subject: The Ab Workouts They Don't Want You to Know [print this page] The Ab Workouts They Don't Want You to Know
If you're one of the many whose 6 packs have been hibernating peacefully beneath a blanket of lard, it may be safe to say that your current levels of exercise are either non existent, or you're hitting an exercise plateau. In case you were wondering what that is, an exercise plateau is the phenomenon where one hits a certain point (albeit fat loss or muscle gain) and the body reaches an equilibrium, resulting in virtually no results when subjected to the same stimuli. The best band most common means of combating this problem is to change up your arsenal of abdominal and oblique routines, preventing your body's muscle memory from adjusting to the stimulus. But remember, these exercises do not burn fat around your midsection - only a proper diet and cardio exercise will do that. The following exercises are intended to build muscle mass around your midsection, increasing definition (assuming your body fat % is at low enough levels).
1. Ball Crunches
This one can be done on the ground, a reclined bench, or on a stability ball (the latter two being the best). Simply lay down with a partner standing in front of you with a focus ball in your hands (use a weight that you can comfortably do around twenty reps with). When you sit up, throw the ball to your friend, then go back down, and have him throw you the ball on your way up again. This time, go down while holding the ball, and throw it back to him on your way up. This exercise not only targets your upper abdominals, but your quadriceps and deltoids as well.
2. Forward Hip Escapes
If you're not a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you've probably never heard of these. To do a forwards hip escape, lay on the floor with your hands up as if you were in a fighting stance. Pull in your left leg as your use your left arm to pull your body forward, and then repeat with the right leg and right arm until you're at the end of the room. The amount you should do this varies with the length of the room and your own fitness level, but a good place to start is 2 sets across a regular sized living room.
3. Backward Hip Escapes
This is similar to the forward version, but instead of pulling yourself with your arms and legs forward, you're going roll onto your left side and put your left knee against the ground and push backwards as you throw your left arm out with it. Repeat with the right side.
4. The Hammer and Tire
Believe it or not, tractor tires are more accessible than you'd imagine, and you don't have to risk getting charged with tractor GTA to get one. There are a few sites out there that sell these (mainly for mixed martial arts academies) but if you have some money to burn, and a taste for the theatrical, simply hammering a tire with a sledge hammer can do wonders for your lateral deltoids and your obliques, isolating those muscles much more than more conventional exercises.
5. Crunches with an Ab Belt
Although an ab workout with a belt can potentially be dangerous if the charge is set high enough, the majority of these products are set to levels far too low to pose any risk. Simply wear an ab belt and do a normal set of crunches with them the extra tension from the soft electrical current of the ab belt will add a boost to the efficiency of your workout.
