Abs Fitness

Every few years, there is a part of the body that everyone just has to get into shape. For a while it was the belly. Then it was the buttocks. These days, the body part of choice to work out is the abs, and everyone wants to have a six-pack (no, we do not mean beer). There are all kinds of different exercises you can do to get the washboard abs of your dreams. It takes a bit of hard work, but so does anything else worth having, and being in great physical condition is a good reason to work hard.

Depending on your level of fitness, you may want to start out slowly at first, and do some of the easier exercises. You can then work your way up until you are comfortable with many different exercises, and as you exercise more and more, you will soon begin seeing the results you want. Some types of exercises that make great abdominal workouts include:

Abdominal crunches – people have been doing these with great results for decades. But, as easy as crunches may seem, many people are actually doing them wrong, resulting in injury, especially to the back. It is important to keep you back as straight as possible, and to only raise up two or three inches, then slowly lowering back down, keeping the abdominal muscles tightened as you do.

Leg Lifts – this is a really easy type of exercise that works really well to tighten those abs. All you have to do is lay down flat on the floor, with your arms beside you. Raise both legs together slowly, as far as possible, keeping them as straight as you can. Once you have gone as far as you can, slowly lower your legs back to the floor.

Aerobic Exercise – aerobics are great for your entire body, including your abs. You can either join a health club that offers classes, or use videos and work out at home. This is a wonderful way to tighten your abs, while firming the rest of your muscles, and getting in overall great shape.

There are many other exercises you can use to get those six-pack abs, and of course, there are all of the latest gadgets that are guaranteed to work (but usually don’t, so don’t even bother with most of them). One thing you may want to get is an exercise ball, because it can really intensify your workout. Do whatever it takes to bet the abs you want, and start looking and feeling great.

Written by Cody Figgins of Ultimate Fitness Gear, your best source for the Shaun T Insanity Workout.

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Abs Fitness

Every few years, there is a part of the body that everyone just has to get into shape. For a while it was the belly. Then it was the buttocks. These days, the body part of choice to work out is the abs, and everyone wants to have a six-pack (no, we do not mean beer). There are all kinds of different exercises you can do to get the washboard abs of your dreams. It takes a bit of hard work, but so does anything else worth having, and being in great physical condition is a good reason to work hard.

Depending on your level of fitness, you may want to start out slowly at first, and do some of the easier exercises. You can then work your way up until you are comfortable with many different exercises, and as you exercise more and more, you will soon begin seeing the results you want. Some types of exercises that make great abdominal workouts include:

Abdominal crunches – people have been doing these with great results for decades. But, as easy as crunches may seem, many people are actually doing them wrong, resulting in injury, especially to the back. It is important to keep you back as straight as possible, and to only raise up two or three inches, then slowly lowering back down, keeping the abdominal muscles tightened as you do.

Leg Lifts – this is a really easy type of exercise that works really well to tighten those abs. All you have to do is lay down flat on the floor, with your arms beside you. Raise both legs together slowly, as far as possible, keeping them as straight as you can. Once you have gone as far as you can, slowly lower your legs back to the floor.

Aerobic Exercise – aerobics are great for your entire body, including your abs. You can either join a health club that offers classes, or use videos and work out at home. This is a wonderful way to tighten your abs, while firming the rest of your muscles, and getting in overall great shape.

There are many other exercises you can use to get those six-pack abs, and of course, there are all of the latest gadgets that are guaranteed to work (but usually don’t, so don’t even bother with most of them). One thing you may want to get is an exercise ball, because it can really intensify your workout. Do whatever it takes to bet the abs you want, and start looking and feeling great.

Written by Cody Figgins of Ultimate Fitness Gear, your best source for the Shaun T Insanity Workout.

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Ab Crunches

This compound exercise helps build strength as you elevate your lower body from a hanging position with the use of your abdominals. You will be hanging on a chin up bar with your feet suspended while doing this exercise. The gorilla crunches will also help train your biceps and lats as you execute the exercise.

Hold the chin up bar with your palms facing towards you. Space your hands so that it is a bit wider than your shoulders. Let your arms remain straight. Your legs should behind you in a 90? angle at the knees. Your thighs are perpendicular to the floor and your calves are maintained in a parallel position. Cross your feet at the ankles to stabilize your legs. Head, neck, back, and hips should be in a straight line. This will be your starting position.

