The Most Powerful
Abdominal Exercises
The most effective abdominal exercises which, you’ll ever need are: bicycles exercises, captain’s chair exercises and Swiss ball exercises.
These three are infinitely sufficient. You do not need any additional abs exercises; in order to develop a flat stomach.
However, here is the catch! Read, re-read and re-re-read because your efforts will be utterly wasted if you fail to understand this scientifically proven fact.
If you are overweight, no amount of abdominal exercises will give you a flat stomach.
What is overweight?
You are;
Underweight if your BMI is less than 18.5,
Normal weight if your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9,
Overweight if your BMI is between 25 and 29.9,
Obese if your BMI is above 30.
BMI stands for Body Mass Index.
BMI is height / weight. You obviously know your height. Get a scale and weigh yourself. Then divide your height by your weight to find out your BMI.
If you are overweight, you can forget about developing your six-pack abs or a flat tummy.
It is IMPOSSIBLE.
You must get into normal weight first.
Then, you stand a chance of developing a set of chiseled-out abs, so ripped, they could deflect arrows.
What is the fastest way of getting into the right BMI i.e. between 18.5 and 24.9?
The answer is simple: EXPLOSIVE CARDIO.
These days, you can’t blink without some expert or fitness guru telling you his secret formula. There is no secret formula. There is no magic diet out there. There are no super fruits that can replace the simplest truth possible.
If you are overweight, there is only one way to attain normal weight: EXPEND MORE CALORIES THAN YOU CONSUME. And nothing burns more calories than intense cardio.
When I say INTENSE cardio, I mean just that.
You’ve got to get your heart banging against your chest with the violence of King Kong, raging to tear out.
You either can or you can’t.
Nobody ever said it was going to be easy.
If it were easy, everybody who wished for it would have a flat stomach. But it is not easy.
It takes hard work. And the willingness to supply the effort is 80% mental.
I’ll show you the ultimate cardio workouts in a different post.
This post is focused on the top three abdominal exercises.
#1 Bicycle Flat
Stomach Exercises
Back in the 1990s, Professor Peter Francis conducted extensive research aimed at determining the ultimate abdominal exercises. The ACE (American Council on Exercises) commissioned study was conducted at the Biomechanics Lab in San Diego State University.
The findings established bicycles abs exercises as the most effective for targeting the rectus abdominus and the oblique muscles.
There are 3 abdominal muscles:
the rectus abdominus,
the oblique muscles
and
the transversus abdominus.
Pay no attention to the transversus abdominus. Take care of the rectal and oblique muscles and the transversus abdominus will tighten itself up.
The rectus abdominus are in front. They run vertically from your diaphragm to your hips. There isn’t a more potent exercise, to rip those rectal muscles, than the bicycle abs workout.
How to perform the Bicycle exercises
1) Spread out your mat. Lie down, facing the ceiling. Bring both hands behind your head and touch your fingers slightly.
2) Bring in your left knee towards your chest and simultaneously raise your torso, till your right elbow touches your left knee. Make sure you raise your torso by contracting your abs muscles.
3) Now alternate by bringing in your right elbow and contracting your left knee towards your chest.
How do you know, you are doing it rightly? You are right on the money, if it hurts.
4) Do three sets of 10reps. Add 5reps per week till you can do 50reps in 3sets.
First Rule of Fitness:
NO PAIN,
NO GAIN.
After a few weeks of doing 50reps in 3sets, it will cease to hurt.
When you no longer feel pain, it is time to learn a different variant of the bicycles abs exercise.
#2 Captain’s Chair (Power Tower) Flat Stomach Exercises
The second most effective exercise for the rectal muscles is the Captain’s chair (power tower or knee raise station) exercises. The Captain’s chair is the most powerful exercise for the oblique muscles.
Your oblique muscles are found on both sides of your belly.
Your oblique muscles are besieged by the most stubborn layer of fat. They are the hardest to get rid of.
I have met girls who do 500 sit-ups per set but still have floppy waistlines. These are the girls, who neglect their oblique muscles.
You know those generals who won several battles but lost the war.
They lost the war because they were crushed by the last critical battle.
For you, the battleground is going to be your oblique muscles.
You need a Captain’s Chair to perform the captain’s chair exercise.
There is no way around it.
You can either go to the gym or buy a Captain’s chair from your local store.
You can also order online from Amazon stores.
How To Perform the Captain’s Chair
Flat Stomach Exercises
1) Position yourself on the Captain’s chair. Straighten your back against the backrest and grip the handholds firmly.
2) Raise your knees towards your chest, using exclusively your abdominal muscles.
Do not raise your knees, using the momentum generated by the swing of your legs. You will be tempted to do precisely that. If you give in to this temptation, you would be cheating yourself. It is better for you to remain on the couch, than to do nonsense at the gym.
Train hard or stay home!
In the gym, pain is an obligatory drug.
3) Slowly lower your knees, enjoying that sweet pain.
Focus your mind on the pangs of excruciating pain, rippling through your abs and frying off those layers of fat.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger describes that pain as ecstatic.
4) Do 5reps in 3sets. Add 5reps every week, till you hit 30reps in 3sets.
After a few weeks of doing 30reps in 3sets, it will stop hurt. Whenever you no longer feel pain, it is time to adopt a new variant of the Captain’s chair exercise.
#3 Swiss Ball Crunch
Flat Stomach Exercises
Swiss ball (exercise ball) crunches are the third most effective rectal muscles exercise.
Ball crunches engage a vast network of muscles because you have to stabilize yourself.
How to Perform Ball Crunches
1) Place the Swiss ball under your lower back and bring both hands behind your head.
2) Contract your abs downwards, pulling your ribcage towards your hips.
3) Stretch back up, relaxing your abs. It’s the classic crunch, except that you have the additional challenge of stabilizing yourself on the ball.
4) Start by doing 10reps per set. Increase the reps each week till you are doing 30reps in 3sets.
Pain is like a capricious partner.
When pain threatens to leave, adopt a different variant of the Swiss ball crunch to bring back the pain.
Pain is a necessity. Its absence is an indication that, you are not burning fat.
Keep going, by the time 90days are over, others will be asking you how to get a flat stomach.
