10 Great Ab Exercises

Year after year, countless men swear that they will work their abs and achieve the elusive six-pack; most of these men fail. The reasons for wanting great abs are simple: you'll feel good about yourself and therefore boost your self-esteem and girls love them. Here are 10 of the all-time best exercises for your abs. They will help you to whip that gut into shape. Just remember that without a proper diet and a fat-burning cardio regime (such as high intensity interval training), you're ab crunches will be in vain.

Number 10

Reaching crunch on ball

Instructions: Sit on a Swiss ball with your feet shoulder-width apart on the floor. Lean back, so that your back is almost parallel to the floor. Straighten your arms and point them toward the ceiling. Contract your abs, as you would for a crunch, while you reach for the ceiling with your fingertips. Hold the contracted position for three seconds. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position. Do 10 reps.

Number 9
Twist and crunch

Instructions: Place a mat on the floor and lie down on your back, with your hands by your ears and your legs perpendicular to the floor. Twist your hips slightly by contracting your left oblique muscles; hold that position. Using your abs, bring your right elbow across your body to the outside of your left knee. Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat the movement on your right side. Do 10 reps.

Number 8
Russian twist

Instructions: Sit on a decline bench, with your legs firmly under the pads. Lean back slightly, so that your thighs and torso form a 90° angle. Extend your arms in front of you, so that they form a 90° with your torso, and clasp your hands together. Keeping your back straight, your chest out and your arms straight, make a semi-circle with your arms. With your abs flexed, move as far as you can from right to left and left to right, and do the motion as quickly as you can without sacrificing proper form or range of motion. Work your way up to 60 seconds of continuous movement.

Number 7
Hip raise/leg raise

Instructions: Lie down on a flat bench with your legs up and perpendicular to the bench (hold the bench behind your head for stability). Lift your hips slightly off the bench by contracting your lower abs, hold for three seconds, and lower your hips. Keep your back flat on the bench, your legs straight and lower your legs until they almost form a straight line with the rest of your body. Hold for a count of three and bring them back to the starting position. Do 10 reps.

Number 6
Woodchop

Instructions: Add some weight (try 25 pounds) to a multipurpose pulley machine and grasp the handle attachment at shoulder height with your left hand. Square yourself to the machine and take a few steps to the right (away from the machine) until there is sufficient tension. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bring your right arm across your body, and clasp your hands together while holding the handle. Keeping your arms straight and at shoulder-height, use your abs to bring your arms across your body, as though you were making a woodchopping motion. Bring them back to the starting position. Do 10 reps on each side for the excellent core workout.

Number 5

Jackknife

Instructions: Place a mat on the floor, lie down on your back and extend your arms above your head. Simultaneously lift your arms and legs toward the ceiling, until your fingertips touch your toes (if you can). Slowly return to the starting position. Do 10 reps.

Number 4

Windshield wipers

Instructions: Place a mat on the floor and lie on on your back with your arms in the "T" position for stability. Lift your legs so that they are perpendicular to the floor and rotate your hips, keeping them in contact with the floor, so that your legs move from left to right, in a "windshield wiper" motion. Make sure to move in a slow and controlled manner. Do 10 reps.

Number 3

Reverse crunch

Instructions: Lie down on a bench with your knees bent and your upper legs at a 90° angle with your torso; grab the bench above your head for stability. Use your ab muscles to pull your knees toward your chest until they reach your elbows. Hold the crunch position for three seconds and return to the starting position. Do 10 reps.

Number 2

Side crunch on ball

Instructions: Firmly place your right hip on a Swiss ball and lean into the ball; ensure that your torso is off the ball. Support yourself by pressing the soles of your feet against the bottom of a wall. Place your hands by your ears, and contract your left oblique muscles, lifting your torso up as far as you can. Hold for three seconds and release. Do 10 reps and repeat on the opposite side.

Number 1

Front plank on ball

Instructions: Rest your elbows on a flat bench and the balls of your feet on an exercise ball. Contract your abs so that your body is parallel to the floor and there is no dip in your lower back. Hold the plank position for 60 seconds.