Exhale as you simultaneously pull yourself up on the bar with your abdominals pulling your legs at chest level. Keep your knees bent and your ankles locked during the execution. Your end point should be with your nose at the level of the bar and your knees at your chest. Inhale as you go back to starting position.

Keep your abdominals tight and contracted throughout the exercise. You should be using them to lift your knees and legs to your chest to isolate the motion in your abdominals. For an advanced form of training, you can use a medicine ball or dumbbells between your feet. Once you have reached the expert level, you can do a one-arm pull-up with your other hand wresting on your wrist if you wish to target your oblique muscles.

Author: Melissa King of The Heart Rate Monitor Store, use the monitor when you GetInsanity with Shaun T.

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Although most people continue to rely on exercises like sit ups and crunches when it comes to training the abdominals, research has proven that these movements place excessive loads on the lower back, leading to a lot of pain for a lot of people. Repeated, loaded spinal flexion is one of the leading causes for disc herniation.

In fact, the traditional old school, slow speed sit up has been shown to place 730 pounds of compression on the spine! Other commonly used ab exercises place over 1,000 pounds of compression on the spine!

Boy, do I wish I knew all this in my teens and early 20′s when I did thousands of spinal flexion exercises per week, eventually leading to two herniated discs.

Not only are you risking long term back problems by doing all those sit ups, crunches, and all their useless variations but you are not even providing optimal stimulus to the abdominals. Research has proven that bracing actually trains the abs much more effectively than spinal flexion.

To properly employ this technique you need to brace your abs as hard as you can like you are preparing to take a punch. You don’t push your abs out and you don’t suck them in. In fact, sucking them in and trying to activate your transverse abdominis is one of the worst things you can do.

You simply want to tighten and flex the abs as hard as possible. Be sure that there are no energy leaks and that your entire core is braced tightly. You can have a partner poke you or lightly whack you with a stick from different angles to ensure optimal bracing.

Never in real life will you consciously flex your spine and contract your abs like you do in a crunch, so why bother doing it in the gym? If you are on your back in most athletic endeavors, it’s usually because someone put you there. It’s usually not where you want to be. So why try to train your abs in that position?

Starting today, you are going to stop wasting your time and destroying your lower back with traditional ab training and instead focus your energy on the exercises listed below and their many variations.

Be sure to train without a belt, brace the abs and contract the glutes as tightly as possible when doing these movements. This will lead to optimal abdominal development and the avoidance of lower back injuries.

• Plank aka Abdominal Bridge
• Side Plank aka Side Bridge
• Bird Dog
• Deadlift
• Military press
• Pushup
• Hand Walking with the Power Wheel
• Farmers walk
• Squat
• Chin Up

By Jason Ferruggia

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Get A Flat Tummy

What’s the point of all this physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you’re losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women’s hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors.) This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways just discussed.

Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don’t let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. Simply put: First place on, last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat loss. It’s a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to a calorie deficit. What removes the fat—all over your body—is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, “You can’t out-train a lousy diet.”

It’s a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day will make your abs finally “pop” when your diet is a disaster and leads to fat storage. It’s not that ab exercises aren’t important. But all the ab exercises in the world won’t help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can’t “spot reduce” with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN’T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT! Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS. Fat Loss Coach www.burnthefat.com

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How To Get Six Pack Abs

If you want to know how to lose stomach fat and get 6-pack abs, I can tell you in about 30 seconds. You don’t need complex six pack ab workouts containing hundreds of crunches and dozens of exercises each week. The best way to burn belly fat and start seeing your 6-pack is to spend less time focusing on it!

In my opinion, all you need to do to get 6-pack abs is this…

Lose belly fat with nutrition, intervals, and resistance training.

More specifically…

First, start by improving the quality of the food you eat. No more processed carbohydrates, no more sugar, no more deep-fried foods, no more fast food, and no more sodas or juices. Simply making these changes will help you lose stomach fat fast, and you’ll drop your body fat percentage in just days.

Next, you need to spend more time on the basic workout methods, such as total body strength training and interval training, and less time on boring, ineffective ab training exercises. Doing hundreds of crunches won’t get you results. And doing long, slow boring cardio is also an inefficient way to burn belly fat and see your 6-pack abs.

