slowly lower your torso back down to the floor. Repeat for an entire set.

The next part of this exercise begins by extended your arms out above your head (picture a superhero flying through the air). Now lift your legs off the floor simultaneously while keeping your head and arms held in place. Try to imagine your legs growing longer as you are lifting them up. Hold your legs up briefly, then slowly lower them back to the floor.

Doing these two things will help you strengthen your back and correct your posture, which are great first steps to losing an unwanted belly. You will also want to continue working on your back muscles and other core muscles, such as the transverse and rectus abdominus. Stomach exercises that work the core will help you straighten up your posture, lose belly fat, and gain muscle tone in both your back and tummy. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Stomach Exercises To Work Off Those Love Handles

A major complaint of people who want to look more fit is belly fat. Specifically, a large number of people have trouble with "love handles." Far from lovely or lovable, these are deposits of fat that take up residence on the sides of one's lower torso, around the external oblique muscles. Traditional crunches and sit-ups will not do much for this sort of chub, as they mainly work the abdominal muscles and not the obliques. The good news, however, is that there are a few stomach exercises which specifically target the obliques, helping trim love handles. As with any new physical activity, consult a professional before beginning and be sure to properly warm up to avoid injury.

Side Bend A simple exercise, side bends are also probably the most effective method for losing love handles. Start by standing upright. Position your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly. Lower your whole torso to one side, then back to the other. Lean only side to side, not backwards or forwards.

Torso Twist This stomach exercise is also effective at reducing love handles, and is good to do right after the side bends in your routine, as it is also done in a standing position. Again, with feet shoulder width apart, slowly twist the body to one side, then to the other. The key here is to twist from your torso, not from the hips. As much of the twisting work as possible should be done by your oblique muscles, not your hip flexors. Keep your torso upright with no bending.

Side Crunch The next two stomach exercises require you to get off your feet and lie down, preferably on the floor or other flat surface. Use a mat or towel as a cushion if you have a particularly hard floor to work with. Lie down on one side. For simplicity, let us say you are on your right side to start. Bring your right arm across your waist so that your right hand comes to rest on your left side. Touch your ear with the fingertips of your left hand, so that your left elbows winds up pointing straight upward. Lift your shoulders up off the floor while simultaneously raising your left leg to height of about twelve inches (30 cm). Contract your obliques as you do this. Hold for a few seconds, then gently lie back down. Do this for an entire set, then switch to the right side.

Seated Knee Drop First, position yourself on the floor so that you are resting on your hipbones (not sitting on your butt). You can put your hands on the floor behind you to keep yourself stable in this position. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Put your ankles together. Now lower your knees to the right. Your feet will roll on to their sides, but should remain on the floor. Continue this lowering move until your knees are about six inches above the floor. Hold for one second, then go back up and down to the left side. Move slowly and under control, using your stomach muscles rather than momentum to raise and lower your legs.

Women Preparedness For Six-pack Abs Training

Women who undergo rigorous training just to get six-pack abs is now becoming a popular trend worldwide because it promotes an effective means of keeping the body fit, sexy, great looking, and healthy. Although many women who are benefiting from this, there are still those who refuse to consider the idea because they think that having a six-pack abs is a guy thing only.

What hinders women from getting six-pack abs

Despite the advantages it brings to make bodies of women sexier, there are so still things that hinder women from getting six-pack abs. If you were one of those who are planning to achieve six-pack abs but still have hesitations, it is a must that you conduct a simple research first on the advantages and disadvantages of training to get six-pack training.

One of the things that hinder women from getting six-pack abs is that the training makes the woman's muscles bulky and the overall appearance masculine. If truth to be told, women—despite training for six-pack abs—would not have a bulky physique since her body cannot produce enough amount testosterone that is needed to have huge muscles like those in men. Women who are muscular did not get those from training but from having excessive amounts of testosterone in their bodies.

Preparing through diet

For women to achieve six-pack abs, the key formula for success is good and proper nutrition. This is because it provides the basic things such as energy for growth and sustenance can be derived from proper diet.

According to nutritionists, proper nutrition should include proper sets of foods. For people who are planning to develop six-pack abs, this should be a major factor to consider because it will make the training more successful. The following are some eating tips to prepare women get that six-pack rips and muscles in no time:

1. Make sure that you eat at least six times everyday. For beginners in developing six-pack abs, this is the most basic rule because this will ensure that you have the energy to endure weight lifting. Eating meals once every 2 to 3 hours will ensure the stability of blood sugar. This will also ensure satisfaction of cravings, maximization of metabolism and energy, and constant need to feed the building muscles.

2. Enough amounts and significant types of protein should be consumed properly. Indeed, protein plays a big role in developing six-pack abs because it makes up the person's tissues. To know how much protein you need to get that much-coveted six-pack abs, multiply your total bodyweight by 1.2. The result will be the amount of protein—in grams—is the ideal amount that should be consumed everyday.

