Best Abdominal Exercises, Transverse Abdominal Exercises
Some of the best abdominal exercises don't require you to lie on the floor, lift or move anything. They're actually exercises you can do sitting in a chair, in the bathroom of your office while on break or driving in your car. Many of these exercises simply involve tightening the stomach muscles. The reason these simple exercises are the best is because they're easy to do and don't require a specific location, workout clothes or time of day. That means you'll have a tendency to do them more often.
More than One Muscle Group
There isn't just one big stomach muscle, there's several. When you work on your abdominal muscles, you need to exercise all muscle groups in order to maintain the balance of those various groups. The four areas to exercise are the transverse abdominal, the internal and external obliques (one type of exercise for both) the upper rectus abdominis and the lower rectus abdominis. You need to exercise each group.
Transverse Abdominal Exercises
This important muscle is often overlooked. It wraps the torso almost like a corset and is located beneath the rib cage. You've used it when you cough or if you pull in your stomach. One method of strengthening this muscle is to do just that, suck in your gut!
If you don't want to look obvious, go into a bathroom stall at work. Put your back to the door of the stall, bend over with your hands on your knees and blow out all the air in your lungs, and then pull in your stomach as hard as you can. Hold your breath and slowly stand up, holding your stomach in as long as possible. Each time you'll find your power to pull in the muscles increases.
Make Your Stomach Muscles Work
Right down the middle of your stomach is the rectus abdominis. It has two regions that require two separate exercises to strengthen, the upper rectus abdominis and the lower rectus abdominis. It starts at the sternum and extends to the pubic bone. It's normally the body's strongest muscle.
Seated Knee Raise for Lower Rectus Abdominis
You can sit in your chair at work to do this one. It's the seated knee raise. It also helps the transverse abdominal muscle. Sit comfortable on your chair with your feet flat against the floor. You'll need to keep your back straight and against the back of the chair during the entire time you do the exercise. Inhale, focus on your right knee and lift up you knee lifting your foot off the floor about three to four inches. Hold it for a count of four and slowly lower it back to the floor. Repeat it 10 times and then do the same on the other side. Do this 3 times through out the day. Work up to holding your foot off the floor longer and doing more reps.
Reclining Exercise for Upper Rectus Abdominis
This is a seated reclining exercise. Place your bottom toward the front of your chair. Cross your arms across your chest and your feet flat on the floor. Slowly lean backward as far as you can, keeping your arms crossed and your back straight. If contact the back of the chair, that's find. Hold in that position for three counts and then slowly lift your body into normal sitting position. Do between five to ten reps at first and work up to 15.
Seated Rotations for the Internal and External Obliques
These muscles are down the sides with the external being on the outside and the internal obliques on the inside, next to them.
Seated rotations are simply moving your upper trunk from side to side while seated. Keep your feet flat on the floor in front of you and twist your chair without moving your feet. You can do the same thing standing and it's called a windmill. It's very relaxing. You extend your arms and twist from side to side. You also can bend at the side with your arms in the air and attempt to touch the ground on the other side of your body with the opposite hand. (You won't do it or if you do, find a job at the circus because you're astounding!)
Related Searches
Please Note
All the Information within this site is for reference only with no guarantee of accuracy; it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. Statements about the products efficacy have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
It is important to emphasize that you should not reject mainstream medical attention and guidance and the use of recommended products, treatments, and remedies for individual disorder should be approved and monitored by your health care provider. See disclaimer for more!
