I’d have to say any exercise is worth doing whether you’re overweight or not but the hidden question here is probably “Will doing Ab Exercises help me lose stomach fat and flatten my abdominals?”.

The short answer is no not really no amount of Ab exercises at any intensity is ever really going to make any sort of difference to the amount of fat you are carrying around your stomach. Ab exercises are great for strengthening and toning the abdominals but are almost totally useless for fat loss.

The only viable way of getting a flatter stomach and losing fat from all over your body is to start an effective fat loss programme.  This programme would have to include diet or in other words what you’re eating, cardio exercise and most important strength training to help build more fat burning muscle.

When you consider that over 70% of fat loss is down to one factor getting this wrong can sabotage anything else that you do.  The 70% is what you eat plain and simple and if you don’t eat a healthy nutritionally balanced diet you’re never going to be successful or at best you’re only going to have partial success when trying to lose weight.

Obviously if you’re not going to lose weight you’re not going to flatten your stomach and therefore any dreams you may have of developing a visible six pack is just that a dream.

losing weight (fat) is simple but having said that it’s not easy. It takes commitment and discipline sometimes more than the average person is prepared to put in.  For those who are prepared to take a long term view getting down to a healthy weight no matter how heavy you may be at the moment is just a question of time.

Find something that works for you and stick with it

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Are Ab Exercises Worth Doing If I’m Overweight? is a post from: Ab Exercises

There are many reasons why performing Tummy Exercises badly won’t help you flatten the stomach area and will in some cases make your problem even worse

Sadly it’s us women who suffer from this problem more that men for the following reasons:

1. Due to hormonal changes particularly at menopause we are more likely to store excess calories as fat particularly around the tummy region
2. Child birth can leave us with lengthened abdominals or even diastasis (Rectus Abdominis separates)
3. If the abdominals stay lengthened for any length of time physical changes in the muscle structure itself make this lengthening challenging to reverse.
4. Men can get lengthened abdominals if they’ve had or have a large tummy (beer belly)

Assuming we have no physical problem to address abdominals that are lengthened because of one of the above reasons we need to encourage the muscles to shorten.

The correct way to shorten abdominals that are lengthened is to work them in the inner range (shortened position) which will over a period of time allow the muscles structure to change and as a result the muscle shortens.

The problem is most people who do abdominal exercises often don’t do them correctly and push the abdominals muscles out when exercising. The good news is they’ll end up with very strong abs the bad news is they’ll not shorten them and may in fact even lengthen them some more! Not what you had in mind I’m sure.

How do you prevent this?

You need to be taught to do the exercises correctly from someone who understands the problem noted above. Pilates exercises are ideal to teach you how to perform abdominal exercises correctly with the core muscles engaged (40% contraction) which helps keep the six pack muscles from doming out when exercising.

Exercises like the seated roll back also work the stomach exercises in the shortened position and is one of my favourite exercises that has a host of other benefits.

Bottom line: Ensure you’re performing your ab exercises correctly and are doing ones that will help you realise your goal. Get your form check by a Personal Trainer or Pilates Instructor to make sure you’re not shooting yourself in the foot while exercising

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If Done Badly Stomach Workouts Are A Complete Waste Of Time is a post from: Ab Exercises

Finding Ab Exercises on the Internet lets face it is fairly easy far to easy in my opinion. Anyone can put up a Website or Blog and post information on Ab Exercises or any other type of exercise for that matter which we can view and use without supervision.

But what do we know about the fitness qualifications of the people posting on these sites? Are they in fact qualified at all to be giving you exercise advice at all?

I’ve looked at a lot of exercise related advice that I’ve found while researching varius health and fitness related topics and I can assure you that in many instances the advice is not only wrong but could be potentially dangerous particularly if you already have some kind of a structural problem like a bad back.

Most of the sites don’t even have a warning advising you to see a health professional before starting any new exercise regime or workout which is not a good thing.

I know money is tight these days and many can’t afford the services of a qualified Personal Trainer (my favoured approach) but please be careful and use common sense when trying an exercise you’ve seen on Youtube or a fitness Website. Think defensively and if it looks to hard don’t do it or at the very least stop doing it if you get any pain or tingling / numbness anywhere on your body.

Remember fat loss and therefore getting a Flat Stomach is a long term goal so you don’t need nor should you go hell for leather trying every known ab exercise you can find in an effort to get results this week. It isn’t going to work and you might get hurt while doing them.

Picking up an injury even a minor one is going to prevent you working out effectively which in turn is going to take you longer to get the results you’re looking for.

Bottom line: Be wary of free exercises found on the Internet and get professional advice before trying anything new. Remember free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it. Nothing!

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Are Ab Exercises Safe? is a post from: Ab Exercises

Before you skip this article because it doesn’t have any exercises for a flatter stomach on it STOP and read it as it has some important information that will benefit you.

