Mini Meals Can Help You Obtain Perfectly Flat, Ripped Abs

Without a doubt the most glossed over step towards building flat, ripped abs is a proper meal plan and eating schedule. People are usually so concerned with what they eat and how frequently they chose to exercise that they simply overlook the importance of when it is they are eating. Creating and sticking to a proper diet plan is critical to developing ripped abdominal muscles.

Skipping meals does not help you burn body fat and build your abs. When meals are skipped the idea is to simply reduce your calorie intake but what actually ends up happening for the rest of the day is increased snacking. People who miss out on meals to burn calories many times end up taking in more calories than if they had actually eaten all of their meals. The second step towards a healthy meal plan is consuming small or mini meals as opposed to the normal 3 meals a day.

Rather than eating every 5 or 6 hours, with mini meals you eat a small meal every 3 to 4 hours.
Eating small portions like mini meals allows your metabolism to work its magic at a faster and more efficient pace than normal, which is the main benefit to eating mini meals as opposed to 3 meals a day. You can further maximize the benefits of mini meals by including a little extra protein and fiber with each and every meal. Protein not only helps build muscle but also improves your metabolic activity and makes you feel full for hours longer than normal.

Exercises For Lower Abdominals – Medicine Ball Workout Routines

I'm not exactly sure what it is but just about everyone these days is interested in getting really nicely defined abdominal muscles. It could be because of the media culture that we live in or perhaps it's because 6 or even 8 pack abs are are really pleasant to look at. Whatever the reason, chances are good that if you are reading this article you too want to know how to get ripped abs.

Your abdominal muscles consist primarily of three different muscle groups: upper abs, lower abs, and obliques. Many fitness enthusiasts simply do not understand the basic concepts behind lower abdominal exercises and unfortunately waste much of their precious time doing ab routines that just don't work For example, you have likely tried doing sit ups, crunches, and leg lifts in the hopes of developing your abdominal muscles.

While recommended by fitness professionals and coaches the world over, sit ups, crunches, and leg lifts only really work the upper abdominal muscles. If you want to get 6 or even 8 pack abs then you are going to need to incorporate a few medicine ball exercises into your abdominal workout routine. Gyms have varying degrees of medicine balls some of which weigh as much as 25 pounds. For these exercises an 8-10 pound ball is recommended. Also, you should aim to do 8-10 sets of each exercise with 8-10 reps per set.


Knee Lifts – Lay flat on your back and place the medicine ball tightly between your knees. While still keeping your back firmly against the ground, raise your knees along with the medicine ball ¾ of the way towards your head and back down again for a total of 8-10 sets. Remember to keep your head and back firmly planted against the ground.

Upright Leg Raises – To do this exercise you will need a standing dip machine. A standing dip machine will allow you to remain upright and raise your legs at the same time. Once you have secured yourself in the dip machine place the medicine ball between your feet and lift your legs upwards until they reach a 90 degree angle with your body and then lower them back down again. If you are unable to locate a standing dip machine then you can lay down on your back instead of standing upright.

Medicine Ball Passes – Lay completely flat on the ground with your arms stretched behind your head and your legs pressed firmly against the ground. Place the medicine ball in your hands that are stretched behind your head and simultaneously raise your arms and legs towards one another and pass the ball from your hands to your feet while lowering your arms and legs back down to the ground. Then raise your legs and pass the ball back to your hands. Rinse and repeat.

Oblique Twists – Assume the same position you did for the knee lifts. Place the ball between your knees and twist your knees left and then to the right and back again. Alternatively, you can place the ball in your hand and with your knees in the upright position twist your body toward your left knee then your right knee and back again.

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Muscle Building Workouts – How To Strengthen Your Abs

If you have ever done an internet search for “6 pack abs” then you have by now seen the dozens of ab workout programs that claim to have the most “amazing” and “incredible” ab workout known to man. There are a couple of problems with these amazing workout routines. First of all, not everyone can have nice looking 6 pack abs because everyone's body is different. Secondly, all of these programs are trying to sell you for $30 or more what you can easily find by simply doing just a little bit of research online.

It's important to understand that really defined abs will take a whole lot of work, no matter what any one else tells you. Again, everyone's body is different, so it's possible that you will be able to get the abs you want with little work. But chances are you will need to do an ab workout 5 days a week if you really want to see results. Remember too that you will need to minimize your fat and sugar intake and do at least 2 hours of cardio a week in addition to your ab workout.

