6 Upper Body Ab Exercises

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS


The thought of having to do an additional 20-30 minutes of
abdominal work after a regular workout can sometimes be enough for
you to skip the ab training altogether. But, with these six upper
body exercises, you'll gain all the benefits and more of a regular
ab workout, without the extra time.

This 15-minute upper body workout will not only build your arms,
your chest, and your back, but every one of these exercises is also
going to work your abdominals.

So this workout will include as I mentioned 6 exercises, but they
will be broken down into 3 supersets at 5 minutes each.

So, the first superset will pair chin-ups with spiderman pushups.

Now, just because these aren't specific abdominal exercises don't
think your abs will walk away unscathed. I remember training a
client before and a couple of days after doing the chinup exercise
she commented how shocked she was that her abs were so sore.

With proper form, the chin-up exercise can very powerfully target
your abs.

For proper form, begin in the dead hang position. Now, keeping your
body tight, brace your abs and pull your body up and chin over the
bar, then in a controlled fashion, lower your body down. You will
noticeably feel this exercise working your lats and your biceps.

Perform enough repetitions that take you until one short of
failure. For example, if you can do 15 repetitions, then only do 14
and so on.

After the chin-up exercise, you will move into the spiderman
pushup. In this exercise, you will get into a regular pushup
position, and then as you come down bring your knee up to your
elbow and back down. Alternate sides.

As previously noted, each superset pairing will be done in five
minute intervals. Once finished with the first superset, move onto
the next upper body combination of one-arm standing dumbbell
shoulder press and heavy weighted dumbbell rows.

For the one-armed shoulder press exercise, place the DB at shoulder
height with your palm facing outward. Next, brace your abs and
place your opposite hand on your side to ensure your obliques are
working while pressing up with the DB. Do eight repetitions for one
side, and then switch to the other side.

Immediately after completing your repetitions for the shoulder
press, move to DB rows. This time you will choose a weight you can
normally do 10 times, but now try to get 12 repetitions. However,
be sure to use only good form.

By keeping your body and back in a straight position, you will end
up working your abdominals very hard, especially as you get closer
to failure and your obliques work against rotation. If you find
that you need to take a 5-10 second rest after ten repetitions in
order to use perfect form for the remaining two, then do that.

Again, you will do this superset for five minutes going back and
forth between these two exercises.

To finish off the 15-minute workout, you'll do two arm exercises
that simultaneously work your abdominals. The first exercise is the
lying dumbbell triceps extension. Now, in order to get a good ab
workout from this exercise, when you're at the bottom position,
drop a little more and you stretch your abs. Then, bring the
dumbbells back up overhead and repeat.

That little extra stretch at the bottom of the exercise will really
work your abdominals to give you that six pack abs look, much like
the stability ball rollout when you stretch out at the end of that
exercise.

The final exercise is the one-armed standing dumbbell curl. For
this exercise you want to begin in a braced position. Since you
will be using a heavy weight, your abs will have to work very hard
throughout this exercise. To get in proper position, if your right
arm is working, then your left leg will be in front. You can do
this exercise for 6-8 repetitions per side.

That's the 15-minute upper body workout that will work your abs
just as hard if not harder than any ab crunching workout you could
possibly do.

For DVD workouts using these exercises please visit:

=> Click Here for more info!!!

Best Abs Exercises Technique For 3-D Abs!

Best Abs Exercises Technique For 3-D Abs!

By Jeff Anderson

Check out any local gym and you'll see inexperienced members training their abs with endless sets of situps and crunches, right?

While the abs are predominantly made of Type 1 (endurance) muscle fibers and respond to slightly higher repetition ranges,your abs are made up of muscle just like any other part of your body.

Therefore the best abs exercises to get that "cut" look are those that are resistance-based and treat them like any other muscle.

But there's a special little trick you must know in order to maximize your abs training on your way to having a stacked 6-pack.

In fact, ignoring this principle, could force you to develop "lopsided" abs that are so common among beginner bodybuilders.

Let me share this secret with you now...

The main abdominal muscle you want to be working when training your abs is your "rectus abdominis", that sheet of rippled muscle that goes from your rib cage all the way down the front of your body to your pelvis.