3. Ensure that you consume the right types and amounts carbohydrates. In women who are training for six-pack abs, carbs are very important to supply the energy your body needs. To figure out how much carbs you need daily, multiply the lean body mass of your body by 0.8 and the result is the total amount of carbs—in grams—is what you need. Remember that since getting six-pack abs has something to do with losing fats, you must only consume the foods with low carbs such as brown rice, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes.

4. Always include veggies into your diet. Women who are looking forward to having six-pack abs should ensure that green leafy veggies like green beans, broccoli, and lettuce have a place on their diet. These types of foods will ensure that cravings can be suppressed without getting hungry. While training, veggies can also aid metabolism which will make the absorption of protein easier and faster.

The Strong Stomach Workout

When beginning an abdominal workout routine, for most people the goal is simple: a flatter stomach. While a smooth, flat stomach looks good, it is less of an accomplishment if the the stomach muscles have not gained any strength. In addition to slimming down around the outer abdominals, it is also important to build strength in the core abdominals. Below are some stomach exercises that work out the core to build strong muscles throughout the abdomen. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Tone Your Torso Begin this stomach exercise on all fours, knees and hands on the floor. Keep your stomach pulled in and extend your left arm out in front of you (football fans, imagine a referee signaling first down). Keep this arm outstretched as you extend your right leg out behind you. Switch arms and legs, and repeat for an entire set. Take particular care not to let your pelvis sway out of position.

Butt Burner You will need to lie on your back for this exercise. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor, and position your arms at your sides. Squeeze your buttocks as you lift your pelvis off the floor. Keep the rest of your body in line. Raise your pelvis to about forty-five degrees, so your upper body from your head to your knees makes a straight, flat ramp. Hold this for three to five seconds before slowly lowering your pelvis back to the floor. Repeat for an entire set.

Crunchless Crunch This stomach exercise is fairly simple in theory but can be fairly difficult to perform. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If this feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Scissor Kicks This stomach exercise also requires lying on the floor. Position your hands under your butt, keeping your back pressed against the floor. Slowly raise one leg to a height of about ten inches, then slowly lower it back to the floor. As your lower one leg, raise the other. Repeat this motion for an entire set. Maintaining control throughout is important, not allowing momentum to get the better of you. Your upper body should remain on the floor through the entire move.

These are just a few of all the strength building stomach exercises out there. If you are looking to build strength in your midsection, look for any exercise that works your core, especially the transverse abdominal muscles. Many components of Pilates are good for this also.

Are Six Pack Abs Sign Of Good Health

Yes you have six pack, killer abs. Bur are you sure you are healthy? Of course you can measure a person's health on their outside appearance, but there are other ways of measuring how healthy you are aside from basing it on the midsection.

Weight of course, can tell is a person is healthy or not. But weight is also not the reliable. Doctors use body mass index or BMI to measure or judge a person's size against weight. BMI is a calculation of kilograms/meter squared. A BMI between 18 to 25 is healthy. But someone who is very fit and muscular could have a BMI greater than 25. This would classify them ass overweight.

BMI is a useless indicator for people under 16. Instead of using the weigh and height ratio, what should be factored is the person's age and potential for growth. An example would be if a child was gaining weight to quickly for their age or it they were not gaining enough weight or growing.

Body shape can also be an indicator of good health. Doctors are looking at waist measurements because they know that "apple-shape" people carry excess weight around their middle. These people can be at risk of obesity-related conditions such as heart disease. Be sure to measure your waistline. If your waistline is larger than 35 inches, you are at an increased risk of health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Paying attention to your waistline helps you to avoid unhealthy eating and increase mobility or exercise.

Other health indicators would be the skin. Tan, freckles or moles that are odd shaped or growing, this probably mean an unhealthy skin. Tanning or sun exposure an age the skin and increase the risk of skin cancer. Use sunscreen and get a dermatologist opinion about spots and moles.

When brushing your teeth, check your spit. If there is blood, your gums may need attention. Bleeding gums indicate poor oral health and vitamin deficiencies. Gum disease may also be a sign of cardiovascular problems. Blood on the toothbrush or dental floss is one of the earliest and most common sign of gingivitis. Gingivitis is preventable and reversible. Gums need undergo a through removal of plaque, improved daily oral hygiene practices, a good diet and nutritional supplements.

It is more than just bad breath. Gum problems can now be linked to heart disease, clogged arteries, stroke, premature birth, and diabetes. women who have preterm deliveries have more severe gum conditions with mothers with normal deliveries. People with gumdisease and tooth decay are almost twice as likely to die of heart attacks and almost three times as likely to have a stroke.

Also, feel your lips. If your lips are dry and chapped, it could signal to you that you are dehydrated, which is an unhealthy state for your body to be in. Dehydration can cause headaches and fatigue, as well as drain the moisture from your skin making it look old and dry.

Also watch out for your fingernails. Healthy fingernails and toe nails are strong, colorless and smooth. If they are yellowing, brittle, have ridges, crumbling and having white spots, then these are obvious signs that your nails are not healthy.