The problem with becoming obsessed about getting a flatter stomach is that if we;re not careful we’ll assume that if 10 mins Ab work is good a 100 mins must be better. Skipping the obvious it’s not possible to spot reduce which I’ve written about elsewhere there is another aspect of overworking one particular muscle group that you need to be aware of.

I’ts balance. Our bodies are designed to be balanced to enable them to work efficiently and to ensure we remain pain free. One of the surest ways to have a body that is in constant pain from back, neck, shoulders, knees etc is to have a major muscle imbalance.

When we work one muscle group more than another guess what you’re promoting. Yup a muscle imbalance which although maybe small to start with will get larger if you don’t do something to correct it.

Exercise programs like Pilates are excellent because they promote balance and classes are designed to not only be balanced but to help correct postural imbalances you may already have. When designing an exercise program for yourself you need to ensure it’s as balanced as you can make it.

If you’re unsure and don’t know how to do it consider:

1. Employing a Personal Trainer to design you a balanced program
2. Start Pilates and your Instructor will point out any imbalance you have and show you how to correct them
3. Buy a workout that you know is balanced

In my experience although you may well get away with muscle imbalances and programs that promote imbalance for a while eventually it will cause you a problem either in loss of flexibility, mobility or in some cases pain.

Work your entire body and all muscle groups in a balanced way and don’t just focus on your Abs.

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Exercises For A Flatter Stomach – A Warning is a post from: Ab Exercises

Can you guess what the Best Stomach Flattening Exercises are? Well it’s simple it’s any exercise that you do regularly. Yup nothing fancy, nothing that targets the stomach and no expensive machine.

The answer is regular exercise that includes:

• A cardiovascular component (something that make you breathless)
• A strength training muscle building component
• A stretching component

You may be confused now and complain that we’re not targeting the stomach and that you’re not interested in the rest of your body you just want to get rid of the pooch or muffin top. As I’ve said before you can’t spot reduce and no matter how many stomach exercises you do you’re not going to speed up the fat removal from that area.

Fat is lost fairly evenly over the entire body so your goal should be to implement a change in your overall eating habits and to eat more healthy foods  in an effort to speed up your fat loss.

Even more important is to start a whole body workout that you perform regularly and that promotes muscle gain. Yes muscle building is so important even to the ladies because muscle is your fat burning machine. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn and the more calories you burn the more fat you lose.

Bottom line: Forget diets (which promote muscle loss), forget ab targeting and forget all the useless pieces of exercise junk that the fitness industry will persuade you to buy. There is no easy fix that requires no effort because if there was everyone would be thin.

Get your head straight and do what you know needs to be done no more excuses and looking for that easy option which doesn’t exist and is just fantasy, snake oil sold by people who know the products they sell don’t work but who prey on your desire to lose weight without effort.

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The T-Core is touted as the next big thing in abdominal training claiming to be able to kick your butt in just 6 minutes.

Looking a bit like a Pogo Stick this device is placed in your lap and you crunch down stretching the bands and thereby working your Abs. It has variable resistance starting at 40lbs and going up to 120lbs. According to the sales pitch it can work your upper and lower abs and can even target your obliques.

The T-Core reminds me a little bit of the old Six Second Abs. You remember the one with the clicking sound if you got the crunch right. This device is a little bigger but I have to say it doesn’t look all that substantial.

The T-Core comes in at a light weight $29.95 + $8.95 S&H so it won’t break the bank but I doubt it’ll give you Ripped Abs like the man demonstrating the T-Core but it would certainly work them.

I still can’t see the obsession with getting off the floor to do Ab work as if done correctly you shouldn’t get any neck strain as poor form is the usual culprit.

Bottom Line: If you’re well out of condition and the T-Core will inspire you to workout then go for it. However if you’re already reasonably fit and want great looking Abs I’d stick with crunches and the many other body weight exercises you can do for free.

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We all know that getting ripped abs is a lot to do with what we eat as well as how we exercise but when it comes to working out we all want the maximum results in the shortest period of time.

Enter the War Machine Suspended Pulley Training System which as the name suggests enables you to do many different body weight exercises using gravity and a pair of straps. It’s similar to the TRX Suspension System with one major difference.

It has a pulley integrated into it’s design. The pulley can be either fixed so that it can’t easily rotate for a beginner and then as you get stronger you can make the exercises more challenging by pulling a pin allowing it to freely rotate.

This system can be modified by changing the handles and because it has a self leveling pulley it’s also possible to counter balance your own body weight by attaching a Kettle Bell to one end.

I love the concept of this device but it does have one major downside when compared to other similar equipment and that’s price.

It comes in at a whopping $249 without the ceiling or wall attachment which will cost you an extra $30. It’s a great pity because I love the idea and as a workout it would be second to none but $249 is a bit rich for me. I know quality equipment costs more than cheaper alternatives but I think the War Machine will be relegated to those with deep pockets

However if you have the means then go for it and let me know whether it’s as good as it looks.