What's unique about this abdominal muscle group is that the upper abs can work separately from the lower abs (to some extent)...BUT when you work your lower abs exercises, your upper abs are ALWAYS working as well.

This is why most people (including myself from years of military training focusing on upper abs) had overdeveloped upper abs but underdeveloped lower abs.

Here's how to correct this...

Make sure you train your LOWER ABS first in your abs workout (ALWAYS!) which brings both upper and lower abs into the workload!

If you don't work your lower abs first, you exhaust your upper abs too soon and when you DO target your lower abs, your upper abs will fatigue too fast and you'll end up with under-targeted lower abs.

So the best exercises for lower abs are:

* Incline Leg Raises
* Incline Knee Ups
* Hanging Leg Raises
* Flat Bench Leg Raises

And then follow up with the best upper abs exercises:

* Crunches
* Weighted Crunches
* Situps
* Hanging Knee Raises

For more info click here!!!!

6 PACK ABS - THE SECRET!!!

Everywhere you turn, someone's promising the next secret to getting 6 pack abs. Some of these so called 'secrets' have some degree of accuracy, while others, not so much. Deciphering which are the best methods to getting 6 pack abs is going to be critical to your having success with this goal.

The biggest area you need to focus on when trying to obtain 6 pack abs is going to be on your diet. Like it or not, the old saying that 'abs are made in the kitchen', is probably one of the most truthful statements in the fitness industry. If your diet isn't in line, your stomach is going to show it.

So, what should you be doing with your diet?

First, ensure you are getting enough protein. Not only is protein going to form the key building blocks you need to build muscle tissue, but it's also going to provide you with a better feeling of fullness than eating just carbohydrates alone would for example. Protein is more "expensive" than any other macronutrient meaning that your body will burn more calories breaking down protein compared to carbs and fats.

Next, don't be afraid of dietary fat that comes from primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oils, fish oils, a mix of nuts, natural peanut butter and avocado. While it's true that eating fat will increase your calories fast, as long as you keep it between 20-30% it can be one of the best things to get 6 pack abs fast. The important point here is that dietary fat helps keep your insulin level stable, which, when high enough can actually cause fat gain itself.

Furthermore, dietary fat will keep you feeling the fullest for the longest duration in time; longer than both protein or carbohydrates would. Interestingly, some diets high in fat can get you 6 pack abs fast because your body learn to metabolize fat for energy.

So, while you do need to watch it, be sure you are getting some in your diet.

Finally, when it comes to carbohydrate intake and getting 6 pack abs, you want to focus most of your carbohydrate intake around the post workout period.

Why?

The biggest reason for this is because this is when your body is going to need those carbohydrates the most and will really suck them up into the muscle tissue. When you eat them at this time, it is least likely that they will turn into body fat.

Additionally, consuming carbohydrates during this period will also help to aid with muscle recovery and repair, so that means less down time from the gym for you.

If getting 6 pack abs fast is your goal than each meal you should consist of 1-2 cups of raw vegetables to control insulin levels, improve absorption of your protein and flood your body with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

So, if you are aiming to get 6 pack abs in the coming months, have a good hard look at your diet. That is the big secret that must not be overlooked if you are to succeed.



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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest
He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

LAST DAY ACT NOW

7/23/08

NOTE: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE TT FOR ABS SPECIAL!!!!!

6 PACK ABS QUEST SITE IS NOW OPEN!!!!

Without further ado Vince DelMonte's No Nonsense 6 pack Abs is up and running!
Here is a sample of what you will find there.

Vince's Ab Exercise circuit based on planks:

This is what Vince considers "foundational" to building six pack
abs from the inside and out and having a core as strong as a bear -
excellent mini circuit for beginners or if your just getting back
into it:

1. Plank in push up position - 10 legs raises each leg
2. Plank from elbow position - 10 leg raises each leg
3. Side plank from hand position - 10 legs raises each leg
4. Side plank from elbow position - 10 leg raises each leg

Build up to 2 sets of 20. These will engage your core, gluts,
shoulders and arms all at the same time. Don't be surprised if you
start sweating. You can do this every day.

For more of Vince's ab workouts, visit: http://besteasyabs.com/