I'm going on the 4pm news on Channel 31 tomorrow to talk about 6 pack abs for summer. I wanted to give you all a preview of what I plan to talk about and a little more in depth information.
First of all, you probably all are aware that you can do crunches all day long and never see one ab muscle. You have to strip away that layer of fat that covers the stomach muscles to see any definition. Proper nutrition and intense exercise is the best way.
Since we are off this week from boot camp, these are also 3 exercises you can do at home to keep those core muscles tight.
1. Bicycle-ACE (American Council of Exercise) did a study of which abdominal exercises was the most effective. They found that the bicycle was the most effective, with nearly two and a half times the muscle activation as the plain old crunch. This exercise targets the rectus abdominus (aka the 6 pack muscle you think of) as well as the external obliques (love handles). To get in position to perform the bicycle, lie on your back, place both hands behind your head, feet off the ground with legs bent at 90 degrees. Next, bring your left knee towards your chin as you rotate your right elbow towards your left knee (DO NOT push on your head), and repeat side to side for the desired amount of repetitions.
2.Vacuum-This move targets the transverse abdominus which is sometimes called the corset muscle because it keeps the abdominals held in tight. Those muscles also act as back support and to help control breathing when lifting. Exhale all of the air out of your lungs, expand your chest, then suck your stomach in as far as possible. You should picture trying to pull your belly button into your spine. When you are just starting out try to hold this contraction for 20 seconds. Rest 60 seconds and then do it one more time. This move can trim inches off your waist once you get good at it.
3. Side plank-A great move for overall body strength and toning the obliques (love handles). Lay on your right side first, place your right palm on the ground, lift your hips up off the ground, and hold your body in a straight line. With your other hand, you can extend in straight out or place a hand on your hip. If this version is too hard, try the modified version. Lay on your right side, right palm on the ground, instead of your legs being straight, pull your feet behind your knees, and push your hips up in the air with the side of your knee being on the ground.
So look for me on TV today to get a live action version of the above moves. For those of you that have lives, I will post a link tomorrow. Have a great day!