Lower Abdominal Exercises For Rock Hard Abs

Lower Abdominal Exercises For Rock Hard Abs

By Adriel Yapana CFT

If you want rock hard abs, there is no getting around it - you have to get working on those lower abdominal exercises. Losing weight will help if you are carrying a lot of excess but losing weight by itself will not firm up your belly and give you the definition that you are looking for.

Exercises such as the basic crunch will tighten the upper abs (above the navel) but you need to work on the lower abs separately. In fact if you work on your lower abdominal muscles, the upper abs will naturally tighten up right along with them. Include both types of exercises in your regular workout for variety.

What a lot of people do not realize is that there are two levels of toning for the abs. Most people when they are exercising work the surface level of muscles. This can help with definition in the early stages.

However, working the surface muscles will not take you all the way with abdominal definition. If you only tighten the section of muscle right next to your skin you will find that although you can keep doing more and more, your muscle definition does not improve any further. You need to also target the deeper level of muscle to get yourself that real well defined six pack.

How do you do this? The good news is that it's not hard. It just requires a different way of thinking during your workout.

When most people visualize the results of their abdominal exercises, they only think about how their rock hard abs will look from the outside. This leads them to focus on the superficial level of muscle right under the skin. Instead, remind yourself to "think deep" as you are exercising, and visualize the deeper layer of the muscle working hard throughout your workout. That's all it takes. Your body will do the rest.

Always exercise slowly. This is not only for safety reasons. It gives the muscles more of a workout. You will get better results from 25 sit ups done slowly than 50 done quickly, so do not be tempted to think this is a numbers game like in contests with your friends in junior high!

Any pain in the lower back during any of these exercises is a sign to stop right now. You should feel the exercise in your abs only - i.e. at the front of your body. Even there, don't push it too far.

Working the muscles to the point of pain is counter productive. It just means you will not be able to exercise those muscles at all for a few days after. You would have been better doing less but doing it every day. That way you would see results from your lower abdominal exercises much faster.

Make it a great day!

Adriel Yapana