Friday, December 19, 2008

Exercises For Ripped Abs

By Jose Loni

The formula for ripped abs has always been an elusive goal to many. The picture of ripped abs symbolizes strength, sex appeal, fitness and healthy living. The formula for ripped abs can be accomplished by monitoring our diet, interval/resistance training and the reduction of stress in our lives.

Having ripped abs means, we need to reduce our body's fat levels. When we decrease our overall body fat, then our abs will appear ripped because they will be more visible.

One of the factors involved in getting ripped abs is watching what we eat. We should eliminate processed foods, fast foods, sodas, and avoid refined carbohydrates like white sugar and white flour. We should avoid fad diets and consume foods that are balanced with fruits, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The frequency of our meals will help stabilize our body's energy and help optimize our workouts and burn fat. Ideally we should eat 5-6 times throughout the day.

Interval training and resistance training have been very effective in ripping the abs. Interval training has been shown to increase metabolic processes in the body to allow for very efficient fat burning and produce results in the least amount of time.

Examples of interval training are: speed rope jumping, hill sprints, wind sprints and swimming sprints. Interval training can also be done on treadmills, stair climbers and rowing machines.

Resistance training on the other hand, sculpts our bodies, which not only defines the parts that we train, but also complements our ripped abs. Focus on multi-joint exercises to help burn fat throughout our bodies and aim for low repetition resistance sets of 8 repetitions per exercise, this has been shown to boost metabolism after the exercise session.

Lunges, squats, chin-ups, step-ups, dead lifts and rows are all examples of multi-joint exercises.

Getting the body's systems to utilize resistance and interval training has been shown to result in increases in the body's fat burning capabilities. Moreover, the body continues to burn fat and calories up to several hours after the workout.

Stress management is also a major factor in the formula for ripped abs. By managing our stress levels, we can decrease the presence of the Cortisol hormone, which promotes storage of fat in our abdomen. We can utilize, deep breathing techniques and activities that will help us cope and manage our stress levels.

Stress management exercises for ripped abs include: tai chi, meditation, yoga and deep breathing.

Our ripped abs formula of diet, interval/resistance training and stress reduction is an effective way to affect how our abs look. By following this formula, you can achieve your goal and have ripped abs, which will result in your feeling strong and healthy. - 16463

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