That being said, here are a few great ab exercises that have the potential to make your midsection look great:

1.¾ Crunches – Lay flat on your back with your knees in the air and feet approximately one inch off the ground. Place your hands behind your head and hold your head approximately one inch off the ground. Lift your head forward and your knees backward until your knees touch your elbows. Repeat the motions making sure that your hands and feet never quite hit the ground.

You should aim for about 20-30 reps per set and about 8-10 sets total with this exercise.

2.Bicycle Twists – Lay flat on your back with your knees held upright and lift and swing your elbows until your elbow touches the adjacent knee. So if you are starting with your left arm then you would try to touch your right knee. Go back and forth with your left arm and right arm. Rinse and repeat.

With this exercise you should also aim for about 20-30 reps per side (each side of your body is a different ab muscle) and about 8-10 total sets.

3.Flat Raises – Lay perfectly flat on the ground with your legs stretched outward. Place your hands behind your head and lift your head until it is at about a 90 degree angle and then back down again. Make sure you keep your legs perfectly straight and flat on the ground while doing this exercise. You should be able to easily do 40 or 50 of these starting out for each set. You should aim to do about 10-12 of these per workout.

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Workout Exercises To Flatten Abs, Achieve Core Fitness And Reduce Lower Back Pain

By now you are probably familiar with "core training" or you have at least heard the term used on TV or in various fitness publications. Your "core" refers not just to the abdominals, but your entire trunk musculature, including those deep muscles you can't even see (like the Transversus Abdominis, or TVA).

Why should you care about muscles you can't even see? That's a question I would have asked many years ago in my early competitive bodybuilding days, but now I've learned better. And the answer is, among other reasons, to eliminate back pain, particularly lower back pain.

Back pain is one of the biggest complaints of men of ALL ages and many women suffer from it as well, especially during and after pregnancy. You see a weak core, combined with other problems such as tightness in certain muscle groups, lousy form and poor selection of exercises is one of the leading causes of lower back pain. The good news is that it's largely preventable with a few easy exercises.

There's more. Your core is also the seat of power for your entire body. If you're an athlete - recreational or competitive - core strength means better performance on the playing field. If you're a non-athlete, greater core strength means more efficient and safer performance of regular day to day activities. If you know anyone who blew out their back lifting boxes or simply doing work around the house you know what I'm talking about.

About 15 years ago I was diagnosed with a ruptured disk (L4) and at one point a neurosurgeon told me I should never lift more than 40 pounds. He said that I would eventually need surgery. I laughed in his face about the not lifting more than 40 pounds part (okay, so I laughed silently, but I did laugh, no one takes my weights away from me!)

Fortunately I was able to rehab my own back without ever going under the knife, thanks to a ton of flexibility work and some intelligent abdominal training. Still the pain would return from time to time when I got a little cocky and slapped too much weight on the bar. Once you rupture a disk you can rehab to a remarkable degree, but it's something you always have to be cautious about.

Anyway, in the last few years since I started to use core training methods, and not just the traditional "bodybuilding-style" routines, I've seen a greater improvement in my lower low back than ever before. If you haven't started doing any ball work or core training yourself, I would definitely urge you to look into it.

The reason I'm mentioning core training today is because David Grisaffi recently sent me a review copy of his new e-book, Firm and Flatten Your Abs . I just finished reading it and testing out some of his workouts, and I have to admit, David put together a very unique program. This is the first time in a long time that I've seen an abdominal course that's not centered on the usual sit ups and crunches. In fact, there's not a single sit up in the entire course.

David included quite a bit of nutrition info in his book too, but in my opinion the real strong point is the core training info and the 7 routines, which progress from beginner up to "athlete" level. Some of the exercises are a lot more challenging than they look in the pictures. You have to try them to appreciate them. Many of them can be done with just your body weight. Others require a stability ball (swiss ball), and a handful can be done with a cable apparatus you'd find in any gym.

So get started on a program that creates core fitness through a workout program that will flatten your abs and reduce lower back pain.

Tom Venuto has been involved in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, nutrition consultant, health club manger/owner, freelance writer and Internet publisher. To learn more visit Firm and Flatten Your Abs . You can achieve flatter abs, core fitness and reduced back pain .

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Six Pack Abs: Upper & Lower Abdominal Exercises : Bicycle Crunch Exercises for the Abs

6 Second Ab Machine and Ab Blaster Are a Farse!

15 minute abs...then 6 minute abs.... then 6 second abs! Ab machine commercials represent the most popular and lucrative infomercials of all time. We all know it. Every day on TV there is a 30 minute infomercial selling some sort of machine, or device that gives a person "abs" in just seconds a day.