Nail problems can indicate viral, fungal, bacterial or yeast infection. It may also show abnormal levels of oxygen in the blood, kidney disease, thyroid disease or psoriasis and malnutrition or a vitamin deficiency.

You do not have to rely on six pack abs, biceps or lats to say something about your health and other people's health. There are telltale signs that you should never ignore.

Yoga For Women_ How To Gain A Shapely Waist Through Yoga

The size of the waist is an indication of overall fitness for many people. Most health experts agree that a smaller waist is healthier than a big one. The reasoning behind this is that increases in fat around the waist usually result in increased health risks such as diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure.

In evolutionary and biological terms, a small waist signifies youth and vitality. But doing endless workouts of crunches alone will not allow you to achieve that Venus-like waist of your dreams. You will need to supplement specific waist-orientated exercises with ones from various disciplines.

Specifically you will need to work the inner girdle of muscles - commonly known as the core muscles - with slow abdominal exercises that work very deep into these muscle groups.

While usually associated with building flexibility, some specific exercises from yoga-based workouts also target the underlying core muscles around the waist.

Abdominal Exercise

Many people are bothered by lower back pain. The pain can be the result of an injury, arthritis or poor posture. No matter why the pain is there it is often debilitating. The thing that people who are not in constant pain do not realize is how much energy is taken from the person that is suffering from the pain. The pain can cause sleep deprivation which leads to the inability to concentrate and the feeling of being tired. There are many things that can be done to help with back pain. One of the most effective is abdominal exercise.

Many people do not realize how much the abdominal muscles help to support the lower back. By keeping these muscles strong the back is supported more. Exercises that stretch and strengthen the abdominal area can greatly alleviate the pain. Abdominal exercise is usually done lying on your back. For some people with severe back pain getting off the floor from a laying position can be quite difficult. For these people they can begin to strengthen the stomach muscles by performing the abdominal exercise in bed. This is not as affective as doing them on the hard surface of the floor, but it can begin the strengthening process so that the person can get to the point of lying on the floor.

Another effective and joint friendly way to begin the process of strengthening the stomach muscles is through deep breathing exercises. These are exercises that can be done in any position and at anytime throughout the day. Simply sit or stand very erect and pull in the abdominal muscles as you take in deep breaths of air. Hold the breath and slowly exhale, keeping the stomach muscles held firm. Repeat this procedure several times throughout the day. The deep breathing will also help relax tense muscles that may contribute to the pain level.

A more advanced abdominal exercise is doing belly crunches. This involves lying flat on your back with your knees raised and you feet planted firmly on the ground. Place your hands behind your head and lift the head and shoulders a few inches off the ground. Hold that position for a few seconds and go back down. Repeat this for a number of times. The deep breathing can be added to the abdominal exercise by inhaling and exhaling as you rise and fall. There are many variations that can be done with this basic exercise, such as reaching your arms out in front of you between your knees as you rise. If you alternate one arm than the next over your stomach as if you are climbing a rope you will work the abdominal muscles that are higher. Repeating these simple moves in the morning and evening will help to warm your back muscles as you prepare for work or sleep. Warming the muscles through stretching also helps to alleviate the pain.

Fat Burning Exercise 03

Don't love-handles stink? If anyone actually enjoys having mounds of fat bulge from their sides, I want to meet him/her. The truth is we hate these things. No one knows why they're called love handles. Someone apparently gave them this name to make people feel better. In reality, anyone who has them, wants to get rid of them, and do it as quickly as possible. Well folks, to accomplish such a feat, you're going to need a good fat burning exercise. This is the key to shedding those irksome handles that have nothing to do with love. They have more to do with fast food than anything. Now, are you ready to leave the handles in the dust?

Who wants to go work out? Yeah, come on; I want to see everyone raise their hand. Unless you have a body like Christian Bale or Angela Bassett, you should be raising those hands high. These two actors already have a decent fat burning exercise regime, along with a weight training routine and a personal trainer. Hey, don't hate them! Just get your body in shape too. And as far as the personal trainer goes; if you can afford one, get one. I will pretty much guarantee that they will help you get in shape and stay consistent. Fitness is all about consistency. You can't just blow it off. If you do, you will soon have those nasty love handles again. The trick is to adopt a good regime and keep it for all eternity.

Probably the best way to drop unwanted ponds is through serious exercise. Not just weight training! Although weights are great and I highly recommend them, you'll want a fat burning exercise as well. This is where cardio comes into the picture. Think stationary bikes, elliptical machines, treadmills, aerobics classes and swimming. These are all great for burning calories and shedding extra pounds. You body needs a fat burning exercise on a regular basis to stay healthy. This goes double for those of you who are over the age of 30. Each decade your metabolism really starts to slow down more and more. You should always keep this in mind. Try cyberspace if you're on the look-out for a few other fat burning exercises.