According to researchers from Australia, including Professor Steve Boucher, the only way to spot reduce belly fat is to use interval training. This exercise method burns more belly fat than slow cardio workouts.

Once you’ve taken care of your nutrition, resistance training, and interval training, you can start with basic abdominal workouts. Here’s what you need to know, and this will surprise you!

1) Beginners should stay the heck away from situps and crunch-type movements until they master the Plank, Side Plank, and Bird Dog.

You have to take care of your back before you can start pounding it with traditional ab exercises.

2) Here are some my favorite no-crunch ab movements for intermediate exercisers…

a) the Stability Ball Rollout (also can be done with the Ab Wheel or as a Barbell Rollout)
b) the Stability Ball Jackknife

c) the Plank with Your Arms on the Ball (which according to research quoted in Mens Health, this exercise works your abs 30% harder than regular Plank – all without messing up your lower back).

Okay, so I’ve given my controversial advice about what beginners and intermediate fitness levels should do for abs…now for my more advanced 6-pack ab recommendations.

But first, I want to mention some “unknown” ab builders…

a) The Elevated Pushup

b) Straight Arm Cable Pullover

c) Front Squat

d) DB Pullover & even DB Triceps Extensions with extra stretch

All great total body moves to have in your program to burn calories and build abs at the same time.

Now what do you really need to do to bring out your abs once you have your body fat low?

My favorite advanced ab exercise is Cable Crunches, which are without a doubt, the best resistance exercise for building abs. There are several ways to do them, with one version being safer but just as effective as all other versions.

The big message I like to get across to clients is that they can build 6-pack abs without ever doing a single crunch while lying on their backs.

It shocks people, but it is true. If you want to lose stomach fat fast and see your six pack abs, focus on your nutrition, total body strength training, and interval training before you even consider adding more reps to your current ab workout. By Craig Ballantyne

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Loose Belly Fat Fast

Recently, Cornell University researchers asked a group of people a simple question: “How do you know when you’re through eating dinner?”

The answer might seem obvious. After all, doesn’t everyone push the plate away when they feel full? Well, no. The leanest people do, according to the scientists, but people who are overweight rely more on what are known as “external cues.” For example, guys packing a few extra pounds tend to stop eating when . . .

• Their plates are clean.
• Everyone else in their group is finished.
• The TV show they’re watching is over.

Unfortunately, these cues have nothing to do with how they feel physically. “People’s brains are often out of touch with their bodies,” says C. Peter Herman, Ph.D., a University of Toronto expert on appetite control. “And when eating becomes mindless, overeating becomes routine.”

The key player in all of this appears to be a region of your brain called the left posterior amygdala, or LPA. This area monitors the volume of food in your stomach during a meal. Fill your gut to a comfortable level, and the LPA tells your brain to drop the fork. Trouble is, it delivers that information at dial-up speed in a DSL world. “Many men consume calories faster than their bodies can say, ‘Stop!’” explains Herman. “So they look to external cues to guide their consumption.”
The bottom line is this: To shrink your gut, you need to start listening to it. We’ve scoured these science and tapped the top experts to help you learn how to do just that. Use these seven simple strategies, and you’ll fill up without filling out.

Strategy 1: Sit Down to Snack

Turns out, the trappings of a formal meal make you think you’re eating more than you actually are—and that may boost satiety levels. A 2006 Canadian study found that when people ate lunch while sitting at a set table, they consumed a third less at a later snack than those who ate their midday meals while standing at a counter.

Think of it as the Zen of eating: “If you treat every dining experience with greater respect, you’ll be less likely to use your fork as a shovel,” says sports nutritionist and behavioral psychotherapist Lisa Dorfman, M.S., R.D. “And that includes snacks as well as your three squares.”

Strategy 2: Turn Off the Tube

University of Massachusetts researchers found that people who watched TV during a meal consumed 288 more calories on average than those who didn’t. The reason: What you’re seeing on television distracts you, which keeps your brain from recognizing that you’re full.