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War Machine Suspended Pulley Training System is a post from: Ab Exercises

As is common for this time of year many new exercise DVD’s are coming onto the market. A new one called the Supreme 90 Day Workout looks like it may be worth taking a look at.

This workout claims you can get ripped in just 90 days and comes in a heavy weight 10 DVD set. What’s surprising is the price it’s just $19.99 + S&H which equates to $31 if you include the Ad DVD and expedited shipping.

Many people have compared it with the P90X and at first thought it was a rip off of that product but apparently it isn’t. What is different though is the price the P90X comes in at a whopping $139 if you buy it at Amazon.

Unlike the P90X which uses mostly dumb bells, pull up bar and body weight the Supreme 90 day uses dumb bells, stability ball and body weight. Each workout lasts about 40 mins which include a warm up and cool down.

The workouts are shorter than the P90X but not any less effective because of that. The consensus seems to be that if you compared two people after 90 days one doing P90X and the other the Supreme 90 day Workout the difference in results would be negligible.

One niggle people have with the Supreme 90 day is delivery. Even with expedited shipping it can take weeks to get your copy although that might have been due to um precedented demand and hopefully that’s now been resolved.

If I had to choose I think I’d pick P90X but with a $100 price difference it’s very hard to justify whereas the Supreme 90 day at a top price of $31 is such such great value for money I think I’ll get them both

Supreme 90 Day Workout Reviews – A P90X Look Alike? is a post from: Ab Exercises

Now the KettleWorx workout isn’t actually a machine but it does use a piece of equipment a kettlebell so I’ve put this post in the Ab Machines catagory.

If you’re looking for the traditional easy fix then these Ab Exercises aren’t for you because the KettleWorx demands comitment and I’m sorry to say hard work and sweat.

In a nut shell the KettleWorx program is a set of DVD’s and a Kettlebell. A Kettle bell is a weighted ball with a handle attached. As a piece of exercise equipment it can’t get any simpler than that and it has the advantage that it can’t break unlike the usual exercise junk on the market today.

Your workout involves moving whilst pushing, pulling or swinging the Kettlebell in front, behind and to the side. It sounds simple but trust me it’s very challenging and will give you a fantastic all over workout.

It stands head and shoulders above other training methods because:

1. It’s simple nothing to break and you don’t need any other equipment.
2. You can easily make it more challenging as you get fitter by using a heavier Kettlebell
3. It’s functional because you’re using almost every muscle in your body either working directly or in a stabilising role.
4. It’s a lot of fun
5. It combines cardio and strength training in one workout maximizing fat loss
6. You’ll burn more calories in a shorter time 20 mins three times a week will give you great results.

I would have to say this is one of my favourite pieces of at home exercise equipment the only downside is that it’s very challenging even for fit and healthy people and the injury potential is high.

I would advise:

• Check with uour health professional before starting any new workout
• Start with a very light Kettlebell to start with so you can work on perfecting your form and then slowly move to a heavier Kettlebell as your form and fitness improves
• If possible get one to one training from a Personal Trainer qualified in Kettlebells

Just think with no more equipment than a KettleBell, a clock and yourself you can get one of the best workouts not only for your Abs but your entire body.

KettleWorx Ab Exercises The Old Fashioned Way is a post from: Ab Exercises

The new year is fast approaching and the time for reflection is upon us once again. We reflect on our expanding waistline, our weight and our general level of fitness. Some of us won’t like what we see.

We’ll vow that this coming year (2011) we’ll do what it takes to get in shape and lose the belly and expanding butt.

In our time of need many will try and part us from our money. I guarantee that come the first week in January all the fitness equipment manufacturers will be touting the latest expensive gadget that will magically disappear all the extra pork you’ve piled on during the years. Claims like lose 10lbs a week every week or get a slim and sleek body by eating whatever you like.

Even the most cynical amongst us will probably succumb to the sirens call because maybe this time will be different. Maybe this time the machine will really work.

Sorry but it’s all a lie. The only thing that will give you the results you seek is you. Your commitment and discipline to do what it takes to get healthy. Your intention to do something about it. Your desire to reach your outcome.

There is no magic wand that can make you slim or give you six pack abs and if your still searching for that magic bullet don’t bother reading anymore move on as there is nothing to see here.

If on the other hand you really want to do something about your current fitness levels then the first thing you need to get right is your mindset. Where the mind goes the body will follow so focus on your mindset and discover for yourself how powerful your intention can be.

The first step is to clear your mind of quick easy solutions. They don’t exist but as long as you believe they do you’ll never commit to doing what’s really required.

Although not easy fat loss isn’t difficult either but it does require commitment to stick to a health lifestyle and regular exercise.

So step one:

Accept that there is no magic wand / bullet or piece of exercise equipment that is going to magically disappear your excess fat while you sleep or watch the TV and that as long as you believe it the likelihood of you ever reaching your goal is mighty small.

Don’t Get Fooled Again – Step One is a post from: Ab Exercises