Abdominal Exercise - Doing Stomach Exercises
By Donovan Baldwin

Many of us would like to have a flat stomach. A look at the magazines as you wait in the supermarket checkout line will show you how popular the topic of abdominal exercise is.

It's everybody, it seems. It could be the woman you know who just had a baby, a guy who wants to impress someone, or someone who falls somewhere inbetween. While most have the best of intentions, however, when it comes to building "six pack abs" not as many people will actually find the time, or dedication, to really follow through with what needs to be done in order to see real results. Most, in fact, usually give up.

Hopefully, these ideas can help a person who wants to get a flatter stomach but cannot seem to find the time or energy to do intense stomach exercises.

One problem is pure mathematics, and our modern lifestyle. It seems that for everyone who wants to do stomach exercises, there are just as many, if not more, who would just like to sit and to watch television.

Here's an idea! TV time is a perfect time to do some stomach exercises.

During those all too common commercial breaks, a period often three minutes long or more, or even just at ten minute intervals during the boring parts, if there are no commercials, try getting down on the floor and simply doing as many stomach exercises as possible...or even just a set number.

As with any exercise, if you have not been doing abdominal exercises regularly, it is best to start slowly. Why not make it some sort of a game at first, trying to do at least a few, and trying to get more repetitions in over time? By following this simple plan, you can get on the road to having a flat stomach fast. Even better, this will help your body in several different ways as well.

Think about it.

There is no extra scheduling involved, since for most people, watching television at some point in the day is natural. Therefore no extra time is taken out of the day to do your stomach exercise.

The second thing this strategy helps with is that the human body should not remain motionless for more then thirty minutes anyway. By getting up and doing stomach exercises every few minutes it really boosts up your body's metabolism.

Also, for most abdominal exercises, which will benefit the entire body, there is no real need for any particular exercise equipment.

If the TV time abdominal exercise program does not work for you, another good time is the first thing in the morning.

Try jumping out of bed, not literally of course, and just lie down on the floor and do as many repetitions as possible in a set amount of time, even if it is just two or three minutes. There is a large body (no pun intended) of evidence to suggest that exercising first thing in the morning may be more beneficial in some ways than exercising at other times of the day.

While there seem to be many reasons for this benefit of early morning exercise, one valid reason is that it gets your metabolism going for the day after a night's sleep. Since most people seem to be so concerned about the appearance of their stomach, it makes sense to start the day with a good set of stomach exercise.

One note here. If you are in some sort of weight lifting or other progressive resistance training routine, it's often a better idea to do those exercises in midafternoon. If you would like more exact information on using a weight training program to burn fat, I would recommend you look into "Burn the Fat. Feed the Muscle", by fitness coach Tom Venuto.

Of course, those who are able to dedicate time each day to exercise, their routine should include stomach exercises. There are some reports that say that muscles need time to rest, so only exercise a particular group of muscles every other day, while other reports say that stomach muscles are ok to exercise everyday. Tom Venuto and other prominent fitness trainers recommend the rest period as being important to muscle recovery.

Free Abdominal Training Course
Of course, one simple way to decide when to do stomach exercises, every day or every other day, is simply listen to your body. If the stomach muscles are sore, then rest them. If not, then give them a workout.

TRAINING TIP FOR A FLAT STOMACH FAST:

While we all understand that training the stomach muscles themselves IS an important part of getting that flat stomach you've been looking for, as Tom Venuto points out in Burn the Fat Body Transformation System, abdominal training doesn't have a lot to do with fat loss! While exercise of the abdominal muscles is important, fat loss is the result of proper nutrition and good cardio. In fact, according to Tom, it's entirely possible that you might already have a GREAT set of abs that are just covered up with fat, so people can't see them!"

There are some very good reasons for wanting to develop strong stomach muscles, besides just because you want to look good. Your stomach muscles are the core of your body. If the core is weak, the rest of your body will suffer in strength and power. The good news is that most stomach exercises can be done anywhere with absolutely no machines or gadgets. With a little diligence and some creativity on your part, there are plenty of times throughout the day to sneak in stomach exercises.


About the Author:
---------------------------------------------
Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer residing in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a past member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health, and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, weight lifting, yoga, weight loss, the environment, climate change, happiness, self improvement, and life. His blog on Senior Health and Fitness can be found at http://fitness-after-40.ws.
---------------------------------------------