subject: Abdominal Training, Advanced Techniques That Few People Know About [print this page] Are you tired of doing sit ups and crunches, leg lifts, bicycles, leg raises and a slew of other abdominal exercises? Are you looking for some real advanced abdominal exercises? Well, have I got some great ones and I bet you are going to be surprised.
First let us take a look at the situation. Ab exercises certainly have their place if you have already reduced your body fat percentage to a significant level so that you can see your abs (under 10% for men and 16% for women). However, if you are over those percentages ab exercises are not going to help because they do not burn enough calories to reduce your overall body fat percentage.
So, this article is speaking to two groups of people; those with a little extra poundage and those without. And, here is the secret that will surprise you. The advanced exercises that we will be talking about today do not look like they have anything to do with the abs. They are compound weight lifting exercises such as the clean and jerk, the dead lift, renegade rows, squats and others.
Let me first talk to the group who still needs to lose a few pounds for those abs to show. Your body will exert so much energy doing the exercises above that it will actually go into a metabolic shock and burn calories at a higher rate for days after you exercise. This will cause you to burn fat at an even higher rate than doing cardio exercises.
The best way to do the above exercises is in a high intensity interval training format where you use a lighter, more manageable, weight and move from exercise to exercise with only a shirt rest period in between. The key is mixing intense periods of exertion with brief periods of rest. Go all out when you are exercising and then catch your breath before moving on.
Now, on to the second group. Besides burning fat these exercises do, in fact, work your ab muscles as well as strengthen your entire core. Try doing a clean and jerk, dumb bell swings or dumbbell snatches. While the exercise does not seem to concentrate on the abs, that is where you will feel it the most. This is because your abs must stabilize the rest of your body.
The best way that I have found to work your core with weights is by using a kettlebell. Never heard of it? Well, it is a Russian device that looks like a cannonball with a handle on it and, because of its shape is ideal for swinging between the legs. Now, I know that this does not sound like it could do all that much. But, within just a few swings you will be winded and in a few more you will begin to feel it in your abs.
