“Stomach exercises” are among the most frequently asked about and searched on (via internet) yet misunderstood subjects in the entire field of health, fitness and exercise. Regardless of age, experience or gender, everyone wants a flat “stomach” because the abdominal region is the true showcase of your physique. Since the abs are usually the last place to “shape up” and “lean out,” then most people would say that if you’ve got abs, you’ve got it all.

Well, in my way of thinking, this is only partially true. There’s more to a complete physique than “abdominal exercises” and “six pack abs” and most people are completely wrong about “stomach exercises” and “”stomach muscles.” (you’ll find out why in just a moment)…

The Difference Between “6-Pack Abs” And Truly “Fit Abs”

Having a great looking set of abs is very much a matter of low body fat. But make no mistake, just being lean and seeing a “six-pack” doesn’t mean you are strong, fit or conditioned. Real fitness means more than visible muscle development, it means strength, endurance, and stability, and this type of true functional fitness does not come from merely eating the right foods or reducing your body fat.

Nutrition is so important that you could even say that “abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym” and you would not be telling a lie. But this clever maxim is not telling the whole truth either. Great abs come from nutrition AND training, not one or the other. The training develops them. The nutrition uncovers them.

Don Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in America in 1493 looking for a fountain of youth and today in the “stomach exercise” marketplace, it seems that far too many people are looking for a “magic fountain” in order to flatten their waistlines.

Ponce never found the fountain of youth and you will never find a magical solution for flat abs. There are no short cuts. It takes a change in lifestyle to get a change in health, physique and performance. That includes nutrition AND training. There’s No Such Thing As “Stomach Exercises”

THIS is your stomach! Proper choice of exercise is a critical factor in your quest for a firm and flat waistline. But you will never get a great “stomach” from ANY “stomach exercise” because your stomach is a part of your digestive tract, not your skeletal muscular system! So let’s get the terminology straight, shall we? The area of you body you really want to improve is called your “core region.” Many people refer to it as the “abdominal region.”

However, training only with “ab exercise” is NOT the optimal approach. The abdominals only include the front (anterior) side of your body and if the only type of training you do is abdominal training, you may be unwittingly setting yourself up for lower back problems. If you don’t think this is serious, then consider this statistic: According to the

American Chiropractic Association, more than 31 million Americans are suffering from low back pain at any given time. So would you like to trade great abs for a bad back? I didn’t think so. The good news is that you can kill two birds with one stone. You can develop great abdominal muscles, great core muscles and a strong, pain-free back by using exercises that focus not on the “stomach,” (which is not a muscle you train at all), not on the “abdominals,” (which is only part of the muscles you need to target), but on the entire core.

The core is the key to your success. The core is the entire complex of muscles around your hip and waist region from your lower rib cage to the bottom of your pelvis. If you just focus on “abdominal exercises” alone (or “stomach” exercises, LOL), you will develop what I refer to as a “one dimensional body.” I focus on training the body as a whole, or “multi-dimensional training” to develop a complete person and to develop effective and powerful athletes.

What every program I write has in common is that I do not attempt to “isolate” the abdominals (or train the “stomach muscles!”) It’s all about the core and about integrating your body as a unit so you function better in daily life. As you do core-focused exercise programs you are improving not only your muscular system but also the systems that drives your muscular system – that is, the nervous system.

This may very well be the most important secret for getting better results in your workout programs. The more efficiently your nervous system works, the better your results will be. Core workouts that improve both muscular strength and conditioning while also improving neural drive and develop stronger neural control of the associated muscles.

This type of training for your core may very well be the most important secret for getting better results in your workout programs.

* THIS is why my “brand” of core training gets results in women who have had C-sections, or other abdominal surgeries when nothing else worked

* THIS is why the core exercises I recommend will flatten out a “pooching” belly, which is a result of deep muscular weakness and lack of neuromuscular control (It’s NOT just a body fat problem!)

* THIS is why my clients have overcome lower back when all else failed

* THIS is why my workout program have helped men and women recover from embarrassing incontinence

* THIS is how I have helped hundreds of new moms regain their flat and firm midsections after having their babies

* THIS is why my clients remain injury free, while so many other training programs are actually the CAUSE of injuries * And THIS is why my type of training – PROGRESSIVE CORE TRAINING – develops amazing athletes – top wrestlers, PGA golfers, and pro boxers with powerful punches and abs of steel. I’ve written an entire book about core training (“Firm And Flatten Your Abs), which you learn more about on the Flatten Your Abs home page, as well as dozens of articles which you can read elsewhere on this site (or you can subscribe to my biweekly newsletter).

The purpose of this article was not to give more workout routines (there are plenty of core training workouts to be found on this site and in my book and lots more to come in upcoming issues of my newsletter). The purpose of this article was to “install” 3 incredibly important lessons into your brain:

* You can’t train your “stomach” because your stomach is an internal organ of digestion not a skeletal muscle!

* You can’t totally “isolate” your abdominals because your abdominals do not work in isolation, they work in conjunction with the rest of your body (and “isolation” as with only doing crunches, is not the optimal approach anyway).

* You get more by training your core! You become a better athlete, you help prevent injuries, you get stronger and you get that coveted 6-pack abs look. I hope the “morals” of these lessons have already sunk in and will become a part of your own fitness philosophy… and the next time you hear someone talk about “stomach exercises”, you’ll now be able to get a good chuckle out of that.



By: David Grisaffi

About the Author:

Body Weight Exercise

Core training has become popular as a fitness philosophy because it is a great way to build a strong foundation. Here are 10 Core Exercise Tips.

