Abdominal Exercises and a Beginners Guide to Getting FitAbdominal Exercises and a Beginners Guide to Getting Fit By Garrett Braunreiter, GHF's Success Coach Abdominal exercises are critical for achieving your fitness goals and this article includes ideas for improving your abdominal muscles and getting in the best shape of your life. In addition to this helpful abdominal exercises article, be sure to take our FREE Fitness Analysis! Once you've completed the brief questionnaire, you'll receive specific recommendations based on your responses, including a sample strength training workout with exercise instructions! As a special thank you, you'll also receive the new e-book, Big Fat Lies, absolutely FREE of charge. Click here to get started! Also, to get a detailed explanation of the abdominal muscles, as well as a list of very effective abdominal exercises, click here. You’ll receive free sample video demonstrations that you can view on your computer and instructions on how to perform the abdominal exercise correctly! Change is an all-or-nothing proposition. You either do it, or you don't. You can't just abdominal exercises for 3 times one week, once the next week, take a couple of weeks off, go twice a week, and so on and expect to reap all the benefits. Only a handful of people can get into a regular abdominal exercises routine by suddenly beginning to exercise. Something just clicks inside and they workout with energy, and they enjoy it. But for the other 95%, getting into a regular routine with abdominal exercises is not so easy. For these people, beginning an abdominal exercises program comes in stages, step by step, many of which happen before you even slip on your workout shoes or enter the gym. The very fact that you're reading this article means that you're already in one of the important first stages. And continuing to exercise regularly is also a process of change, a cycle of smooth sailing and bumpy seas. Fortunately, there are techniques that you can use to help you move to the next level. Just be aware that the stage you are in changes all the time. Of course, once you know where you are, it's easy to see what's next. Here's how to get there…. Step 1: I don't want to do abdominal exercises If you are at this stage, you may be wondering what could possibly be done to get you to budge beyond it. Other people might be pressuring you, but IT'S UP TO YOU--you're the one who has to tie your shoes and actually do the abdominal exercises. And you don't even want to make the effort to think about it. Two things can offer a push: Acquiring knowledge and whining. Acquiring knowledge involves being open to facts and opinions concerning your state of fitness (or lack of it) and both the benefits of abdominal exercises and the health risks of not exercising. The source of the information can be external--others observing that you don't exercise, loved ones confronting you about it, family members giving you newspaper or magazine articles about exercise. Or it can be internal--watching TV or movies about sports, reading about exercise, learning about the psychology of why people don't do abdominal exercises. In some cases, simply soaking up the incoming information can at least make you more likely to start thinking seriously about abdominal exercises, even if you have no intention of doing anything about it. It could be, however, that despite the good efforts of your friends and relatives, the fact still remains that you don't want to do abdominal exercises. And right now you simply may not be interested in gathering information. So maybe you need to try venting and whining. This involves giving vent to the problem. You may complain about what happened the last time you tried to do abdominal exercises ("Oh, that cramp I got! I was sore for days!") or all the things that kept you from working out ("I wanted to, but Janey had a dentist's appointment"). All this talking and complaining about the problem helps. It at least gets you thinking about exercising. It gets the wheels turning so that getting fit becomes a problem to be solved. That is, if you CHOOSE to look at it that way. Here's my rule for complainers: You have exactly TWO MINUTES to vent and complain. Ready? Go... (Tick, tock, tick, tock...) Okay, done. NOW GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. It may seem that nothing is happening in the I Don't Want to do abdominal exercisess stage, but the more you acquire knowledge and vent and whine, the more their effects can accumulate. Step 2: Thinking about doing abdominal exercises When you've reached this point, not only are you more aware that a problem exists, you're also seriously considering doing something about it. This is great progress, even if you haven't actually made a commitment to start doing abdominal exercises. In this stage, you're considering the pros and cons of starting with your abdominal exercises, even if you haven't quite gotten yourself to plug in the treadmill. You're at the point where you might increase your physical activity or you might decide you're not quite ready for prime-time--or any other time--abdominal exercises workouts and give it up for now. In this stage, you know where you want to go and you may even know how to get there. But you can't quite cajole yourself into following through with any abdominal exercises action. Acquiring knowledge and venting/whining can be helpful here, as well as two other techniques: role modeling and reinventing yourself. Role modeling goes beyond acquiring knowledge. Here you closely observe someone you know, someone in the public eye or even some