8 Best Ab Workouts For Men to Do at Home

8 Best Ab Workouts For Men to Do at Home

If there is one area of their body that most people are discontent with, it’s their abdomen. If there is one area of the body people want to change for better, again, it’s their abdomen. If there is one area of body that proves to be a tough challenge to trim and train, then, once again, it’s the abdomen.

We come across picturesque bodies in the media – be it the newspaper, the magazines, the movies and even around us. Looking at those picturesque figures gives us a sense of abasement and despair as those bodies appear unattainable to us.

The abdominal region, commonly called as the ‘belly’ when in it’s healthy measurements and ‘pot belly’ or ‘beer belly’ when in it’s not so healthy measurements- is the area of the body that lies between the chest and pelvis. Abdominal region is the residence of the entire digestive system, the kidney, and some vital blood vessels.

The pot belly is termed as ‘clinical obesity’ or ‘abdominal obesity’ by the clinicians. It refers to excess flab that exists around the mid section. Clinical obesity takes place when the amount of fat has crossed its healthy limits, and is capable of causing a negative impact on your overall health. Men having a waist circumference of 40 inches and above, and women having that of 35 inches and above – this article is something of your concern!

A hunky set of abs is desired by men for aesthetic reasons, but getting rid of abdominal fat is more important than to just achieve a suave frame. Abdominal obesity is linked with increased risk of cardiovascular disorders and insulin resistance leading to Type 2 diabetes. Roughly speaking, every third or fourth person we know is affected by either cardiovascular disorders or Type 2 diabetes, so we can estimate how healthy the belly measurements of most of us are!

Reducing belly fat proves to be a devil of a job for most of us and leaves us in a fix. It gets even more difficult because the efforts are not channelized in the right direction.

Here are what Should be the Basic Concerns to Trim the Midriff

Cutting Down Fats:

The belly fat comprises of both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat is the one that is found directly under your skin and is primarily accumulated in the lower body – thighs and buttocks.

The visceral fat is that fat which wraps the inner organs. Having a beer belly is a sign of excess visceral fat.

Excess visceral fat causes more serious health risks than subcutaneous fat. Having said that, it is reasonable to say that belly fat is the worst of all fats.

Keep a distance from trans fat and saturated fats – they will load your body with belly fat. Replace them with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Foods that are high on unsaturated fats reduce cholesterol levels.

A good source of unsaturated fat lies inside that one gift that you never fail to receive every Diwali – a gift box of dry fruits! Almonds, pistachio, cashews!

Olives, avocados, walnuts, seeds of flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and oils such as corn, olive, soybean, canola, peanut and sesame make up the other sources.

Strict Muscle Building Diet

Omit, or at least reduce foods that are high on saturated fat and sugar. Cut down on all processed food and switch to food with high protein and fiber content. To build muscles, your Ideal intake of protein should be approximately 1 and 1.5 times your body weight in grams of protein.

Some of the well known foods that will hike up your muscle build-up are eggs, chickpeas, nut, lean meat, soy protein, fish, –especially salmon, and milk, yoghurt and cheese for the dairy food lovers.

Consume as many as sources of ‘complete proteins’, which are those proteins that contain all the essential amino acids in right proportions. Animal and fish products are the sources. Vegetarians will find themselves compromising on complete proteins. However, they can make an increase in grains, legumes, nuts and corns, which will give them incomplete proteins – proteins which contain not all, but some of the essential amino acids.

When you have increased muscle mass, it makes your body burn more fat. More muscles = more calories busted.

Best ab Workouts For Men

An ideal abdominal workout comprises of combination of cardio, weight training and core strengthening exercises. Doing any of these solely will not help as much as doing them in combination will.

A crucial component of ab training is to engage the core. This is done by holding the abdominal muscles tight and firm. Note that it isn’t the same as holding your breath. A beginner might find himself holding his breath unintentionally while attempting to hold in the abs.

Keep your body loose and begin with concentrating solely on your abdomen. Draw in your ab muscles tightly, then continue to inhale and exhale as normal without letting go of the tension in your abs throughout the workout.

Most of the best ab workouts for men come under core muscle workouts. Core exercises involve not only your ab muscles but also the muscles of your lower back, hips and pelvis.

Working Out at Home

Health is a basic amenity that forms the nucleus of one’s life. It should not heavily depend upon expensive gym apparatus or the inability to set aside fees for the gym. If you’re aiming for an abdominal workout, you can breathe a sigh of relief. for you need not to step inside a gym for it. A helpful feature of performing core exercises is that it doesn’t require anything but an exercise mat and a good pair of workout shoes. And, resilience!