Strategy 3: Slow Down and Savor

“Pay close attention to those first three bites, which people usually wolf down due to excitement,” says Jeffrey Greeson, Ph.D., a health psychologist at Duke Integrative Medicine. In fact, mimic a food critic: “Examine the food’s texture, savor the flavors in your mouth, and then pay attention and feel the swallow,” he says. “Psychologically, this form of meditative eating boosts satiety and promotes a sense of satisfaction for the entire meal.”

While you’re at it, try spicing up relatively bland fare, such as scrambled eggs, with hot sauce or smoked paprika. “Hot, flavorful foods help trigger your brain to realize you’re eating,” says Dorfman.

Strategy 4: Take a Bite, Take a Breath

University of Rhode Island researchers discovered that consciously slowing down between bites decreases a person’s calorie intake by 10 percent. “Breathing helps you gauge how hungry you are, since it directs your mind toward your body,” says Greeson. “It’s also quite practical, since you can do it throughout a meal and not draw attention to yourself in a social situation.”

Strategy 5: Don’t Share Your Food

Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo observed that men who ate with a group of buddies downed 60 percent more calories than when they ate with a spouse or girlfriend. That’s because people often match their intake of food to that of their dining partners.
Of course, you shouldn’t have to sit home on guys’ night out. Choose one reasonable entrée for yourself, and skip the communal foods—bread, nachos, wings, and pizza, for example—which encourage you to take your eating cues from pals.

Strategy 6: Keep a Food Journal

It’s an effective way to remind yourself how much you’re eating over the course of a day. But it doesn’t need to be complicated: University of Pittsburgh scientists found that dieters who simply wrote down the size of each meal (S, M, L, XL) were just as successful at losing weight as those who tracked specific foods and calorie counts.

One useful addition: Detail the motivation behind your eating habits. “Were you really hungry or just blowing off steam before bedtime? Recognizing that you weren’t feeling true hunger reinforces the idea of listening to your body,” says Dorfman.

Strategy 7: Don’t Trust the “Healthy” Menu

You’re likely to underestimate your meal’s calorie count by about 35 percent, according to a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. The best approach is to check the restaurant’s nutrition guide before you order. A University of Mississippi study found that people consumed 54 percent fewer calories when they used this simple strategy.

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Get Abs

Picture this scenario…

You’ve been training your tail off for the past 4 months, trying to get ripped fast. You’ve bulked up considerably and are quite happy with the size you’ve been able to achieve.

There’s just one problem…

Along with all of that solid, lean muscle you’ve gained, you notice that you’ve also packed on some excess body fat in the process.

Let’s face it, no matter how “huge” you might be, no one wants to be walking around with a soft, smooth and flabby body. After most trainees have finished their “bulking” phase, they decide that it’s time to “cut down” and strip off the excess body fat that they gained due to their high calorie, muscle-building diet.

How do they usually go about this?

They lighten up the weights and perform higher reps.

This has always been a widely accepted method of “cutting down” and if you ask most trainers in the gym they’ll tell you that “heavy weights bulk up the muscle and lighter weights define the muscle,” helping you get ripped fast.

Do you want to know the reality behind the “light weight and high reps” method of obtaining a ripped and defined physique?

It is completely, totally and utterly DEAD WRONG.

It couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, there is no logical basis for this way of training whatsoever, and whoever dreamt up this downright ridiculous way of thinking has caused the vast majority of lifters to waste their time and impede their progress in the gym while trying to get ripped fast.

Let me clear this up once and for all: you CANNOT spot reduce.

In other words, it is physically impossible to target fat loss from a specific area on your body. Performing bench presses with light resistance and high repetitions will not magically burn fat off of your chest or cause it to appear harder and more defined.

Every single time you wrap your hands around a barbell, dumbbell or cable, your goal is to stimulate as much muscle growth as you possibly can. There are no special, secret weightlifting exercises that will “define” your muscles or cause them to get ripped fast.

Training with weights builds muscle mass, end of story.

So how exactly do you “define” a muscle and get ripped fast?

The only way to “define” a muscle and get ripped fast is by lowering your body fat percentage in order to make your muscles more visible. Body fat reduction can be achieved in two ways:

1) Modify your diet.

You’ll need to create a slight caloric deficit within your body to stimulate the fat burning process. This can usually be achieved by lowering your overall caloric intake so that you are consuming 15-20% fewer calories than is needed to maintain your weight.

