Focus, Fix and Flaunt: Abs
PIN IT!I’ve been trying to find the right way to introduce fitness tips and techniques to my blog and I found it! Focus, Fix & Flaunt will be a weekly article that focuses on fixing one body part with strength training exercises and cardio geared toward making that part of your body flaunt worthy. Once I’ve hit all of the body parts individually, I’ll start featuring articles on the best exercises for an all around beach body.
Kicking off Focus, Fix and Flaunt, I spent a full day okay so an hour after work focusing on one of the biggest trouble zones on my body: my abdomen area. I used to have abs of steel, not quite Jillian Michael’s, but sexy nonetheless. Well, all thanks to a job where I sit, for 8 hours, those abs have morphed to a more squishy, jello like substance that make me weep and wear black, even in the summer. So on day 26, I spent some QT with my core and hope, sooner rather than later, it will be flaunt-ready!
Cardio
[Photo via]
Most cardio’s purpose is to burn fat and calories, however, some types of aerobic activity burns fat faster than others. In order to burn the most fat, your cardio and aerobic exercise needs to be more intense than your regular workouts. A quick and effective way to up the intensity of any workout is to add intervals. [See my post on interval training here]. To get even more results, up your higher intensity segments by one or two RPI’s, just be sure not to over do it or you risk hurting yourself. Another benefit of this type of aerobic exercise is it allows you to achieve a much faster calorie burn rate than you would with a regular, stagnant cardio regime.
Strength Training
We’ve come a long way from the crunch, my friends. Don’t get me wrong, a crunch done correctly can be very effective. Sadly, most people perform this exercise wrong, which doesn’t provide any physical changes or benefits. To get rock solid abs, like say Jillian Michael’s, a standard crunch isn’t going to make the cut either. Below are a few of the top abdomen exercises that I do when I’m focusing on slimming my tummy. [All of these exercises are courtesy of SELF magazine!]
Boat Pose [How Jennifer Aniston gets her abs!]
Sit with knees bent, feet flat on ground. Lean back about 45 degrees, chest lifted, and extend arms at chest level, palms up, as you straighten legs (as shown). Hold for 5 to 10 breaths. From this pose, place your hands behind you, palms flat, fingers forward. Brace body with hands as you contract abs to bend and straighten legs in and out. Do two sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Plank Pose: Lie face down resting on your forearms then push your body up off of the floor onto your elbows and toes. Be sure to keep your back flat keeping your body in a straight line from your head to your feet. Pull abs tightly into your spine and squeeze those inner thighs together. Hold for 10-30 seconds. If this gets too intense [trust me, it will!] alternate touching your knees down to the floor, first right, then left for 20 seconds.
Side Winder: Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands clasped behind head and elbows pointed out to sides. Lift right leg to side, knee bent, thigh parallel to floor. Keeping knee lifted, bend torso to right side, bringing elbow and knee toward each other. Do 10 reps and switch sides and repeat.
Practice these exercises along with a high intensity cardio session and your abs will be as flat as Jennifer Aniston’s in no time!
