Abs of the Month

3.) Crunches: Today everyone is always looking for the latest thing. The reality is that new programs and new exercises are not necessarily better than old ones.

A. CRUNCHES. Crunches are your best friend. They work, period. Get on your back with your knees up, cross your ankles if you're more comfortable that way. Then, with your arms crossed, bring your elbows up to your knees. There is no need to strain here. Bring yourself up by squeezing your ab muscles, not by pulling your neck. Squeeze your way up, and then LOWER yourself down. Do not drop yourself down. Use the muscle to lower yourself down. This will get you a work out both ways. When you are really burning, bring your feet down; keeping your knees bent upwards a bit. At this point you will squeeze your way up a few more times, holding when you reach the top. Here is the grand finale, to get your lower abs, keep your feet down with your knees bent up and thrust your pelvis up and in. Do this be squeezing your lower abs up into your upper abs. A little practice and you'll understand. One you've got that done, continue squeezing upward with crunches and holding at the top. This will get you a great burn in your lower abs. NOTE: You will not get off the ground much with the legs down type of crunch, but the effects are great and you should feel the burn when you are doing it properly.

4.) Stick to it: The best tip I can give you is: STICK TO IT. You cannot start over every time you work out. You need to build on it. Work out at least 3 times a week, 4 if possible. You're workout does not have to be long, make them 20-30 minuets each. There are many reasons for this. First off, stick to your workout. Talking and fooling around will only add extra time to your work out. Keeping them short also makes it easier to fit into your schedule. Do your exercise, wait 2 minuets and do the next. Do this intensely until you are done. When you're workout is over you should feel great. You will find that many people will be there before you, and be there after you but won't reach the results you do.

5.) Variety: Mix it up a little. Don't burn yourself out. While I suggest you stick to a regular series of exercise that you are comfortable with, trying something new often helps motivate you to work out and stimulates your muscles to react a little more than usual. It's a good idea to watch others and periodically look through magazines to learn any new techniques to spice up your workout a bit.

That wraps up my 5 tips. While there are countless things to learn about your body and developing great muscle tone, these 5 tips are a great way to get the abs you want and keep them that way.

-Gregg Cerenzio

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