You should also be focusing on consuming smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism naturally raised at all times and will keep your body in a constant fat burning state, helping you get ripped fast.

2) Perform proper cardio workouts.

Let go of the traditional method of moderate intensity cardio in 30-45 minute durations.

If you want to maximize your body’s fat burning capacity and also minimize the muscle loss that inevitably accompanies a fat burning cycle, focus on shorter, 15-minute interval-based cardio workouts performed 3-5 times per week at a high level of intensity.

That’s all there is to it, folks.

Take the notion of “light weight and higher reps” and throw it right out the window, down the street and around the corner. Following this misguided method will only cause you to lose muscle mass and strength, and will not assist you in burning fat or help you get ripped fast.

If you’re looking for the complete inside scoop on lowering your body fat levels while maintaining your muscle mass in order to get ripped fast, check out www.HowToBurnFat.com. I’ll show you exactly how to eat and train for maximum fat loss, using simple but powerful techniques that guarantee results. By Sean Nalewanyj

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Get Six Pack

Do you hunger to get six pack abs in few weeks to come? I have gathered some helpful tips on how to get your six pack abs as soon as possible.

1. Do full body exercises

Don’t invest all of your time doing hundreds of crunches. You should perform full body exercises you know that work. Think of all the effective exercises for building muscles and burning fat from sit ups, jack knife to leg lifts etc, and just don’t do only exercises meant exclusively for the abs.

2. Cardiovascular is a priority

Cardiovascular workouts are essential to sculpture your sexy abs out. Outside of helping to boost your heart beat state and maintaining your stamina, it also aids to shed off fat in a faster manner. Begin with spending about 10 minutes of your day doing cardiovascular workouts and raise it to 40 minutes for a quicker result.

3. Weight training

Another tip on how to get a six pack is to do weight training. Outside of cardiovascular, weight training is another essential strategy to include into your six pack abs plan. It aids you to gain muscle and tone up your body abs, thus inducing your body metabolic rate to shed off fat and burn calories.

4. Intensify your exercises

Research conducted has it that interval-type routine has a longer fat burning result, giving you an easy way to get your six pack abs.

5. Maintain a nice posture

Wretched posture is a setback to adequate six pack abs. I suggest you try all the time to stand up straight. Positioning your shoulder backwards and your chest upwards and the abs will appear from hard work. Try to maintain a good posture.

6. Maintain adequate dieting habits

Another tip on how to get a six pack is to maintain a proper dieting habit. You should try as much as you can to include dietary fats into the meals you take. Little meals are ideal for you when on a six pack abs program other than bigger ones. Dietary fats like fish oil, flaxseed oil, and olive oil should make about 20% of your diet. Avoid taking saturated fats. Also avoid viewing TV as you are eating.

7. Take lots of water

Take at least 9 glasses of clean water every day and perform regular exercises. It will keep your fat burning process accelerating. If possible, make 3 glasses out of these 9 glasses to be warm water. Warm water is effective in burning off excess fat.

8. Take adequate night rest

Spend at least 8 hours per day taking your sleep at night. It will restore your muscle coordination and revive your body by lessening stress hormones level.

9. Set your realistic goals

Make a six pack abs plan you know you can actualize. Map out the time you shall exercise and the duration for it and also follow a proper dieting plan. Bear in mind that the best time to do exercises and get fast results from it is in the morning. If your plan says that within 1 month you would have completed the six pack abs program, then try as much as you can to stick to it and don’t skip any routine.

10. Include diverse techniques to your workout

Bear in mind that it is possible to get your six pack abs without having to go to the gym center. There are simple exercises which you can do at home that works well when combined with a proper dieting plan.

Here is NOT the quickest way to get a ripped six pack! -

1. Special abdominal machines. Your watching a show and that ad comes on about the best abdominal machine in the world. Just 10 minutes a day to ripped abs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The quickest way to get a ripped six pack is dieting!

2. Doing countless crunches and ab work in the gym. Crunches are a decent exercise to build a decent midsection. However, they are not the most affective way of building your abs and can lead to injury if you perform hundreds the wrong way! People often tend to use their hip flexors to often while doing crunches, which has been shown to decrease muscle activity.

