Healthamania: abs

BLAST YOUR ABS AT HOME

By UNKNOWN - 6:23 PM

The routine is composed of 5 abdominal exercises carefully chosen to hit both the upper and lower abs. You will note that no direct oblique work is present. The reason for that is the fact that direct oblique work only leads to a wider waistline.

So having said that, below is the list of the Magnificent FIVE:

EXERCISE 1 SIT-UPS

PRIMARY TARGET: Upper AbsSECONDARY TARGET: Lower Abs and Obliques

Lie flat on your back on the floor with your knees bent and your legs secured under a piece of heavy furniture (I am assuming that you are doing this routine at home).
Place your hands by your chest.
Flexing your abdominals, raise your torso until you are in nearly a sitting position.
Retaining tension on the abs, lower your torso to the beginning position. (Note: Maintain full control throughout the movement. Avoid the temptation to rock back and forth).

EXERCISE 2 LYING LEG RAISE+CRUNCH

PRIMARY TARGET: Upper and Lower Abs
SECONDARY TARGET: Obliques

Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs straight in front of you.
Place your hands at your sides by the floor for support.
Flexing your lower abdominals, raise your legs until they are perpendicular to the floor.
At this time, raise your shoulders and torso as far as possible from the ground in a curling movement without raising your back from the floor.
Retaining tension on the abs, lower your legs to the beginning position and then bring your torso to the starting position as well. (Note: Maintain full control throughout the movement. Avoid the temptation to rock back and forth).

EXERCISE 3 KNEE-INS

PRIMARY TARGET: Lower Abs
SECONDARY TARGET: Upper Abs and Obliques

Sit on the floor (or on the edge of a chair or exercise bench) with your legs extended in front of you and your hands holding on to the sides for support.
Keeping your knees together, pull your knees in towards your chest until you can go no farther.
Keeping the tension on your lower ab muscles, return to the start position and repeat the movement until you have completed your set.

EXERCISE 4 TOE TOUCHERS

PRIMARY TARGET: Upper and Lower Abs
SECONDARY TARGET: Obliques

Sit on the floor (or on the edge of a chair or exercise bench) with your legs extended in front of you and your hands holding on to the sides for support.
Simultaneously bring your legs up as far as possible while at the same time bringing your torso towards them.
Return to the start position and repeat the movement until you have completed your set. (Note: This is a modified version of a V-Up. In a true V-Up your starting position is lying down on the floor and bringing yourself up with no arm support).

EXERCISE 5 REVERSE CRUNCH

PRIMARY TARGET: Upper and Lower Abs
SECONDARY TARGET: Obliques

Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs straight in front of you.
Place your hands at your sides by the floor for support.
Slowly bend your legs at the knees bringing them towards your chest.
Once the knees are by your chest, raise your shoulders and torso as far as possible from the ground in a curling movement without raising your back from the floor.
Return your legs to the starting position and bring your torso back to the floor.

FREQUENCY

You may perform this routine a minimum of 3 days per week with the maximum being every day.

However, keep in mind that you will not get to see your abs unless you are eating slightly less calories than your body burns. Remember that I am not talking about starvation here.

I am referring to 5-6 small meals a day (for men) and 4-5 small meals (for women) composed of roughly 40% carbs, 40% Protein and 20% Fats each (people with higher metabolisms may need a bit more carbs).

In addition, ensure that you are doing at least 3 days of cardiovascular work.

MODIFICATIONS

If you cannot do an exercise due to lower back injuries for instance then feel free to substitute it for an exercise that does not bother your back.

If on the other hand, you have a healthy lower back and would like to add a bit of mass to your abs, I would just do the routine three times a week and use some resistance in the exercises.

NOTES

Please remember that if your diet is not dialed in neither will be your abs no matter how much cardio or exercise you do. So stick to your diet, weight train hard, and bomb those abs.

Come Spring and Summer and we guarantee that if you have paid your dues you will have a better midsection than the one you have now.