Rock-hard abs

Throw a few sets of these ab destroyers between your other exercises at the gym, and within a few weeks, you'll be amazed at your newfound ripped and rock-hard midsection. Just be cool and don't become one of those guys that whips off his shirt to show them off at every opportunity.

Building Lean Body Mass

Body building has been in great demands for both the sexes since past many years all over the world. More and more people have been found exercising for building their strong and fit stature. Body building exercises involve various factors like regular recommended work outs, aerobics and adequate intake of nutritious foods besides ample resting periods. We all very well know that nutrition always play the most significant role in body building goals. Shredding out excess fat from the body and simultaneously ingesting added amounts of calories is the basic consideration for opting body building exercise.
Perfectly curved abs, shapely legs, toned arms could be attained by enhancing the lean body mass and simultaneously diminishing the body fat proportions. Stimulate the metabolism, boost the stamina levels and generate the lean body simply by following the below given guidelines.
For building muscles and losing weight, consider ingesting foods with high in protein but low in fat -
Lean beef, skinless chicken and fish would provide about 7 grams of protein per ounce. Even beans could provide 6 grams per ½ cooked cup, and rice or other cereal grains provide about 3 grams per ½ cup serving. But a cup full of milk or yogurt provides 8 grams of protein. Thus it is rather easy to fulfill the total basic protein quota from just 6 to 8 oz of meat, 2 to 3 servings of dairy products and 6 to 8 servings of cereals each day on an average.
Strength training for building the lean body mass -
It is believed that only the properly done weight training can efficiently build the lean mass. One must train hard if he is seriously willing to build stronger and larger muscles. One can easily expect doubling his strength and remarkable size to his body through effective weight lifting techniques. Lean mass is considered as the metabolic engine of the body which permits the body to burn more calories at rest. Thus when the person trains with weights on routine basis, he converts his body into the fat burning machine. One should work on the vital muscle groups such as thighs, hamstrings, rear ends, back, chest, shoulders, arms and abdomen, but try to maintain workouts shorter, heavier yet concentrated.
Target for the healthy body fat proportion -
Developing the energy deficiency is the best way to lose body fat through exercising more and eating less. Low carbohydrate diets do not show any wonders singly, anyway. Try to maintain the body fat proportions levels like: for women 15 to 20 percent is lean, 20 to 25 percent is normal, 26 to 32 percent is considered as over fat and 33 percent or above is of course obese. Although restricting the calorie intake try to alter the diet habits towards protein, healthy fats like essential fatty acids, dietary fibers and glycemic carbohydrate intake.
Monitor the body fat proportions regularly -
This could be done with the help of body fat analyzer or body fat scale before initiating any alterations in the diets or exercises. It would help you to check your progress. Record the body fat proportion, lean body mass, body weight as well as body measurements by renewing them every week.

Quick and easy Fitness Tips

If you're crunched for time, here are some quick and easy fitness ideas that you can include in your daily routine.
Being healthy isn't just about hitting the gym for hours everyday, or being able to fit in your jeans. Regular exercise has many more benefits - lower risk of ailments such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetics, colon cancer and depression, as well as increased bone strength, higher energy levels and an overall sense of well being. So now keep on reading the fitness tips.

