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Fitness Guide
The Best Ab Exercises
Abdominal fitness is all the rage these days and we all long not only to rid ourselves of that "tummy" but also to have the perfect "six pack". But what are the best ab exercises?
I think that most people would agree that carrying a little bit of excess weight here and there does not look too bad but, when that weight starts to hang down over your belt, it is time for some abdominal fitness.
Of course there is more to reducing your waistline than just how you look. It is well known that being overweight is a key factor in such conditions as diabetes and, more importantly, that it is weight around your middle that is especially a trigger for this disease.
So, how do you go about trimming that tummy?
Assuming that you have already cut down on the beer and adjusted your diet, then the next step is to look at an exercise plan aimed particularly, but not exclusively, at your waistline.
In its simplest form this can a regular daily (or better still twice daily) series of exercises which you can carry out in the comfort of your own home and without any equipment at all.
Before embarking on such a plan though you should seek professional advice and a quick course at your local gym for a couple of weeks will provide you with a plan that you can adapt for home use which will both produce results and prevent injury.
An alternative is to use one of the many items of abdominal exercise equipment available today. At the cheaper end of the scale these are generally of little real value, but there are some excellent training aids available today at a reasonable price and which, in many cases, can be delivered right to your door.
Some form of exercise should be part of everyone's daily routine and while you should work on a range of fitness exercises including abdominal fitness in your routine is a great idea.
Anaerobic threshold: The physiological point during exercise at which the muscles start using more oxygen than the body can transport, and as a result, the work of the muscles starts producing more lactic acid than the body can process.
Kilocalorie (kcal): A measure of the energy value in food and physical activity. "Kilocalorie" is the more accurate term for the commonly used abbreviation "calorie." 1 kilocalorie (kcal) = 1 Calorie (Cal) = 1000 calories (cal) To convert kcal to kilojoules (kJ), multiply the kcal value by 4.2.
Polar Fitness Test: A fitness test that measures a person's aerobic/cardiovascular fitness at rest in just five minutes. The result, Polar OwnIndex, predicts the person's maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max).
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