To keep your body constantly challenged it helps to always be progressing with your exercises. When it comes to abs exercise you can start with the basic floor crunch and work up to more difficult variations once you build up your strength and stamina.
Approaching your exercise in this manner will not only prevent plateaus in your training, it will help you stay motivated and keep your muscles constantly working.
Start off lying on your back with your legs bent at a 90 degree angle. Place your hands behind your head and your chin slightly tucked in. Suck in your abs and slowly lift your head and shoulders off the ground. Hold at the top for a few seconds then slowly lower back down to the ground. When you can repeat this abs exercise effortlessly for 20 reps twice through, you are ready to move on to the next stage. This may take you a week or more, depending on your abs strength and fitness level.
Stage two will be performed on a Swiss ball. Your starting position is to lie back on the ball so it is under your lower back and pelvis. Place your hands behind your head, again tuck your chin in slightly. Holding your abdominals in, slowly raise your upper body so you are about half way between lying and sitting on the ball. Slowly come back down and repeat 20 reps, twice through. Once you are challenged enough with this abs exercise you can then move on to the next.
Stage three is very similar to stage two, the only difference is you will step your feet out further from the ball and you will place your feet closer together to each other. You should find this much more challenging than the previous exercise. Once you are comfortable doing two sets of 20 reps, you are now ready to move on to the final stage in this exercise progression.
Start this abs exercise by lying on a mat or towel on the floor. Stretch your arms above your head and your legs flat on the floor. Hold your abs in tightly while you lift both your legs and your upper body up off the floor at the same time. You will be balancing on your sitting bones while your hands and feet touch at the top. Hold for a few seconds then lower back down and repeat 20 reps for two sets. If you find this too difficult to start with, just do as many reps as you can manage and build it up to 20 reps.
Tip: Do these abs exercises three to four times a week and try to progress to the next stage each week.
Similar fat burning exercises info:
- Great Toning Exercises – Part 3 This next part in the series on “Great Toning Exercises”,...
- Hamstring Toning Exercises Using a Swiss ball for hamstring toning exercises can be...
- Great Toning Exercises – Part 2 This next post in the series “Great Toning Exercises” will...
- Exercises to Tone the Back Using Swiss ball exercises to tone the back is simple...
- Waist Toning Exercises Among the many waist toning exercises, this one is excellent...
