Abs exercises are a part of many of our work out routines, but a majority of us are performing them wrong. Ever wonder why you don’t get six pack abs after doing hundreds of crunches every week? When performing abs exercises, it is important to keep several things in mind. Form, diet, and frequency play an important part in performing abdominal exercises.
Maintaining Good Form during Abs Exercises
Sometimes we get lazy while doing our ab workout routine, but if you’re going to be lazy, don’t bother doing them at all. You can get better results doing 5 good crunches over doing 50 sloppy crunches. So how you do you make sure you are maintaining good form during abdominal exercises?
When doing a crunch or any of your exercises, arm placement is important. When you place your hands behind your head, you have to be sure your abs are doing the work. Some people become lazy during their exercises for abs and let their arms and neck carry them through the motions. By doing this your abs are not doing the work so you will not see the results. You can also injure yourself by doing this.
If you must put your arms behind your head, keep good form. Place your fingertips behind your ears. This way you’re still comfortable while your abs are performing the work for your abs exercises. Not your neck.
You also want to engage your core during your abs exercises, so your abs are working their hardest during your ab workout routine. To do this, bring your naval in towards your spine. Keep your stomach in during your workout. This will ensure you get the best results.
One final thing to keep in mind when talking about form, be sure to breathe! You want to exhale while beginning the abs exercises and inhale during the recovery. Breathing during your ab workout helps your body relieve some of the tension you are creating.
Eat a Quality Diet to Melt Belly Fat
Once you get six pack abs from your abs exercises, you want to show them off. If you have a layer of belly fat still hanging around, you won’t be able to do that. Abdominal exercises alone will not lose the belly fat. You need to have a quality diet.
A good diet isn’t a fad, but rather a lifestyle. Make sure you are eating all 3 meals, especially breakfast, and that you are snacking in between. The food you eat should be high in protein and low in fat and carbs. You can set yourself up for success by having fruits and veggies on hand as grab and go food.
Don’t skip meals in an attempt to lose weight. By skipping meals, your body holds on to calories instead of burning them. Starvation is not the key to get six packs abs. Quality diet, cardio, and abs exercises will get six pack abs.
How Often Should You Do Your Abdominal Exercises?
Doing your exercises for ripped abs every day is a mistake most of us make. We think that doing them often will get us the best results. The opposite is true. You should give your abs at least a day’s rest in between your ab workout routine. This way your abs can recover and build to form six pack abs.
If you still feel the need to perform your abs exercises everyday, work different parts of your abdominal region. You can do abs exercises that target your oblique instead of your core.
