Today, now more than ever, men and women around the world adhere
to an ab workout routine of some sort or another. Unfortunately, their
quest for the perfect flat abs and rock solid six-pack is plagued with a
number of mistakes that are compromising their success.
One of the key problems commonly witnessed is that folks are just happy that they have gotten into the habit of following an ab workout routine. As a result, complacency sometimes sets in and people often forget to increase the intensity of their workout over time. Thus, they are no longer challenging their body as they used to. There's certainly nothing wrong with starting out at a basic level, especially if you've not been exercising for some time. However, failing to modify the ab workout routine not only means a plateau in your regimen, but also your results.
To help prevent this stagnation in your ab workout routine, you'll want to keep in mind that every time you exercise, you are intending to "feel" something. If you were to take walking as an analogy, who among us would think we could continue to walk the same distance at the same pace and get ongoing, or even continuous, results? Nearly anyone would properly guess that we have to pick up the pace, or else increase the distance to constantly test our body and get a workout. The same is true of your ab workout routine. Mix it up and be sure to always challenge yourself to avoid this first pitfall.
A second common mistake in the ab workout routine of many is doing exercises incorrectly. This error is really tough to catch, because you may actually be doing all the right exercises. However, even the right exercises done the wrong way will produce little or no results, if not unintended consequences.
As a specific example, often times people with stronger legs or a stout upper body rely more on these muscles to handle the heavy load of a given exercise. When this happens, the ab muscles are not really getting the workout they deserve. So, here's a way to check your ab workout routine. Whenever you are conducting the exercise, simply place your hand on your abs as you gradually move through the exercise. If you are properly exerting your abs, then you will be able to feel it.
There is yet another way to ensure your ab are actually involved in your ab workout routine. Whenever you do any given exercise, what you want to do is contract your abs. Just pretend someone is about to punch you in the stomach, or a child is about to jump on your belly. That's they type of contraction you want. The nice thing about this approach to double-checking your ab workout routine is that you may even get in the habit of contracting your abs during any exercise. This will mean that you'll get more mileage out of any exercise that doesn't even normally include the abs.
A third frequent ab workout routine error is compromising the back. Because of the nature of ab exercises, it's not uncommon for people to unduly stress the back. In order to avoid this, it's important to avoid those exercises that cause you to bend or otherwise bend your back. If you notice, you'll see that crunches are actually done in a different manner today than they were in the past. Instead of lifting your whole torso from the floor up to your chest with your knees, there are alternatives for focusing on the abs without putting this stress on the back.
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One of the key problems commonly witnessed is that folks are just happy that they have gotten into the habit of following an ab workout routine. As a result, complacency sometimes sets in and people often forget to increase the intensity of their workout over time. Thus, they are no longer challenging their body as they used to. There's certainly nothing wrong with starting out at a basic level, especially if you've not been exercising for some time. However, failing to modify the ab workout routine not only means a plateau in your regimen, but also your results.
To help prevent this stagnation in your ab workout routine, you'll want to keep in mind that every time you exercise, you are intending to "feel" something. If you were to take walking as an analogy, who among us would think we could continue to walk the same distance at the same pace and get ongoing, or even continuous, results? Nearly anyone would properly guess that we have to pick up the pace, or else increase the distance to constantly test our body and get a workout. The same is true of your ab workout routine. Mix it up and be sure to always challenge yourself to avoid this first pitfall.
A second common mistake in the ab workout routine of many is doing exercises incorrectly. This error is really tough to catch, because you may actually be doing all the right exercises. However, even the right exercises done the wrong way will produce little or no results, if not unintended consequences.
As a specific example, often times people with stronger legs or a stout upper body rely more on these muscles to handle the heavy load of a given exercise. When this happens, the ab muscles are not really getting the workout they deserve. So, here's a way to check your ab workout routine. Whenever you are conducting the exercise, simply place your hand on your abs as you gradually move through the exercise. If you are properly exerting your abs, then you will be able to feel it.
There is yet another way to ensure your ab are actually involved in your ab workout routine. Whenever you do any given exercise, what you want to do is contract your abs. Just pretend someone is about to punch you in the stomach, or a child is about to jump on your belly. That's they type of contraction you want. The nice thing about this approach to double-checking your ab workout routine is that you may even get in the habit of contracting your abs during any exercise. This will mean that you'll get more mileage out of any exercise that doesn't even normally include the abs.
A third frequent ab workout routine error is compromising the back. Because of the nature of ab exercises, it's not uncommon for people to unduly stress the back. In order to avoid this, it's important to avoid those exercises that cause you to bend or otherwise bend your back. If you notice, you'll see that crunches are actually done in a different manner today than they were in the past. Instead of lifting your whole torso from the floor up to your chest with your knees, there are alternatives for focusing on the abs without putting this stress on the back.