3. Starving diets. This is the biggest gimmick out there. Starve yourself? This slows your metabolism down and instead of burning carbohydrates your body looks to your burn your muscle tissues. Yes, you will lose weight but most of it will be muscle. Your body will then start holding on to fat cells because it senses that it is not getting the nutrients it needs. Muscle tissues burn calories, which in turn burns calories and fat. Why would you want to use your muscle for energy? I know I would not want to! Not to mention starving yourself puts you at risk for diabetes.

4. Diet pills. Sorry. THIS is the biggest scam out there. Diet pills are horrible for your health with no results! Usually they are loaded up with dangerous amounts of caffeine. They waste your health and empty your pockets. Diet and nutrition are your best friends to get a ripped six pack. Rely on diet pills and you’ll be further away from your goal then ever!

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Five Fast Ways To Get Beach Body Abs

Fitness Abs Workout

When you mix Pilates and personal training, you can get a tight, toned, beach ready body in almost no time at all. Most clients feel that Pilates is separate from a basic in home personal training program and requires an individualized focus. On the contrary, Pilates focuses on core muscles and stabilization of the midsection, which in turn, enables you to focus on all of your muscle groups and get the most of your training workout.

Pairing Pilates and personal training in the same workout can increase your muscle definition and give you a lean sculpted look. For fast, seriously fit abs, try these five quick exercises to kick off your summer beach body workout.

1. The Ball Lift – This is a classic move that will target stubborn lower abs that women mainly refer to as their “pouch.” Begin by lying on your back and put your hands under hips for support. Place a stability (Swiss) ball between your feet and extend your legs straight up in the air. Squeeze the ball tight. Lifting and lowering a stability (Swiss) ball that weighs less than 1 lb will assist your stubborn lower abs in tightening and toning. Most of the time when basic crunches are done, cheating occurs, which only can cause strain and pain. In both Pilates and personal training, you need to focus on your abs as you lift and lower the ball in a controlled motion. Take a two-second exhale to lower your legs and continue lowering it until the ball is just off the ground. Then take a two-second inhale while you lift your legs back up to the starting position. Repeat 10 times then rest.

2. The Ball Extension – This move targets the entire abs from top to bottom. While still lying on the floor, squeeze the ball tightly between your feet, inhale and bend your knees to your chest. Then exhale while extending your feet to the ceiling. Continue exhaling, remember to keep your legs straight, and then lower your legs to the point that you have almost reached the floor. Inhale, bring your knees to your chest and repeat. Take two seconds on the inhale, and four on the exhale. Keep your hands under your hips for stability. Repeat 10 times then rest.

3. The Reverse Ball Extension – This is the same move as the Ball Extension but in reverse. Start in the same position, extend your legs out first while exhaling, then lift to ceiling on the exhale. Inhale and bring your knees to your chest. Take four seconds on exhale, and four on the inhale. Repeat 10 times then rest.

4. Dinner Plate – This classic move targets all the side (oblique) muscles that extend around to the back and targets stubborn “love handles”. Again, starting on your back with your feet in the air and the ball between your feet, make small circles the size of a dinner plate in the air. The key to this exercise is to place your legs at a 45-degree angle so you are using gravity to pull down as you rotate. Do 10 times in each direction then rest.

5. The Twist – Keeping your back on the ground and your feet in the air, keep the ball tightly between your feet. Go to a 45-degree angle and twist your legs left and right focusing on the oblique muscles on each side. Repeat 10 times then rest.

It is important to pair personal training components in your weekly workout routine with a great abs stabilization workout. Joseph Pilates created the original Pilates method workout, which traditionally, included machines and pulley systems.

The advent of portable, lightweight equipment has enabled everyone to be able to workout from home, the park, or even the beach. Using Pilates exercises a few times per week and pairing it with a good personal strength training workout will increase your workout potential, decrease fat and propel your weight loss.

Debbie McFarlen is a certified personal trainer and press contact for Team Fitness America who offers a wide variety of home based fitness services, such as personal trainers, yoga instruction, Pilates programs, bridal fitness, weight loss, and much more. Team Fitness America’s personal trainers are all nationally certified. For more information about Team Fitness America, please visit www.teamfitnessamerica.com.

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