Getting ready for a six pack?

Best Abdominal Workout

Author: dean

Lots of sit-ups will flatten your stomach.
Sit ups are great but doing them will not actually flatten your tummy and here's why. Abs exercises will surely strengthen the muscles of the entire abdominal area but unless you reduce all over body fat, all your hard work will never be seen. Genetics also does play a part in the ratio of muscle we are born with. I believe that nothing is impossible, however. If you really want that great midsection, you have to work at it! Commitment and consistency are very important. So let's begin, and get to work!

Being sensible produces results and you are less likely to be injured. Let's first start with one of the very basics - good posture. To improve posture stand up tall, head tilted slightly back, ears above shoulders, shoulders are back and down, keeping your abdominals braced (suck your belly button into your spine) and spine is in neutral. Wow, you look better already!!
Flattening tummies is achieved by doing the following over a period of time and being consistent. Abdominal training is only a part of the complete fitness picture.

• Cardiovascular activity: 3 to 5 times per week. Aim to train in your target heart rate zone (85%) for at least 20 to 30 minutes each time. This could be in the form of jogging, either indoors on the treadmill or outdoors; walking briskly; cycling (including spin classes) indoors/outdoors or swimming. Interval training is also great at reducing the percentage of body fat. Training in the mornings is also good.
• Resistance (lifting weights): 2 to 3 times per week, aim for 10 to 15 reps and 2 to 4 sets, free weights if advanced or machine weights if you are a beginner. To make this more challenging each week you could try the progressive approach by adding 5 - 10% to your weights. Remember, muscle is a great fat burner..5 of a kilo of muscle burns and extra 30-50 calories or if you really want to be technical 125-209 kilojoules per day - pretty cool huh?
• Flexibility Training: Perform at least 5 to 15 minutes of stretching exercises, simple ones i.e. yoga or Pilates at first unless you are familiar with more complex stretches. Try to do these at the end of each of your workouts.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/bodybuilding-articles/best-abdominal-workout-3832486.html
About the Author








Dean Piazza is the resident personal trainer @ http://www.homegymequipment.com.au. - Australia's Biggest range of Home Gym Equipment at Cheap prices. Dean Is the expert personal trainer on NineMsn, Australia's largest website portal and regularly appears in magazines with his training tips, weight loss comments and fitness equipment reviews.

An overview of affirmations

Affirmations are positive sentences that describe a desired situation, and which are repeated many times, in order to impress the subconscious mind and trigger it into positive action. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the affirmations, they have to be repeated with attention, conviction, interest and desire.

Imagine that you are swimming with your friends in a swimming pool. They swim fifteen rounds, something you have never done before. As you desire the respect of your friends, you want to show them that you can make it too. You start swimming, and at the same time keep repeating in your mind: “I can do it, I can do it…”. You keep thinking and believing that you are going to complete the fifteen rounds. What are you actually doing? You are repeating positive affirmations.

More than often, people repeat in their minds negative sentences and statements concerning the situations and events in their lives, and consequently bring upon themselves undesirable situations. Such sentences and statements work both ways, to build or destroy. It is the way we use them that determines whether they are going to bring good or harmful results.

Affirmations work in the same manner as creative visualization. The repeated words build mental images and scenes in the mind, and help to focus on the aim, object or situation one wants to achieve or create. Frequent repetitions affect the subconscious mind, which in turn reshapes and affects the way one thinks, acts and behaves.

The conscious mind, the mind you think with, starts this process, and then the subconscious mind takes charge. This means that the most frequent thoughts that pass through your mind, ultimately affect your life and your destiny.

Affirmations work like commands that are given to a computer. They influence us, other people, events and circumstances. It might seem strange to you, but they do also influence the people we meet, our circumstances and the events we encounter.

Sometimes they work fast, but more often they need time. Repeating positive affirmations a few minutes, and then thinking negatively, neutralizes the effects of the positive words. You have to refuse negative thoughts, otherwise you will not attain positive results.

We mentally repeat negative statements, without even being aware of the process. We use them when we tell ourselves that we cannot do something, that we are too lazy, or when we believe we are going to fail. The subconscious mind always accepts and follows what we tell it, whether it is good or bad for us, so why not choose only positive statements?


How to Repeat Affirmations
It is advisable to repeat affirmations that are not too long, as they are easier to remember. You can repeat them any-time your mind is not engaged in something in particular, such as while travelling in a bus or a train, waiting in line, walking etc, but do not affirm while driving or crossing a street. You may also repeat them in special sessions of about ten minutes each, several times a day.

There should be no physical, emotional or mental tension while repeating them. The stronger the concentration, the more faith you have in what you are doing, the more feelings you put into the act, the stronger and faster will be the results.

It is very important to choose only positive affirmations. If for example you

desire to lose weight, do not say, “I am not fat, I am losing weight.” By saying this sentence you are repeating to your subconscious mind that you are fat. The word “losing” also evokes negative images. It is better to say, “My body has an athletic form, and weighs the right and healthy weight”. Such words evoke positive images in the mind.

It is important to affirm in the present tense, not the future tense. Saying: “I will be rich”, means that you intend to be rich one day, in the indefinite future. You are actually telling yourself that some day you will be rich, never now. It is better and more effective to say, and also feel, “I am rich now”, and the subconscious mind will work overtime to make this happen now, in the present.

As to results, sometimes they may come fast, and at other times
migjavascript:void(0)ht take more time to manifest. Getting results depends on how much time, energy, faith and feelings you invest in repeating your affirmations, on the strength of your desire and on how big or small is your goal.

By using the power of affirmations you state what you want to be true in your life. You see reality, as you want it to be. For a while, you ignore your current circumstances and your doubts, and concentrate on a different reality.