Turn the TV on right now, I will bet you there is a commercial running right now for some silly exercise machine being sold by some old athlete or movie star. This marketing works, but for getting great abs, this is sheer nonsense. The basic infomercial ab machine commercial, usually centers around a plastic "ab compression" device or some other silly thing, that will give you "killer" abs in seconds.

But it's not cheap.

The 6 second ab machine with DVD sells for over $80! ($9.95 and 3 payments of $24.24). That is over $80 folks! The cardio course, workout course and so forth cost even MORE money! Another $20.00 a pop! Plus of course you have to buy the absurd plastic "6 second" ab machine itself first. Here is a picture of the device. Having tried this thing, I can tell you, it's not my first choice for ab exercise machines. But there is good news, if this hunk of plastic is not enough for you, you can upgrade to a single rubber band, and pair of tiny 2.5 pound dumbbells for the "deluxe set" for another $20.00! Are they kidding? I guess not. I see these things at garage sales every day for about $2.00. People think it's a 2 handed hand vacuum cleaner.

Save your money folks. Buy The Fast Fat Loss Plan and get a REAL plan of action on how to get six pack abs for real. No plastic machine or gym needed! No upgrades. A complete diet and exercise program in one complete package. No bullshit. We teach you simple exercises and a clean diet. These are the things that will give you 6 pack abs. This is a fact. I know all about 6 pack abs and I can prove it. Dr. Phil has yet to show me HIS 6 pack abs and he has given out MORE diet advice than Richard Simmons or Jack LaLanne. I would be MORE convinced if Dr. Phil showed ME his abs.

Do you really want sexy six pack abs? Some gimmick machine or 200 sit ups a day won't do it. It's all about lifestyle and diet folks! Eat and live like a person who has great abs and you too will have great ab muscles too!

Guess what? Beer and snack chips, candy and soda, won't give you six pack abs no matter how many sit-ups and leg raises you may do. You can own your own gym and still be fat (as so many gym owners are). Diet, what you eat, controls the ability to "see" a person's abs or not. Low body fat = abs. Small amounts of training (5 minutes 2x a week) can give you great abs visually. No amount of training or use of exotic ab machines sold by sexy TV commercials will give you abs UNLESS you follow the complete lifestyle THAT GIVES you 6 pack abs. This is a fact! No tight diet, no tight abs!

So don't order the ab blaster 4000 tonight from the blond bombshell ex-movie star selling the latest hip ab machine. Instead buy The Fast Fat Loss Plan and get a REAL plan of action that will teach you everything you need to know to lose weight fast. The Fast Fat Loss Plan even has a special section on training for 6-pack abs, for those that really want them. Get real. Stop believing in rainbows and magic 6 second ab machines (available for 3 easy payments of only $24.24) that don't deliver results.

There is no magic ab machine. But if there was a magic ab machine, I say 6 seconds is too long to train abs. I think 3 seconds would be better, for a total of 9 or so seconds a week. When you really feel fit you move up to the full 6 seconds. For a total of just 18 seconds a week! After you finish your 6 second abs you can start on a 4 second PHD program, and the 2 second Math Genius Rocket Scientist course. Please! Use common sense when you make decisions. If it sounds too good to be true, guess what? It is.

Dan Burke, The Figure Coach, is the author of the Fast Fat Loss Plan 3 books series that is a complete guide to weight loss and healthy living. Dan is a diet and fitness guru, athlete, coach, and writer. He has trained thousands of people from all walks of life for over 25 years. Dan has created and authored all of the products sold at http://www.figurecoach.com a website dedicated to the women's sport of Figure Competition. He has taught thousands of professional and amateur Figure Athletes how to diet, exercise, and pose to compete on stage and win women's Figure Competitions.

Dan has taken the secrets these athletes have used to get in fantastic shape, and to look and perform their best, and revealed them to you. He has boiled it down to an easy-to-understand wholesome approach to weight loss and weight maintenance. The Fast Fat Loss Plan gives the dieter all of the different tips to maximize weight loss and they can develop their own plan of action that they can, in fact, follow and live with for the rest of their life. He even teaches how to cheat properly on the diet as well, making it realistic for individuals to follow. Visit our website http://www.fastfatlossplan.com and you cam learn the secrets of creating The Negative Calorie Balance through Food Combining and Natural Metabolism Boosting. Take our 30 day challenge and change your life.

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