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abs

WHAT WOULD TAKE TO LOSE WEIGHT? 7 HARD TRUTHS YOU NEED TO KNOW

By UNKNOWN - 3:11 PM

You don’t need us to tell you that losing weight — and keeping it off — is hard. About 80 percent of people who lose weight gain it all back, and sometimes more, within a year, experts say.

But understanding why weight loss is so difficult can help you stop beating yourself up over every little setback, and increase your chances of success.

Forget the gimmicks, and come to terms with these difficult weight-loss lessons.

Hard Truth No. 1: Your Body Works Against You

It’s not your imagination. When you try to lose weight, you’re not only fighting your cravings, but also your own body.

When you lose body fat, you decrease the hormone leptin, which signals your brain that you're full, and you increase the hormone gherlin, which stimulates hunger, Australian researchers found.

The bad news is that this hormone imbalance continues long after dieters succeed at weight loss, making it even harder for them to keep the pounds off.

But if you try to cut too many calories for weight loss, your body will go into hibernation mode so that you don’t starve, and your metabolism will slow, Sarah Dolven, MD, an endocrinologist in Charleston, S.C. explains.

It's also important to realize that once you reach your weight-loss goal and start eating a little more again, the pounds can come back pretty quickly, so it’s smart to increase your calories gradually.

Hard Truth No. 2: There Are No Quick Fixes

Wishing you were 30 pounds lighter in time for your high school reunion next month will not make it so, and there are no magic pills or miracle cures that can make it happen.

“When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s hard to be patient,” says Mark Pettus, MD, chief of medicine at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, N.Y., who also developed and teaches the Healthy Living program at the Western Massachusetts Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge.

But you have to be patient because quick starvation diets canwreak havoc on your metabolism, damaging your weight-loss efforts for the long term.

As you start your diet, remember that slow and steady weight loss is the easiest to maintain, Pettus says, and aim for one to two pounds of fat loss each week.

Hard Truth No. 3: Exercise Can't Conquer All

Yes, exercise helps you lose weight and keep it off — the National Weight Control Registry reports that people who maintain their weight loss exercise for at least 60 minutes most days — but it’s nearly impossible to lose weight from exercise alone, Pettus says.

Just do the math: A 135-pound person biking 60 minutes at 12 miles an hour will burn 369 calories. You can put all that back on with just a post-workout protein bar.

To lose a pound of fat, you have to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume, so you can see how hard it is to exercise your way through a poor diet.

Instead, you have to watch what you eat and exercise, Pettus says. If there’s any “magic” to dieting, it’s in that combination.

Hard Truth No. 4: Diet Supplements Don't Work

Those little pills that claim to supercharge your metabolism are tempting, but there’s little evidence that they work.

After a review of thousands of dieters, researchers at Beth Israwl Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that liquid diets, fad diets, and over-the-counter supplement were not linked to weight loss.

So what worked? Portion control, regular exercise, and group support. As Dolven says, "nothing replaces a low-calorie diet and exercise for weight loss."

Hard Truth No. 5: Fad Diets Don't Work

Grapefruit. Maple syrup. Cabbage. Apple-cider vinegar. Juice. All these “miracle” diets are supposed to help you melt pounds and trigger fat burning.

The hard fact: Not only is it hard to lose weight on fad diets, but also they can be so restrictive that they’re almost impossible to follow, and they can damage your metabolism.

When it comes to weight loss, Dolven warns that if it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.

Not to belabor the point, she says, “but the key to weight loss is to be diligent about eating quality calories and staying physically active.”

Hard Truth No. 6: One Diet Doesn't Fit All

Every body is unique, so the diet that works for your friend, your co-worker, your mother, or your sister might not work for you.

When looking at how best to lose weight, consider your health and family history, your metabolism, your activity level, your age, your gender, and your likes and dislikes.

When you’re dieting, it’s important to allow yourself some foods that you enjoy, Dolven says, or else you’ll feel deprived and be less likely to stick with an overall healthy eating plan.

For weight-loss success, tailor your diet to your body and accept that one diet won’t work for everyone.

Hard Truth No. 7: He Can Eat More Than She Can

It doesn’t seem fair, but men can eat more than women and still lose weight.

