Ab Workouts: Three Exercises for Fast Abs
The word “abs” is short for abdominals—possibly the most popular muscle group in the body. To most people, tight, well-defined abs are the most common indicator of a successful bodybuilding workout. To bodybuilders, particularly, six-packs are a common goal.
This is why beginners often begin their research on fitness workouts with ab workouts, often zeroing in on exercises for fast abs. The beginner will find (will most probably know from the start) that sit ups and crunches and their many variations are the most popular, and while these good old exercises can do the trick, incorporating other exercises into one’s ab workouts and cycling them correctly will fast-track one’s abdominal muscle-building progress.
Aside from helping to avoid plateaus in muscle building caused by overtraining a muscle group, cycling your exercises and/or incorporating new ones into your daily workout schedules will help you avoid injuries. Here are three fast abs exercises that you can include in your ab workouts: the butt-ups, hanging knee-raise, and the exercise ball pull-in. *Butt-Ups Assume a push-up position, with your forearms flat on the ground and your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
Arching your back slightly out, lift your glutes up, squeezing your abs tightly as you go for a high bridge position. Keeping your back arched, slowly lower back down to your starting position. Repeat. *Hanging Knee Raise Grab a bar and hang from it with your legs straight down. Taking care not to swing, slowly raise your legs using your abs as you flex your hips and knees.
Continue this movement by flexing your waist until your knees are on a level with your shoulders. Lower your knees down to starting position. Repeat. *Exercise Ball Pull-In Assume a push-up position, with your lower shins on top of the exercise ball. Roll the ball towards your chest by pulling in your knees, all the while keeping your back straight.
Finally, roll the ball back to starting position by straightening your legs, squeezing your abs in the process. As a beginner, whether you’re looking for exercises to lose weight or simply looking to make fitness workouts a part of your lifestyle, you can very easily feel like you’re swimming in a sea of information on workout exercises and routines.
Here’s my two-cents’ worth: No matter what kind of workout routine you finally choose or create, in the end, it’s your ability to stick to your fitness goals that will make all the difference. Seeing results gained from informed, well-planned ab workouts is the biggest motivation, but while you’re not yet there, workout buddies and printable weight loss charts chronicling your progress (or lack thereof) are great sources of motivation to keep sweating it out so you can get your dream abs, fast.
