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Home > Workout 8 - Ab Workout for Women
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| Striving
for Those Six-Pack Abs |
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There are important reasons to train the
midsection, however. The core muscles of the abdominals strengthen the
torso, improve posture, decrease low back pain, and reduce risk of injury.
Abdominal training can also improve other
areas of fitness. If you're a golfer or tennis player, working with a
stronger core is going to give you more power behind your stroke or serve
and reduce risk of shoulder injury. A stronger torso, for example, will
put less strain on your knees while running.
Ab Exercises
So let's get to it. Here are the experts'
choices on the most effective abdominal exercises. These should be
performed two to three times weekly (for beginners, two is plenty to
start). Each exercise should be executed until the point of momentary
muscular failure, which should happen between 30 and 90 seconds. This is
considered one set, which should be no more than 15 to 20 repetitions.
Rest for 30 to 60 seconds. Concentrate on performing each exercise slowly
with good form. Work up to completing two to three sets of each exercise. |
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Reverse Crunch: Lie flat on the floor
with a neutral spine, with knees at a 90-degree angle, feet a few inches
off the floor and legs together, hands by your sides (behind your ears if
you're more experienced). Focus on contracting your abdominals to lift
your hips up and in toward your rib case. Exhale as you contract; inhale
to return to starting position. Done correctly, this exercise isolates the
lower half of the rectus abdominis and the transverus.
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Bent-Elbow Plank: This exercise works
the whole trunk, particularly the transversus abdominis. Start by lying on
your belly and then lift yourself up onto your toes and forearms (elbows
in line with shoulders) while contracting your abdominals and keeping your
back neutral. Hold that position for five seconds, then rest and repeat.
Ultimately, strive to hold the pose for 90 seconds without any rest -- for
one set. If you're more experienced, you can also do this exercise on your
hands and toes. (As a beginner, start on your hands and knees with a
neutral spine and simply contract the abdominals on an exhale without
moving your back.) |
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Bicycle: This
exercise works your obliques as well as your rectus abdominis. Lie on your
back, hips and knees bent at 90-degrees, chest curled over ribs, hands
behind your head. Extend the left leg out while bringing the right knee in
towards the chest and rotating the left shoulder toward the right knee.
Keep the arm from crossing the face. Rotate from the trunk through the
center to the other side without dropping your chest. Move in slow,
controlled movements without shifting your hips. |
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| SOURCES: Kelli
Calabrese (MS, CSCS, ACE), exercise physiologist and president of
Calabrese Consulting LLC. Richard Cotton (MA, ACE), spokesman, American
Council on Exercise, chief exercise physiologist, myexerciseplan.com. Rich
Weil (MEd, CSCS, CDE), exercise physiologist |
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Written by: Barry DeHart (07/30/04)
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