fictional character who might inspire you to fitness. You might chat with a friend who does abdominal exercises regularly, or watch sporting events like the Olympics. Who would be role models you respect and like? Pick some activity you might enjoy and watch a master of it. Once you open yourself up to the possibilities, you may be inspired to begin with your abdominal exercise program. Reinventing yourself involves looking at yourself in a different way. This is the time to return to the power of fantasy. Try imagining yourself as an athlete or a dancer, or just someone who is really in shape. This is NOT silly; every champion from every walk of life had FIRST in his mind a dream of what s/he wanted to become. abdominal exercises Imagery could involve mentally picturing yourself as more flexible or thinner or whatever else abdominal exercises could help you with. Take three minutes, sit down, lean back, close your eyes and fantasize about anything physical that you want to try, like doing abdominal exercises, skiing, roller-blading, etc. Just do it. When it's over, how does it feel? If you imagined skiing, could you feel the wind? The crouch? Did you see the hill, sun, snow, trees, other skiers? Could you feel the thrill in the pit of your stomach and your head when the run was through? Make it happen in your mind. The brain is extraordinarily powerful. You can if you think you can, just like the Little Engine that Could. Also, you can use imagery to conjure up a picture of yourself benefiting from exercise. Think of the thing abdominal exercises could help you with that is most important to you. Could your joints be more flexible? Would you be happier 10 pounds lighter? Close your eyes. Imagine yourself moving as you would like to move. Watch this in the theater of your mind for however long it interests you. When you grow bored, stop, whether five seconds have passed or 10 minutes. Repeat this two or three times a day. It's even possible that performing certain movements in your mind rehearses the motor pathways so that when you do try the actual abdominal exercises movement, it'll be easier.
This stage combines intending to begin doing abdominal exercises while making some small changes in behavior. In this stage, your intention and behavior crank up a notch. This means more reinventing and imagery, plus some baby steps toward the real thing. For example, abdominal exercises have been on your to-do list for years. After watching some fitness shows on TV, you fantasize about looking like the people in them. Then you decide you could do those abdominal exercises. So you start making tapes of the shows to fit them in when your schedule permits. Plus, you're walking to work more frequently, when you used to take a cab or drive to work. Step 4: Starting with abdominal exercises This is when you begin doing abdominal exercises on a regular basis. But this is the stage where most people equate change, overlooking the other steps that are part of the process. This is understandable, since in this fourth step you actually choose some type of exercise or group of activities and start working out. People can see that you've changed your behavior in order to overcome your comfort zone that has kept you from doing abdominal exercisesand getting fit. You appear to have gotten off your duff by committing time and--yes--energy. This is the most challenging stage. Many people overdo it. Then if they hurt or exhaust themselves, they become discouraged and drop back to Step 1. If you have begun exercising and kept at it for anywhere from a day to six months, you may think you're home free. Unfortunately, it's not so. For true change, you must also develop new habits and skills to keep from falling back and skills to deal with new problems. One way to start your regular abdominal exercise program is to announce to the world what you're about to undertake. Once you've publicly connected yourself with exercise, social support pushes you to keep the connection. If you stop, people may ask what happened, and you probably won't feel good about admitting failure. Your pronouncement is your "coming out." It can involve very personal meanings and is different for each person. It often involves a dramatic statement or gesture that signals a break from the past. You're declaring that the rest of your life will be different from your past. Your coming out could be as simple as buying a workout mat to do your abdominal exercise or joining a gym. Starting your abdominal exercise program also involves making slight adjustments in your world. Move your exercise equipment to a more convenient location or join a gym that is on your way to or from work, or close enough so you can do your abdominal exercises on your lunch hour, rather than one you have to make an effort to get to. In this phase, you should give yourself plenty of positive reinforcement. Promise yourself a treat if you do your abdominal exercises today. Call a friend you haven't talked to in a while, or get tickets to some show or concert or ballgame you would like to see. Use your imagination to reward yourself for signs of progress. Step 5: Abdominal Exercises – Keeping on You know that you've been keeping on when you can successfully overcome new obstacles that get in the way and not lose the gains you've made in Step 4. Mastering this stage is crucial if abdominal exercises are to be an integral part of the rest of your life. The techniques for keeping on are the sum of everything that got you this far. So whatever tricks work for you, use them. It doesn't matter if they're different from the ones that help