Fitness tip # 1 - Split it up
Instead of spending one hour to the gym, do six 10-minute workout sessions throughout the day. Try some slow stretches, leg crunches or lunges when you get up in the morning, during short breaks at work or while you are watching your favourite show at T.V.
For more information on exercises don't forget to visit our Exercise Directory.
Fitness tip # 2 - Walk yourself
Take a quick watch around the neighborhood before breakfast or after dinner. Even small increments of daily activity can burn body fat. Walking not only tones your hips, legs and lower back muscles, but also keeps you energized throughout the day.
Fitness tip # 3 - Do a jumping jack with skipping rope
Borrow a skipping rope and start jumping. You will be loosing as much as 70 to 110 calories in only 10 minutes.
Fitness tip # 4 - Drink a lot of water
Dehydration will hinder your aerobic performance, so no amount of working out is going to help if you are not drinking enough fluid. Water helps you burn calories and digest fat, and most importantly, it detoxifies you system.
Fitness tip # 5 - Fire the maid
Studies suggest that women today are more overweight and less fit that women in the 50's. That's because we depend more on electronic appliances then doing work ourselves. Simple daily chores burn a large amount of calories. In fact, vacuuming for an hour burns 90 calories, gardening will kill 150 calories and cooking can actually burn up to 160 calories!
Fitness tip # 6 - Get outdoors
In your leisure times, opt for activities that excite you. Go to the park, walk the dog, plan picnics or do something more adventurous like hiking, rock-climbing paddle boating or scuba diving.
Fitness tip # 7 - Work it off
Do some exercises at work too. Next time you find yourself picking up the phone to call a colleague, walk down to her office instead. Or if you are in the mood for a cup of coffee, go out and get it yourself.
Fitness tip # 8 - Become the delivery person
Forget internet shopping and ordering in. If you feel like grabbing a sandwich, walk to a nearest cafe instead of ordering on the phone. Similarly, if you need books or DVD's, walk down to the store and get whatever you need.
Fitness tip # 9 - Hide the remote
Don't be a channel-flicking couch potato. Ask someone to hide the remote so that whenever you need to use it, you'll have to go dig it out. Better yet, if you are spending more then half an hour parked in front of T.V., use a treadmill or stationary bike while you are at it.
Fitness tip # 10 - Use the stairs
If you are at work or at shopping mall, avoid taking the elevator. Opt for the stairs. Climbing up the stairs adds strength to your leg muscles and gives you a cardiovascular workout. Climbing down the stairs builds strength in the quadriceps and hamstrings. To burn over 200 calories at once, run up and down a flight of stairs as fast as you can. Two at a time if you are particularly brave. Do this everyday in five-minute sessions.
Fitness tip # 11 - Make it family time
Try to get your spouse and your kids to work out with you. Play catch or frisbee with your kids, make fake microphones and dance to some music, or even run alongside your children as they learn to ride a bike. In fact, a recent study in Canada suggests that if you are active, your children are 6-times more likely to be active too.
Fitness tip # 12 - Learn the alphabet
For flexible ankles, trace the alphabet with your toes. Do this with both feet, one after the other. This is something that can be done anywhere - while waiting for someone, working on your computer or lying down on the couch.
Fitness tip # 13 - Pick up the pace
Whatever you're doing do it faster. So if you're washing clothes, folding clothes, vacuuming the house or washing the car, speed it up just a notch. Just don't try it when slicing vegetables!
Fitness tip # 14 - Meet up with friends while doing exercise
Instead of catching up over a cup of coffee, do it while playing tennis, taking aerobics lessons or learning salsa. Meet a couple of friends a few times a week and combine socializing with exercise.
Fitness tip # 15 - Tone your legs
If you spend a lot of time sitting and working, you can try some leg exercises. Stretch out your toes forward and out slowly, away from your body, till you begin to feel a slight tension. Hold your position like that for half a minute. You could also try tightening your buttocks, rolling your neck 20-times in each direction, extending your arms over your head as much as possible and stretching or flexing your feet and ankles.

