There are a number of ab exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home without any exercise equipment.

• One of the most popular exercises for training abdominal muscles is the crunch. This is done lying down on a mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Your hands can be placed behind your head or across your chest. Slowly raise your shoulders a few inches off the floor, contracting your ab muscles as you move, hold for a few seconds, lower back down and then repeat. There are a number of different variations of the traditional crunch including twisting crunches, lower ab crunches, reverse crunches and much more.

• The bicycle exercise: Lie on a rug or exercise mat, hold the back of your head with both hands and raise both legs a little off the floor. Bring your right knee and left elbow as close together as you can, then switch sides and keep repeating as in a cycling motion.

• The plank: Rest face down on a mat resting on your forearms, with your palms flat on the floor. Keep your legs straight and raise your body so that you’re supported by the balls of your feet, with feet hip-distance apart. Face the floor, and keep your body straight. Hold this position for as long as you can to begin with, extending the time as you get stronger.

What about ab exercise machines?

Have you seen those TV infomercials featuring models with amazing abs trying to sell you a ‘miracle’ ab machine? Just use ‘Ab X’ and you can get sexy abs like theirs.

The truth: most of those ab machines don’t work (research has shown that they can’t produce any better results than regular crunches). Not only that but many of them are pretty expensive and best to be avoided by anyone serious about getting visible six pack abs.

And ab exercise programs?

Ab exercise programs? IMO it really depends on the individual, where they are in terms of their fitness quest and their goals.  If you’re serious about getting great results and you’re just starting out with little or zero knowledge about training … a good, organized abs fitness program like The Truth About Six Pack Abs or Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle will be of tremendous value to you.  Even if you’re knowledgeable, programs like these can expose you to new ideas and methods of working out – as well as nutrition – that are very effective.

Related posts:

1. 3 Best Ab Exercises For A Killer Abs Work Out What are the best ab exercises for a killer abs work out? Everyone wants to know the answer to this question and this EzineArticles.com article, Mike Geary from TruthAboutAbs.com reveals the 3 best abs exercises that are not direct...

The 3 Best Ab Exercises That Are Not Direct Ab Exercises
By Mike Geary

Instead of the typical ab exercise routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc… I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs.

I’m going to show you an example today of one of my favorite ab workouts that doesn’t include any direct ab exercises at all. It’s in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows

1b. Front Squats with Barbell

1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of “reps”.

Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me… you’ll feel it in the abs!

Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body. This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you’ll feel this one in the abs big time!

Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.

After finishing each exercise, rest about 30 seconds before starting the next exercise. Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each “tri-set” before repeating.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you’ve ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises. You’ll see what I mean after you try it!

If you are tired of failing to get visible six pack abs, consider losing the traditional ab exercises and bogus ab gadget machines, and find out the real fat loss for abs truth at Best Ab Exercises & Workouts for Abdominals

If you are a busy business professional looking for good home workouts that you can do before or after work, go to 4 Minute Home Workouts with Bodyweight or Dumbbells

Tired of long boring cardio workouts? Discover a better way at Beyond Cardio Workouts

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-3-Best-Ab-Exercises-That-Are-Not-Direct-Ab-Exercises&id=642480

So what did you think about the abs exercises Mike Geary is recommending? I hope you will try them during your next abs work out. From personal experience I can tell you that those mountain climbers are very taxing!
And if you haven’t seen it, here’s the link to a video that reveals 7 abs exercises to get toned abs.

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