The crunches as most of you know are among the best exercises in order to shape up the abs.  The problem though is that more often than not, the crunches are confused with sit ups.  There is different from crunches; in fact sit ups are not recommended because it can cause injuries particularly if you do not know where to place the weight of your body.  The crunches on the other hand are much safer to perform and at the same time, the crunches produce better and faster results.  You also have to know that different crunches target different muscles and thus, here are two of the basic crunch routines for your lower and upper abs.1. The basic upper abs crunch – To start the routine, lie on your back as a start position and keep your knees bent and your feet rested on the floor. Keep your neck and head in a relaxed position and position your hands on the sides of your head.  Using your upper abs, curl your upper torso in such a manner that your shoulder blades lift off from the floor.  As you curl, have your chest bone aimed toward your belly bottom.  Then contract the abs and then lower down your torso with your shoulder blades lightly touching the ground.  Repeat the process and make sure to maximize the contraction by making a full breath at the bottom of every repetition and then holding your air as you contract upwards.  As you reach the top, squeeze your abs and in two counts, contract them and then release. Breathe out then return to the start position again.  2. Reverse lower abs crunch – The routine is easier for females than males since females have shorter upper body and longer legs which makes the crunch easier. To start the routine, lie on your back and keep your knees bent and position your feet at least six (6) inches above the floor.  Place your hands behind your head and keep your feet close to your hips and then contract it as you lower your abs.  Slowly bring your knees closer to your chest, lift your butt off to the floor and slowly lower it down again to start position as you curl your lower body. To add challenge to the crunch, use an incline bench as this would add gravity and resistance as you place your hips lower than your chest.Both routines can be done in a more difficult degree if you make use of incline benches or foam rollers in order to maximize the contractions.  Nevertheless, what is important is to keep the contraction in a controlled manner.

No matter if it is the start of the summer bikini swimsuit season or the dead of winter, no one likes to have an excess of fat. Call it what you will spare tire, double chin, fat face, whatever…. burning fat is something we all strive to do at some point or another. Unfortunately we were not born with inside knowledge of how to burn fat. On top of that the latest snake oil salesman is chomping at the bit to sell us his latest cooked up scheme to part us with our money while frustrating our fat fighting efforts. In an effort to get you started on the right track here are 4 things you have to know in order to burn fat.
The first thing to remember is that muscle burns fat. That is right just having some muscle on your body can help to rid you of unwanted calories and in turn shed that ugly fat. Muscle mass even at rest uses calories. So having at least some muscle mass can help to keep you in shape even when you are not paying strict attention to your diet. So with this in mind be sure you always incorporate some form of weight or resistance training into your workout routine. You do not have to go all mister or miss Olympia in order to benefit from muscle mass either. Just doing a little weight toning exercise can add enough muscle mass to give you that extra edge. If you are a woman do not be afraid of the weights either. Those huge female bodybuilders go through all kinds of strict training and more often than not some extra illegal supplementation to get those huge physiques. So do not be afraid that a little weight training will turn you into the incredible hulk overnight.
Another thing to keep in mind when trying to burn fat is that proper nutrition is a must. You cannot expect to do a few workouts and then gorge yourself at Taco Bell or McDonald’s and still shed that unwanted fat. You might not have to go so far as counting every single calorie that you put into your body (although that is not a bad idea) but you do have to cut out junk like fast-food and sugar. Processed foods in general will hurt your efforts. Do not make the mistake of throwing away all of your hard exercise work for a few bites of cheap food that you probably will not enjoy anyway.
Finally when trying to burn fat you are going to have to realize that for the most part spot reduction is impossible. If you want those cut up washboard abs a million crunches are just not going to do it. You have to get your entire body in shape before you can hope the cut that belly fat. Keep following an entire regimen of nutrition and fitness and in the end the abs will come shining through.
Burning fat is something we all tend to struggle with so do not feel alone. You just have to get in there and work and soon you will be lying by the pool enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Ladies, do you feel uncomfortable in your low cut jeans because of that roll of fat that sits on top of your belt?

Or

Ladies, do you feel that belt dig into the skin around your waist when you wear your high cut jeans?

Whether you wear low cut or high cut jeans, both are uncomfortable to wear when you have excess abdominal fat, and that ladies, is not sexy! Now, that I have your attention, let us review the pro’s and con’s of having excess abdominal fat.

Cons ·         Excess fat around your abdomen is unhealthy as it puts pressure on your internal organs, specifically when you are over 40 (Simple test is to pinch the fat around your waist between your thumb and forefinger. Is it greater than an inch? Yes, then do something about it.)

·         Increase risk of getting Type 2 diabetes

·         Increase risk of coronary heart disease

·         Increases the risk of having restricted movement of the diaphragm which limit lung expansion, and in turn increases the risk of having obstructive sleep apnoea. Basically, you end up with exhaustion as a result of lack of sleep

The list is endless as each increased risk, increases a risk elsewhere in your body with negative side effects.

Pros

You have got to be kidding me if you think there are pros to having excess abdominal fat, well besides being able to jiggle well whilst doing belly dancing!

How do you address this problem This is really not difficult. Eat better. With improved eating habits and better food selection you actually end up eating more. Yes, that is right, more than before but the right foods improves your metabolism and therefore helps you rid yourself of that excess abdominal fat.

The most powerful way of this is to firstly, improve your knowledge of what the right foods are and what the wrong foods are.

Taking these, magic pills that promise you the earth is neither a sustainable nor a healthy option, but knowledge is.

Did You Know That?

1.    Your body performs at its best when you do physical activity in bursts of exertion? 2.    Excessive exercise is not good for you? 3.    One of your most important meals is the one post-workout? 4.    A diet too low in natural fats, reduces your testosterone levels (this is not good news for male nor female)? 5.    There are good trans fats and bad trans fats?

5 Tips to Reduce Abdominal Fat or as we all like to call it ‘Belly Fat’

1.    Start each week by making sure you have plenty of vegetables and fruit 2.    Go for lean meats such as ostrich, venison or buffalo 3.    Eat oat bran or natural oats cooked, instead of the instant variety, with organic maple syrup or raw honey 4.    If you are a chocoholic, go for dark chocolate 5.    Avoid soda and anything deep fried

These were only a very small amount of the knowledge you can gain for a better body and more energy than you can handle.

Visit our web site to gain Complete Knowledge

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