Bodybuilding Exercise

Do a Proper Warm Up before starting a Bodybuilding Program
It is important to warm up before beginning your bodybuilding program for two main reasons:
It reduces the chances of injury.
It will improve your performance.
Here are a few quick reminders of why you should do this.
Muscles respond better to exercise if they are properly prepared for the coming work­load. Warming up increases blood flow to the muscles and lubricates the joints because the fluid surrounding them becomes less viscous so the joint can move more smoothly and efficiently. At rest, muscles receive only about 15% of your total blood supply, but during exercise the requirement for fuel and oxygen sharply increases and they may need up to 80% of the total blood flow to meet the demand. Obviously, it takes time to re-route the blood, and this cannot be achieved efficiently if you omit the warm-up and start exercising vigorously.
Warming up also improves the elasticity of the muscles, enabling them to work harder, more efficiently and for longer before they fatigue, as well as allowing nerve impulses to be transmitted faster.
Finally, warming up also prepares you mentally for the work ahead; it increases your arousal level and motivation. Performing one or two warm-up sets with light weights acts as a mental rehearsal and means that you can perform your subsequent heavier sets more effectively.
Warm-up components
The time taken on this part of your workout depends to a large extent on the temperature of your surroundings - the cooler the environment, the longer it will take to raise your body temperature. Your warm-up should include the following three components.
An aerobic activity that raises your body temperature and leaves you mildly sweating. This should be performed for 5-10 minutes and be continuous and rhythmic in nature - for example, stationary cycling, treadmill walking, gentle jogging, stepping or rowing.
Mobilization of the major joints. This could include movements such as arm circles, knee bends and shoulder circles which take the joints through their full range of movement. These are not stretching exercises as they are continuous and do not increase the range of movement.
Warm-up sets with light weights and high repetitions. Never embark on your working sets straightaway because your muscles won't be properly warmed up and you there are chances of injury. Start with 1-2 sets using very light weights (around 40-50% one-rep max), for 15-20 repetitions to warm up the target muscles, ligaments and joints, and to rehearse the action to be performed.

To Stretch or Not to Stretch?
For years it was thought that stretching before strenuous activity would help prepare the muscles for exercise and reduce the risk of injury. However, more recent research suggests that stretching before you start training is unlikely to benefit your performance and may even be detrimental. Ironically, strength is lower following pre-exercise stretching compared with no stretching at all. In addition pre-exercise stretching will not prevent post exercise soreness or tenderness. It is now believed that stretching is best kept to a minimum prior to strength and power training. An active warm up(such as treadmill, exercise bike, steppers), followed by 1-2 warm up sets with light weights, is more effective. For example before performing bench presses, do one or two warm-up sets with a light weight that you can comfortably manage for at least 15 repetitions.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is very important and it is very much necessary to be fit and fine.
Aerobic exercise can be any type of exercise that causes your heart rate to increase and makes you breath harder than normal.But don’t worry, you don't have to join any “aerobic” classes to benefit from aerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise is a very useful tool in fat burning too. The body has two sources of energy : sugar and fat. Sugar or glycogen is stored in the liver and muscle and is the easiest from of energy for your body to use. Glycogen is the bodies preferred source of energy. Fat on the other hand, requires more work to be used as energy.
Why? The problem is that fat can be broken down only as long as oxygen is available. Oxygen must be present for your body to burn fat for energy, but not to burn glycogen. In the initial stages of exercise, oxygen is not available.
It can take minimum of 20 to 35 minutes of constant exercise before fat is fully available to the muscles as fuel. How efficiently your body burns fat will depend on your current condition.
Exercise, particularly aerobics, enhances the development of capillaries to the muscle which in turn improves the blood flow wherever it’s needed. With better blood flow and improved oxygen uptake by the muscles, your body becomes better adapted at building muscle.
This is the most leading reason why you shouldn't neglect the aerobic part of your training.
The difference between aerobic and anaerobic training
Running, cycling and swimming are aerobic activities whereas weightlifting, sprinting and boxing are anaerobic activities. During aerobic exercise, the heart rate rises, respiration increases and carbohydrates and fats provide working muscles with energy via oxidation. During anaerobic activity, the heart rate and respiration increase to a greater degree, but stored adenosine tri phosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate serve as primary energy sources. As a result, lactic acid accumulates in the muscles and blood. Another way to understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic work is to think in terms of duration and intensity. If you can do an activity for a relatively long time (at least 20 minutes), the energy will have to be light than moderate so that you can keep it up. This is considered aerobic. Exercising at a high intensity - so high that you can't continue at that step for more than a minute or two at a time - is aerobic. But no exercise or activity is 100% aerobic or anaerobic. Sprinting may be anaerobic, while marathon running is aerobic, but when long-distance runners sprint for the finish line, they're activating their anaerobic metabolism.
Heart and health benefits
Aerobic exercise has a lot of heart and and other health benefits. Aerobic activity offers a wide variety of benefits to overall fitness and health. The visual improvements are great, but the long term, more important advantages occur on the inside. Together with cardiovascular efficiency, metabolic changes will take you another step closer to achieving ultimate fitness. You know aerobic exercise causes your body to burn calories, a percentage of which come from fat, depending upon (among other things) duration and intensity. But did you know that you continue to burn fat even after your workout is over? After training, the body needs to replenish muscle glycogen, and fatty acids help to manufacture adenosine tri phosphate(ATP). Basically, fat is used to partially refuel the body for its next burst of energy. The more intense the exercise, the more the body has to replenish, and the more fat it will use to do just that. Now as far your heart goes, aerobic exercise lowers your resting heart rate, increases stroke volume and improves the efficiency of the heart. A trained heart doesn't have to work as hard to deliver blood to the various parts of the body and can pump more blood with each beat than an untrained one. Aerobic training can also lower blood pressure, which in turn decreases the risk of heart attack.
I recommend that your aerobics sessions should be at least 15 to 20 minutes in length. Although beginners should take it easy when first starting aerobic training. Beginners should start off doing 5 to 10 minutes of aerobic training and try to gradually increase the amount of time at every new workout when it feels comfortable to do so.

