Exercise

I’m a stickler for exercise form in my weight loss client’s workouts. In fact, some of my clients think that I take exercise form too seriously.

But you can’t fool around with exercise form. You must do each rep of each exercise with the best form you possible – even when you are tired and struggling to get through the set (that’s where the real benefits are achieved!).

So you must go through the safe, full range of motion to get the most out of the exercise. By doing so, you will get more out of the exercise. And more work equals more results.

That’s not hard to see, is it? I mean, if you go for full depth and perfect form on a squat or split squat or dumbbell press, we all know that is harder and takes more energy than to use poor form or to do only half the range of motion.

If you do an exercise with picture perfect form that means you’ve also done the exercise in its most difficult form. And that means you will gain the most muscle and lose the most fat when the exercise is done to its full capacity.

Poor form is often lazy form – its the easy way out – and this will not get you the results you need.

On the other hand, if your mobility (a better training term than flexibility) prevents you from doing the exercise, then you are best to work on your mobility with bodyweight exercises, such as the Spiderman Climb, Spiderman Pushup, Y-Squat, and the other metabolism boosting strength training bodyweight exercises.

By improving your mobility, you’ll be able to do the Single-Leg Reaching Lunge with perfect form (i.e. lots of depth while maintaining a slight arch in your lower back).

I’ve added the Single-Leg Reaching Lunge to the bodyweight page…just scroll down to the exercises here.

Remember that all exercises should be done with your abs braced (as if someone was going to punch you in the stomach) and your low-back slightly arched, but never, ever rounded.

Train safely, train consistently, and train successfully for weight loss.

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Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked fat loss exercise programs have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. Craig Balantine’s fat loss workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Craig’s bodyweight exercises for fat loss help you lose fat without any equipment at all.

Depending on the type of abdominal exercise you choose to undertake, there may be some considerations to keep in mind to ensure you do not do damage to any other areas of your body.

If your select an abdominal exercise that requires the hands to be positioned behind the head or neck, be sure you do not push your head forward in the event that you are required to lift your torso. Pushing on your head will result in strain on the muscles in the neck and may cause damage to them.

As there is a natural tendency to push the head forward with the hands, you will have to remain aware in order to prevent yourself from doing so.

Whilst bending your body, only go as far as you are comfortable. Do not try to go any further than this as you will only put strain on various parts of your body.

Some abdominal exercises may not be suitable for people suffering from osteoporosis. If you happen to suffer from this condition, be sure to check with your doctor to determine the exercises that will be most appropriate for you.

Before commencing on a new exercise regimen, it is always important to consult your doctor to ensure the suggested changes are appropriate for your health situation. This is particularly relevant in the event that a person suffers from any medical conditions.

When using weights during exercise, it is important to remember to start with small weights and to gradually work up form here. Do not begin lifting the largest or heaviest weights straight away. Gradually build the weight up.

Abdominal injuries can be particularly stressful on the back, for this reason, anyone who may suffer from a back injury or has a history of back pain should be particularly careful when carrying out abdominal strengthening activities. This will prevent you from injuring yourself further or from exacerbating any existing back injuries. Remember to stretch both before and after exercises to prevent further injury from occurring.

Many people often ask as to the effectiveness of machines targeted at strengthening the abdominal muscles. Whilst these may be somewhat effective, they are still only doing the same job that the aforementioned abdominal strengthening exercises can do. These machines will also do little to help you actually lose weight- remember weight loss is an important part of obtaining a six pack. Why not save yourself the money and do the exercises as opposed to buying the expensive machine?

Sit ups are generally not recommended by doctors as they are potentially bad for the back. It is recommended that crunches be used as an alternative for sit ups. Another alternative is to lie flat on the floor with your legs extending straight up, and slowly raising your hips off the ground. Upon lowering your body, do not let your hips touch the ground, rather, hold them slightly raised and continue the process for twelve to sixteen repetitions.

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One good and different ab exercise is not so well known. Everyone who tries to get a flatter stomach should know it, it is abdominal vacuum. Although name would suggest that there were some kind of vacuum or pump involved, that is no the case. The stomach vacuum is an contraction where we tense our muscles without moving them, also called an isometric contraction. It is done to your transversus abdominus. This is one of the better exercises which really effect on your waistline and gets it shrinking. This exercise also helps you to get more control over your abs. Maybe a hard exercise when starting out, but really effective.

Stomach vacuums are easy to execute, just stand straight and place your hands on your hips and exhale all the air out of your lungs and I mean completely empty. Then expand your chest and bring your stomach in as much as you can and hold it there. Think it this way, you are trying to touch your backbone with your navel. One of these contractions is one repetition. Target amount of contraction time is 60 seconds. You should do this exercise regularly, 3 – 4 times a week, 3 sets in one workout. In this exercise there are also many different variations like standing, kneeling, seated and lying versions.

Stomach vacuums are a nice addition to anyone’s workout if your regular ab exercises doesn’t seem hard enough any more. It suits anyone from beginner to more experienced exerciser and by varying the time contracting you can get the exercise more challenging.

You can’t get six pack ab just by doing this abdominal exercise, but it is one piece of the puzzle for sure!

Author of this article and sites such as Get your butt bigger and has over 15 years of experience in different sports, including 7 years of martial-arts and over 10 years of weightlifting.