A is for Abdominals

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

03 Jul 2007 05:50 AM

Let's get serious about changing our thinking on shrinking. In this case, we're talking about that annoying belly fat that most women suffer from after giving birth. But what you need to focus on is not just that belly fat, but also the entirety of your middle. This area of your body is called your core and it focuses on your abdominals

You want exercises that target your entire core. Crunches, for example, are great for your upper and front abdominal muscles. They don't work your oblique - to work your oblique, you need to perform bicycle crunches. You also need to combine working out your abdominals with working the lower back muscles in order to work the opposing side.

The best bet when it comes to working on your abdominal muscles is to choose exercises that target individual and tandem muscles. By working all of them, you stand a much greater chance of tightening up your core muscles and burning off the fat at the same time.

To target your abdominals and lower back, you need to choose a few exercises that will be the most effective, In this case it may be 2 sets of ten basic crunches, 2 sets of ten bicycle crunches and two sets of bridge lifts with a balance ball or your sofa. You can do all of these in about five to seven minutes. Do this regularly 3 to 5 times a week and you'll not only strengthen your mid-section, you'll also flatten it.

You can do them all at the same time, or you can spread them out over your day. I know one lady who does her 20 basic crunches in the morning before she goes for her jog. She does the backstretches in the middle of the day because they help relieve her tension. She does the bicycle crunches before she goes to bed. No one set of these takes her longer than a couple of minutes to perform, but the effects are pretty powerful.

So give yourself an A for your Abdominals.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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