your best friend or that work for Cindy Crawford. Remember what we said earlier: The stage you're in for your quest in implementing an abdominal exercise changes all the time. You may work yourself all the way up to Step 5, but then you get sick or injured, or take a trip, or otherwise get distracted. You may have fallen to Step 2. Maybe even to square one. Nothing magical about reaching the final Step 5 will keep you there. If you find yourself at some lower level, you have to use the techniques appropriate to that level to climb back up. Then you may have to use bits of them to keep on keeping on. As we grow older it seems that we are in a constant battle with our waistline; the older we get the harder it is to get in the habit of doing abdominal exercises (and other resistance exercises, cardio exercise and diet) to lose weight. Many of us have tried various abdominal exercises and fad diets which may take the weight off in the short run but undoubtedly it comes right back. In fact. over 95% of dieters will put the weight back on plus an extra five pounds. Fad diets just don't work. The key to permanent weight loss is through exercise (not only abdominal exercises, cardio and other resistance exercises as well) and proper nutrition through behavior modification. When we diet we often losing fat as well as muscle. This decrease in muscle mass will cause our metabolism to slow down. So we are unable to burn as many calories throughout the day, evn after you’ve done doing your cardio routine and abdominal exercises. As we age this naturally begins to occur. After our mid 20s our metabolic rate decrease, by approximately five percent per decade. One explanation for this is that our muscle mass decreases and our body fat increases due to inactivity. We get caught up in our work and spend our leisure time in front of the TV instead of doing cardio exercise, your abdominal exercises, etc. Being overweight in one of the major causes of hypertension, high blood pressure, certain types of cancer and an overall lackluster feeling. As many dieters know, the weight is going to come back faster and faster the more you diet. Whether you're eating pre-packaged foods, diet shakes, or grapefruits and water, you're not going to be able to stay with it forever without going crazy. When you see that chocolate cake you won't be able to just have one piece you're likely to eat the whole thing. It's a vicious cycle. Then you’ll lose motivation and won’t ever want to do your abdominal exercises, cardio routine, etc. There is good news. Something can break this cycle—exercise (cardio exercise, abdominal exercises and other weightlifting exercises. In order to lose weight we must create a caloric deficit, that is. We must expend more calories that we are consuming. This is done through abdominal exercise and other exercises and proper nutrition, not fad diets. Through exercise we are able to burn calories and add muscle. For every pound of muscle we obtain, an extra 350 calories per week is burned in order to sustain this. We'll be using up extra calories even while we sleep. Aerobic exercises, such as walking and jogging, are excellent ways to bum calories. Always begin with a warm-up period of 3-5 minutes, gradually reaching your target heart rate. Always start at the low end of your target heart rate. Exercising in this range for 15 through 20 minutes will allow for fat reduction to occur. A cool down of 3 to 5 minutes is recommended as this allow for your heart rate to gradually return to normal. Remember, consult your physician about any exercise program you are considering. abdominal exercises In order to shape and tone our bodies we need to do body shaping exercises, abdominal exercises and other strength training exercises, etc. This will add muscle and firmness to our physiques. Many women tend to deposit fat around their thighs and buttocks, while males tend to put fat around their stomachs. Here are a few exercises that can help tighten these areas.Outer thigh lift: Lying on your right side with your hips and ankles in line with your shoulders, slowly lift your left leg as high as possible, hold, then return to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions and switch sides. Inner thigh lift: Lying on your left side with your hips and ankles in line with your shoulder. right knee is bent to 90* angle. Slowly lift your left leg as high as possible. hold, then return to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions and switch sides. Abdominal crunches: Lying on your back with knees bent and hand behind your head, slowly curl your shoulders up. pause, slowly lower to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions. This is an excellent abdominal exercise. You will notice that you will be much more conscience of the foods you're eating when you exercise. Since you'll be taking care of your body you won't want to fill it up with junk foods. It is best to eat three well balanced meals and two nutritious snacks in between. This will help eliminate the binge eating that often happens when meals are skipped. Try to drink plenty of water and eat high fiber foods since this will give you a full feeling without adding extra calories. Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of an effective abdominal exercise program. And don’t forget, click here to take our FREE Fitness Analysis for a free sample strength training program (with abdominal exercises) and for the book, Big Fat lies! And click here. for free sample abdominal exercise instructions and video demonstrations!
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