To start out, I would like to point out one key thing to remember about fitness: there are no shortcuts. But now that that’s out of the way, I can continue with what you really want, the 13 most effective ab exercises. While I have my own opinions on different abdominal exercises, I’m not just making his stuff up. In a recent study conducted by the Biomechanics
Lab at San Diego State University, researches took a unique look at 13 ab exercises, ranking them from best to worst.
To determine which exercises were most effective at working the abdominals, the researches used EMG equipment to monitor each participants muscle activity. Just for fun, researches included two infomercial products in the testing. For dramatic purposes, I will order the list from worst to best, starting with the least effective of the 13 exercises as ranked by the Biometrics Lab.
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mus·cle (m
s
l) n : A contractile organ consisting of a special bundle of muscle tissue, which moves a particular bone, part, or substance of the body.
While many magazines, TV shows, websites, and people are full of fitness advice, how much of this is actually credible? The fact is that scientists still don’t have the human body 100% figured out, but they do believe that they have a good understanding of how muscles work and grow. In this article, I will discuss the science behind how muscles function and grow, as well as what they are composed of.
Although the word muscle evokes thoughts of biceps and pectorals, in reality there are three different types of muscles.
1. Skeletal Muscle: this is what we normally think of when we think of muscle. Anchored by tendons to bone, this type of muscle is used to affect skeletal movement such as locomotion and in maintaining posture.
2. Smooth Muscle: this type of muscle is found within the walls of organs and structures such as the esophagus, stomach, intestines, bronchi, uterus, urethra, bladder, blood vessels, and even the skin (in which it controls erection of body hair). Unlike skeletal muscle, smooth muscle is not under conscious control.
3. Cardiac Muscle: Muscle found within the heart is cardiac muscle, which is not under conscious control but is much more akin to skeletal muscle otherwise.
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The statue of Doryphoros by Polykleitos displays the perfect proportions of a Greek God. Who doesn’t want to have a body like this, with ideal proportions and a great set of abs. To achieve such a perfect body, one must workout eight different muscle groups to match this statue.
1. Neck Workout
It may seem strange, but you will need to workout your neck to match the massive 19 inch neck of Doryphoros.
Exercise #1: Dumbbell Shrug.While grasping the dumbbells tightly, and your arms at your side, relax your shoulders. Now raise your shoulders as high as you can go. Now slowly return to the starting position while relaxing your trapezius and your shoulders. Again, try to use a weight that you can do 3×8.
Exercise #2: Upright Row. Begin by holding a barbell in an overhand grip and your hands comfortably apart. Let the weight hang directly in front of you. Lift the bar straight up, keeping the bar close to your body. Lift until your elbows and forearms are level with the ground. Lower the weight slowly to the starting point. Make sure you have good form as this exercise can be dangerous if done improperly. Also do 3×8, but make sure the weights are to heavy (don’t hurt yourself).
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Let’s be honest, every one wants big, powerful pectorals. Perhaps more than other other muscle in the body, having a strong chest shows that you are strong overall. Although every one knows about the bench press, I greatly prefer the dumbbell bench press, which really forces your arms to stabilize even more than the standard barbell bench press. But the major benefit of the dumbbell bench press over the barbell bench press is that you do not need a spotter for the dumbbell press, although having one is still a good idea.
To perform this exercise, you are going to need some standard dumbbells. You can buy some great adjustable dumbbells here
- Delicious, Healthy Salmon
For great health and fitness, a clean diet full of healthy foods is a must. In this article, I will discuss 15 power foods that every one should be eating almost daily. All of the following foods are low in fat and contain either many vitamins, antioxidants, or are high in protein. In essence, a diet high in these 15 power foods will lead to great health.
1. Almonds
With traditional dieting ideas, almonds don’t sound very healthy. In reality, while about 75% of calories in almonds come from fat, it is mostly in the form of monounsaturated fats, which researchshows can actually help people lose weight. In a recent study, participants with a diet high in monounsaturated fats experienced a 62% greater reduction in their weight/BMI (body mass index), 50% greater reduction in waist circumference, and 56% greater reduction in body fat compared to those on the low calorie high carbohydrate diet. In addition, monounsaturated fats have been linked to a reduction in heart disease.
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While push ups are one of the most well known and popular exercises, many people do not actually know how to perform a perfect push up. I’ve seen people cheating on push ups countless times. Most people just don’t know any better, but if you want to maximize the many benefits of one of the most versatile chest exercises, you should learn how to properly perform a push up.
But before we discuss proper form, why should I even care about push ups? What makes them so great? Well, first of all, they are essentially the only effective chest exercise that can be done in the comfort of your own home, without the need for expensive equipment. In addition, push ups are a compound exercise that helps develop the pectorals, triceps, deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis and the midsection as a whole. Also, push ups epitomize manliness.
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Ryan Reynolds used to be a pretty average looking guy. But for his role in Blade Trinity, he had to buff up. So after 5 months of intense diet and exercise, Ryan went from average to the best body in Hollywood. In those 5 months, he gaines 20 pounds of pure muscle, while trimming his body fat down from 11% to 3%. Unlike many celebrity diet plans, Ryan’s could be followed by an person who really wants to lose weight.
To slim down to having only 3% body fat, one must eat a stellar diet. For this diet plan, he ate every 2-3 hours, never letting himself go hungry but never stuffing himself either. In addition, he drank tons over water throughout the day to keep him hydrated through his intense workouts.
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So you need to drop a couple pounds, and you think that cardio is the best way to do it. To burn the fat, do you need to run for miles and miles? No! Not with high-intensity interval training (HIIT). With HIIT, you can burn just as many calories and just as much fat as standard steady-state cardio in way less time . In addition, research has shown that HIIT increases your metabolism for hours after you exercise, so you burn extra calories even when you aren’t moving.
The fundamental idea behind HIIT is to significantly improve performance in the least amount of time . In general, a HIIT session involves a warmup period, several short, maximum-intensity efforts separated by moderate recovery intervals, and a cooldown period. For the maximum-intensity periods, you should be exercising at about 90% energy level, and during the recovery periods you should be doing 50%-60%. Each session is amazingly intense and you will definitly want to use your cooldown period to help remove lactic acid and allow your heart to return to its normal rate.
In this modern, increasingly fitness crazy world, there are a variety of myths being commonly treated as fact by many people. Despite the popularity of the following myths, there is reliable evidence disputing each and every one of these claims.
10. No Pain, No Gain
While this first myth is one of the most widely believed fitness fallacies, it also can be one of the most dangerous. Although soreness during and after an intense workout session is common, true pain is your bodies signal that something is wrong and you need to stop whatever you are doing. In the event of serious pain during a workout you should stop and contact your doctor if the pain lingers.
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I’m going to start this post off by letting you in on a little secret: there is no "secret" to getting six-pack abs. There are no magic workouts, diets, or pills that will get you a six pack like this guy’s in under 2 weeks. So if you see a magazine promising sculpted abs in under a month, just remember it’s bullshit.
But while there is no magic way to get abs, it is possible to get great abs, it just takes time, dedication, and self-discipline. Many people believe that the best way to get abs is by doing 500 crunches every day. This belief is simply wrong and you will not get abs following this philosophy because you will give up from boredom in a week. In reality, the "secret" to powerful abs is a clean diet supplemented by abdominal exercises and high-intensity interval training . In addition, weight training is also highly recommended.
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