Tip #1: Activate Your Abdominal Muscles

The abdominal muscles play a significant role in core stability. The deep abdominal muscles contract to stabilize the spine before the arms and legs can move. The drawing-in maneuver and the plank are great exercises to activate the deep abdominal muscles.

Tip #2: Strengthen Your Lower Back Muscles

The lower back muscles often get neglected in fitness programs, probably in part because of vanity. I have never heard someone say, “Do you know any good exercises to get ripped lower back muscles?” In fitness many people are focused on getting 6 pack abs and a flat stomach, and they are neglecting their back.

The back muscles are just as important as the abdominal muscles. If you want to have a strong core, you must have both strong abs and strong back muscles.

Tip #3: Learn to Engage the Pelvic Floor

The Pelvic Floor muscles are most popular when discussing sexual dysfunction or bladder control issues, but they are really important for stabilizing the pelvis lumbar spine. They actually work with the abdominals and back muscles. To engage the pelvic floor muscles you have to contract as if you were preventing yourself from going to the bathroom.

Tip #4: Do Balance Exercises

Balance Exercises are any exercise when you are standing on 1 leg or when you are standing on an unstable surface. Your center of gravity shifts when you stand on one leg, so your core muscles must work harder to maintain your alignment. Balance Exercises are an important part of a core workout routine.

Tip #5: Strengthen your Scapular Muscles and Rotator Cuff

Your core is more than just your spine. Your core is your entire trunk and consists of the shoulder and scapular stabilizers. When your scapula is stable, you will be less likely to get shoulder injuries and you will perform at a higher level. Your core workout should include scapular and rotator cuff exercises.

Tip #6: Strengthen your Gluteus Maximus

The hip stabilizers are also part of the core. The glutes attach to the pelvis and control the position of the hips. When the glutes are weak or inefficient you will have a decrease in pelvic stability and hip stability. Bridges are a great exercise to strengthen the glutes an improve core stability.

Tip #7: Train for Stabilization and Endurance First

Core stabilization exercises are exercises in which there is little to no movement around the spine. When you begin a core program, it is important to first build a solid foundation of stability. If you focus on stability first, you will make greater improvements in strength and speed. The Plank is a great core stabilization exercise.

Tip #8: Train for Strength Second

Once you have a good base of stability, shift to building strength. Strength exercises challenge your abdominal and back muscles through a large range of motion. Crunches on a Swiss Ball and lower back extension on a machine are good strength exercises.

Tip #9: Train for Power and Speed Third

Once you have a base of stability and strength, you can more efficiently develop your speed. In addition, if you have a strong foundation, you will be less likely to get injured and your performance will improve more quickly. Power exercises are done in a fast and explosive way. Medicine ball throws and jumping exercises help to develop the power of your core muscles.

Tip #10: Play with Different Core Exercise Equipment

There are many tools that can enhance your core workout. The Exercise Ball, Reebok Core Board, and the Bosu Ball are all great tools that can challenge your coordination and balance. When you exercise on less stable surfaces, your core muscles work even harder to stabilize your body.

Well, I hope those tips help to give you some ideas about how to improve your core workout.



By: Charles Inniss

About the Author:

Body Weight Workout

are many stomach exercises that can be include in your abs routines. Often people will pick 1 or 2, and stick with them. While this can be pretty effective, it may not be enough to give you that all round core workout.

There is something about having that flat chiselled 6 pack, that fires the imagination. Ab muscles do not only look great, they also improve the general look of your upper body. Another major benefit of strong core muscles is the other health positives that are provided.

Most people perform stomach exercises mainly for cosmetic reasons, but there is a far more important reason for having a flat and strong stomach. Your stomach area is the core part of your body. The core is the place that everything else comes from. There are vital internal organs behind your stomach wall, and they need protection.

Not only are your internal organs protected by a strong stomach, they are also firmly held in place. When your stomach area is covered in fat, your stomach will push forward due to the excessive weight of the stomach. This can often result in your organs not getting the protection that they need, along with a chance of some of them being slightly dislodged. This is why you should include a variety of stomach exercises in your abs routines, so that you are targeting your core area from every angle possible.

No mtter what stomach exercise you choose, it will only be effective if you do it on a consistent level. Even the best abs workout or ab machine is going to be useless, unless you are prepared to do it on a consistent basis. Another thing to consider is the ab exercise machines that you can buy these days. While some ab machines can be effective, you don’t really need them to get the 6 pack that you want. There are plenty of abs routines that will give you the results that you desire. Regardless of which exercises you do for your stomach, you will still have to put the work in. There are no shortcuts.

You will want to pick exercises that target your oblique’s, the lower, middle, and upper sections of your abs, and let’s not forget your lower back. each area is a sum of the whole, so hitting the whole from every angle will give you great all round development. A strong core will also provide lots of health benefits.

There are many exercises that you can do as part of your abs routines, here are just a few.

Crunches
Weighted Crunches
Side Crunches
Leg Lifts
Weighted Front Squats
Plank
Side Plank
Sit Ups
Side Bends
Bar Twists
Leg Raises

These are just a few core exercises that you can do as part of your abs workouts. Try to find out what is goint to suit you. There may be a bit of trial and error involved, but it will be time well spent. The more angles that you hit your stomach, the better it will look.

Another thing to remember is that regardless of how hard you exercise your stomach, your abs will only become visible if you lose the fat that covers them. This will mean making changes to your diet, along with picking the best stomach exercises as part of your abs routines

By: Terry Sandhu

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