That’s because men tend to naturally burn more calories than woman, thanks to their larger size, muscle mass, and elevated levels of the hormone testosterone, which promotes muscle growth.

Plus, the male body is genetically designed for more muscle and less fat than the female body because men do not have to store the energy required to bear children.

Once you come to terms with this fact and start eating less than your male partner or friends, the scale will thank you.

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abs

MUST-TRY YOGA COMBO MOVES FOR STRONG AND FLAT ABS

By UNKNOWN - 11:09 AM

1. Warm-up: Reclining big toe hold (supta padangustasana)

Lie flat on your back, legs extended, feet flexed, and arms at your sides, palms facing down.

Bend your left leg into your chest, pulling the shin with both hands. Then grab your left big toe with your first two fingers and thumb of your left hand and lengthen the leg as much as you can while keeping both shoulders and hips on the floor.

Next, wrap your right hand around the outside of left foot, shift your hips to the left, and extend your left leg across your body, reaching for the floor. Your hip will lift, but keep both shoulders on the floor.

Reach that leg as far as your can, then turn your head and look over your left shoulder.

Hold for five to seven breaths. Gently lift your leg, lower it back down to the floor, and repeat on the opposite side.

2. Bridge pose (setu bandha sarvangasana)

Lift your right foot off floor with the knee bent, drawing it toward your face. Straighten the right leg in the air.

With the right foot, draw small circles clockwise and counter-clockwise. Replace your right foot next to your left one. Release your spine lowering one vertebra at time.

Repeat with the other leg.

3. Leg climb

Tones rectus abdominis

Lying flat on your back with legs straight, bend your left leg to your chest and raise it straight into the air.

Hold the back of your thigh with your left hand. Activate your left leg,pushing forward with your thigh and pushing back with your hand.

Press your grounded right leg into the floor, toes flexed.

Now tighten the belly, lift the upper body, and try to climb up the leg, one hand over the other, without throwing the leg forward. It’s as if you’re climbing an imaginary ladder or rope.

Climb until you’re sitting tall on the sit bones. Climb down and repeat with the other leg.

Modification: You can bend the extended leg until you’re strong and supple enough to do it with the leg straight.

4. Mermaid pose

Tones obliques

Lie on your left side, arms stretched and extended overhead together, so that your body is one straight line.

Rest your head on your left arm. Lift your legs in the air, and then raise your arms and torso as high you can.

Engage your legs from the toes up and pull your stomach in.

”When you activate your quads to lift the thighs, it makes your legs lighter,” Lindsay says. Hold for five breaths. Then repeat on the other side.

5. Plank pose

Start on all fours and make sure wrists are in line under shoulders.

Hold your body away from the floor in plank pose, keeping your heels, butt, spine, shoulders, neck, and head in one line.

Lift your left leg off the floor, then carefully raise your right hand, reaching it straight out in front of you.

Switch sides, lifting the right leg and left arm.

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BLAST YOUR ABS AT HOME

EXERCISE 1 SIT-UPS

EXERCISE 2 LYING LEG RAISE+CRUNCH

EXERCISE 3 KNEE-INS

EXERCISE 4 TOE TOUCHERS

EXERCISE 5 REVERSE CRUNCH

FREQUENCY

MODIFICATIONS

NOTES

WHAT WOULD TAKE TO LOSE WEIGHT? 7 HARD TRUTHS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Hard Truth No. 1: Your Body Works Against You

Hard Truth No. 2: There Are No Quick Fixes

Hard Truth No. 3: Exercise Can't Conquer All

Hard Truth No. 4: Diet Supplements Don't Work

Hard Truth No. 5: Fad Diets Don't Work

Hard Truth No. 6: One Diet Doesn't Fit All

Hard Truth No. 7: He Can Eat More Than She Can

MUST-TRY YOGA COMBO MOVES FOR STRONG AND FLAT ABS

1. Warm-up: Reclining big toe hold (supta padangustasana)

2. Bridge pose (setu bandha sarvangasana)

3. Leg climb

4. Mermaid pose

5. Plank pose

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