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| ab workout for men and women |
Best ab workouts at home for men and women
Receive maximal benefits in minimal time.
The abdominals consist of four major muscles: rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and transverse abdominis.
Along with muscles of the lower back and gluteals, these core muscles work together to keep you upright and moving. They are the global “power pack” at work to help you sit, stand, twist, bend and lift.
Along with muscles of the lower back and gluteals, these core muscles work together to keep you upright and moving. They are the global “power pack” at work to help you sit, stand, twist, bend and lift.
To increase the effectiveness of your ab workout, learning how to find your neutral spine will improve your core stability. By including a neutral spine for all exercises and movements, you will decrease your risk of injury to your lower back and increase your ab muscles strength and stability.
The neutral or midway point is where both, abs and spinal muscles are working together to hold the neutral spine position, with equal effort.
To maintain this neutral position, the deep (and often weakest)the transverse abdominal muscle must be activated. By gently pulling your belly button in and tensing the stomach muscles allows the whole ab region to stabilize the spine.
To maintain this neutral position, the deep (and often weakest)the transverse abdominal muscle must be activated. By gently pulling your belly button in and tensing the stomach muscles allows the whole ab region to stabilize the spine.
Focus on your abs, finding and holding neutral spine, benefits and protects your lower back and can help prevent lower back pain. Whether standing, laying, sitting and during exercise, neutral is the safest position for our core. Be sure to remember that as often as possible and ab strength and back health will be yours.
Contact your doctor prior to starting an exercise program and follow their recommendations. If you are currently under physio or chiropractic care, this program is not meant to conflict with treatments made by your doctor.
Ab exercises on the floor
1.Supine knee drop
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| super knee drop |
Lay flat on the floor on your back.
Find a neutral spine.
Bring your knees above hips and lower legs parallel to the floor.
Hips, knees, and ankles are at ninety degrees.
Find a neutral spine.
Slowly lower one foot towards the floor while keeping knee at ninety degrees.
Return to start after heel touches (without a pause) the floor.
Check your spinal position by placing one hand under your lower back (palm down and fingers along the spine) and one hand spread out on tummy above the hipbone.
Feel the ab muscles contract at the start and during the movement. Try to keep the muscle contraction consistent throughout the exercise. If your doing this right (slow and steady) you should only be able to do 4-8 repetitions per leg before muscles fatigue and your neutral position is lost. Slowly increase reps, as you are able.
2.Supine knee/heel slide
Lay flat on the floor on your back.
Find a neutral spine.
Bring knees above hips and lower legs parallel to the floor.
Hips, knees, and ankles are at ninety degrees.
Find neutral spine tighten stomach muscles.
Keep knee at ninety degrees and slowly lower heel one inch above the floor and slowly straighten leg by sliding heel away from your body.
Try to maintain the abdominal muscle contraction while performing this movement.
Extend your leg fully then return foot to bent knee position and return to start.
When starting out, only expect to complete four to eight repetitions before neutral is lost. Complete three sets and slowly increase reps up to twelve aside, as you are able.
3.Supine bridge
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Lay flat on the floor on your back.
Bend knees and bring feet together and towards your butt. With hands flat on the floor at your side.
Gently raise butt, tailbone, and spine up off the floor leaving shoulders on the ground for support.
Find neutral spine then tighten abs and pull your belly button in towards your spine.
Hold and squeeze abs for thirty seconds then gently lay spine back down.
Repeat two more times for thirty seconds each. Add ten seconds for each additional workout aiming for a full one minute squeeze.
A recent study has shown the following exercise is one of the best ab exercise available, using no equipment.
Lay supine on the floor.
Find Neutral spine.
Place hands on the chest or at the ears (more difficult) Tighten abdominals (pulling in and down towards spine).
Inhale and lift head/shoulders off the floor while bringing right knee in towards left shoulder/elbow. Feel the contraction of the obliques working to twist and return.
Do not lay shoulders or head back down on the floor until required reps are completed.
4.Bicycle twist
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Lay supine on the floor.
Find Neutral spine.
Place hands on the chest or at the ears (more difficult) Tighten abdominals (pulling in and down towards spine).
Inhale and lift head/shoulders off the floor while bringing right knee in towards left shoulder/elbow. Feel the contraction of the obliques working to twist and return.
Do not lay shoulders or head back down on the floor until required reps are completed.
5.Prone bridge
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Lay prone (face down) on the floor.
Bring feet together and get on your toes.
Bring elbows under your shoulders, hands palm down.
Find neutral; inhale as you lift your full body parallel to the floor.
Exhale and squeeze abdominals up towards the spine.
Hold this position for 5-10 seconds lower and repeat.
Add on more time, as you are able. Be sure to concentrate on neutral spine and tight abdominals.
6.Side bridge
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This is a side lying version of above exercise.
Start with the right side on the floor.
Have a slight bend on lower (right) leg with left leg on top.
Elbow is under the shoulder.
Find a neutral spine.
Inhale and lift the full body off the floor and hold for 5-10 seconds.
Be very aware of body position, alignment through the shoulders, mid and lower back. Do not allow upper body or hips to rotate forward.
These exercises done three times a week for four to six weeks will improve core strength and stability, leading to stronger abdominals.
Always use a slow, controlled movement for the most effective ab workout. But keep in mind that if you’ve got excess packaging around your middle, you'll need to shed a few pounds before your abs are visible.
If you are looking for some quality info for weight loss, check out the Fat Primer E-book. Here you'll have available to you all sorts of valuable, doable and sensible help for weight loss.
Always use a slow, controlled movement for the most effective ab workout. But keep in mind that if you’ve got excess packaging around your middle, you'll need to shed a few pounds before your abs are visible.
If you are looking for some quality info for weight loss, check out the Fat Primer E-book. Here you'll have available to you all sorts of valuable, doable and sensible help for weight loss.
Keep in mind the other factors of health. Be sure to follow a safe and healthy nutrition plan and include aerobic training or cardio work.
Include strength and stretching and you'll be on your way to a more fit and healthy way of life.
Include strength and stretching and you'll be on your way to a more fit and healthy way of life.
Now if these seem a bit to easy, you really should check out abdominals on the stability ball. This is by far one of the most versatile tools I've come across. Including a stability ball in your routine forces your abs to work hard just to keep you up and balanced. If you haven't tried it, you'd be surprised.
Also very effective for abs, is to include our pelvic floor muscles. For women who have had children, or who may be concerned about bladder control, this muscle should not be overlooked during your abdominal workout. Kegels have been around for some time now.
Also, check
The name comes from the Doctor who discovered these incredible muscles. They are key for abdominal support and bladder control. Try the exercises for a couple of weeks and I'm sure you'll notice a big difference.
Also, check
The name comes from the Doctor who discovered these incredible muscles. They are key for abdominal support and bladder control. Try the exercises for a couple of weeks and I'm sure you'll notice a big difference.
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