When doing aerobics training, shoot for training in your target heart range. In order to find this range, take the number 220 and subtract your age in years (for example, if your 32, it would be 220 - 32 = 188), then take that number and keep your heart rate within 60 to 80 percent of it (for example, take 188 x 60% = 113 beats per minute).

Anatomy - Bodybuilding

The term anatomy means the structure or composition or the frame work and the term body building perhaps needs no introduction nowadays as we would hardly find a guy who is not interested in body building for shaping up his or her body to add to the personality. Irrespective of age or sex more and more people are attempting to try body building. We simply know that body building is all about building up muscles and grow stronger. Hence at this juncture it is rather very important to thoroughly know the anatomy of body building. This would definitely help the enthusiasts jump in faster and easier in the ocean of the body building.
Lets consider it in brief - body building is about the functions of the muscles, starting from the neck, there are two basic muscles in the neck that need to be focused while undergoing body building workout. The upper trapezium muscle goes from the back of the neck to the shoulders. The levator scapula is another muscle in the neck which runs next to the first six cervical vertebrae that too are situated in the neck. The trapezium or the trap muscles or better known as the trap muscles in fact run down from the back side of the neck down to the waist on both the sides of the spinal cord.
The deltoid muscles, also known as the delt muscles - is the next group of muscles situated in the shoulder region, the anterior or frontal delt is placed in the front of the shoulder and the posterior delt runs down on the back of the shoulders. The middle delt runs down the shoulder side. Situated just below the anterior or frontal muscle from the arm pit, is the rotator cuff muscle which frequently gets in great pain. The chest muscles are known as the pectoral muscles.
The next are the triceps and the biceps which are positioned in the arms. The triceps run down side of the arms right from the shoulder area to the elbow joint, while the biceps are positioned in the arms only. More over there are some of the very diverse group of muscles positioned in the forearms. Next are the stomach muscles that are often termed as the abs or the abdominals. This area is the main focus of the body due to its central positioning. Hence it is essential to build up muscles there both for overall core strength for permitting the rest of the body.
The muscles positioned in the legs are technically termed as the quadriceps muscles which are also known as the quads. However, the hamstring muscle is located in the upper leg area. One typical muscle group which demands vital focus while body building workout exercises, is known as the buttocks or the glutes, the lats that are positioned in the upper back region whereas the muscles positioned in the lower back are termed as the lower trap muscles. The comprehensive awareness and detailed knowledge about all the muscles greatly help during the body building training program.