An Effective Abdominal Technique

I’ve read up on a few ab-sculpting exercises in the past couple days and can heartily agree with some tips and disagree in the same sense with others…believe it or not, not everybody gives the best midsection advice!

Got an inch-layer of fat over your would-be abdominals? Doing 1,000 sit-ups is not going to make you like Arnold! You’ll build excess muscle…but it’s just going to look like a flak-jacket because your fat isn’t going anywhere.

The key to great is greatly influenced by what you eat (some intructors and experts claim it to be 70% of the factor)…I agree that while a healthy diet helps you lose weight, it can also be the main detriment for muscle definition and a sexy appearance.

But it’s not just what you eat that’s going to get you shredded and looking hott during the summer; you also have to put in some sweat equity in order to see results…in this case we’re talking about the abdominal muscles and simple ways you can sculp in very little time each day.

You’ve seen fitness tapes like “8 Minute Abs” and so on…ridiculous right? Well if you spend around that much time per day doing this (below), you will actually see some nice results.

Here’s the combination of cardiovascular exercise and ab sculpting: bicycle. Bicycle in the sense of riding your bike for an intense 2 or 3 mile period (up and down hills) at variable sprints and also “bicycle” in the sense of the ab sculpting exercise that will help give you definition in the midsection.

Are these the only two techniques to make it happen for you above the belt? Definately not, but if you follow this routine for a 4-6 week period (assuming a healthy diet), you’ll see results.

So here’s why the bicycle sculpting crunch technique is so efficient:

Ever see the guy in the gym who’s there for 4 hours a day? His experience becomes more of a social session with water breaks and chat sessions in between repititions so that eventually he’s giving himself 5-10 minutes between sets…guess what? You can probably do a 45-minute workout (or less) and more efficiently sculpt than him. Resting between sets too frequently doesn’t allow your body to sweat and work like it needs to…so keep moving. This is why the bicycle technique works so well…you’re constantly moving; your muscles don’t get a rest and the abs and obliques will be working at the same time…so you don’t need to do this for an hour a day to see results.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Lay on your back with your hands behind your head and your elbows pointing outward.
2. Bring your shoulder blades and left leg 6 inches off the floor.
3. Bring your right knee towards your chest and twist your torso towards the right knee.
4. Lightly touch your left elbow to your right knee.
5. Lower the right knee 6 inches off the ground and bring your left elbow back.
6. Perform the same technique for the other side.

Next:

1. Continue to switch sides in a “pedaling” motion.
2. Do 2 sets of at least 12 repititions to start.
3. Increase reps and sets with time as you improve.

Want to challenge yourself? Hold a medicine ball at your chest and perform the same style of exercise…the weight resistance will help better define the muscles…remember to keep biking and performing other aerobic exercise as well and you’re on your way to having noticeable abdominal muscles.

Remember, this isn’t the only ab exercise you should ever do and over time (4-6 weeks), most muscle-training techniques become standard to your body and less effective. How do you combat this? Switch it up on a monthly basis by trying other midsection exercises and then go back to the bicycle technique in a few months (keep doing this “switching up” as a cycle) for maximum results. See you on the beach.

For a Video that shows you exactly how to perform the “Bicycle” exercise, visit:

Self.com