Some of the best ab workouts for men. Use them to your advantage!

Perfect Crunch

STEPS :

• Lie down on your back, with your knees at hip distance and bent at 45 degrees.
• Your head should be a few centimeters above the ground. Your chin should be tucked close to your collar bone. Avoid arching your neck too much.
• Your feet should be placed flat on the ground and close to each other.
• Your hands may be placed behind your head or crossed over your chest.
• Engage your core muscles.
• While keeping your core held taut, curl your upper body from the strength of shoulder and upper back. Hold in this position to a count of two.
• From there, lower your body to the starting position.
• Inhale while lowering your body, exhale while curling up your body.
• Repeat.

Hip Raises

STEPS :

• Lie down on your back, with your knees at hip distance and bent at 75 degrees.
• Your head should rest on the floor.
• Your feet should be placed flat on the ground, at a hip distance.
• Keep your hands at the side or placed on your abs.
• Engage your core and tighten your glutes.
• Lift your hips off the ground, so your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, forming a ‘bridge’.
• Make sure that you dominantly use your glute muscle to lift your body into a bridge.
• Hold in this position for a few seconds. You may start with a couple of seconds and increase the duration gradually.
• From there, lower your body to the starting position.
• Repeat.

These are some of the most easiest and best ab workouts for men looking to shed that abdominal weight and get in shape. Read on for more variety…

Leg Throw Downs

STEPS :

• Lie down on your back with your legs stretched out straight.
• Have your fitness buddy stand with his legs shoulder width apart, such that your head falls in between his feet.
• You can place your hands below your hips to support your pelvis.
• Hold your fitness buddy’s ankles with your hands for balance and support.
• Engage your core. Continue to breathe.
• Begin with bending your knees, then, raise your legs up – towards your partner’s direction.
• Here comes your partner’s role : He throws back your legs down, from where you lift the legs back again. The prime idea is to resist the force of the push.
• Do not let the feet touch the ground as your partner pushes them.
• Repeat.

To achieve toned obliques, your buddy must push you at about a 45 degree angle.

Plank Hold

STEPS :

• Begin by positioning yourself in the push-up position.
• From there, place your forearms on the ground in such a way that they are aligned in a 90 degree angle with respect to your shoulders. Make sure your elbows are placed just beneath your shoulders.
• Form your hands into a fist and position them firmly on the ground for stability.
• Engage your core, and squeeze your glutes.
• Your body should be positioned linearly.

The target is to keep yourself in this position for as long as your body and mind allows. If you’re a novice, begin with 30 seconds and progress gradually.

Roll Backs

STEPS :

• Sit on the mat. Your knees should be slightly bent, your feet slightly apart and your heels close to your buttocks.
• Lean back, then push yourself to lean forward. Continue from there to make a jump by pushing your body from your heels and land in a squatting position.
• Rollback and repeat.

Toe Touch

STEPS :

• Lie down on your back or sit on your tailbone.
• Both your legs and arms should be stretched out. Your legs should be placed close.
• First, raise your legs up in the air, with a slight bend at the knees.
• With your arms stretched out, try to reach out to touch the toes.
• Exhale while reaching out to touch the toes.
• Draw in your body after touching your toes. Inhale while doing this.
• Repeat

Inch Worm

STEPS :

• Stand with your feet hip width apart.
• Bend down and touch your palms on the floor. Start with the closest distance to your feet.
• While engaging your core, start walking with your hands. Do not take extremely long steps with your hands.
• Continue this until your body is supporting itself on all the four limbs and your body is aligned linearly.
• Stay in this position for a couple of seconds.
• Keep your hands and arms stationary and walk your legs towards them.
• Repeat.

This is one a funny yet, one of the best ab workouts for men!

Scissors Kick

STEPS :

• Lie down on your back. Your legs should be stretched out. You can place your hands below your hips so as to provide support to pelvis. If your arms are placed at the sides, make sure to keep them static.
• Engage your core muscles and continue to breathe evenly.
• Start with elevating both your legs some inches from the ground.
• From there, lift one of the legs up while lowering the other ; similar to the movement of the blades of a scissor.
• Keep both the feet elevated and do not put them down on the ground.
• Switch movements and repeat.

Performing an ab workout will tighten and strengthen your muscles. Combining these abdominal workouts with high intensity cardiovascular exercises will aid you in cutting down all the unwanted flab around your waist.

3 days a week, 6-12 repetitions each. With this, you save yourself from the compulsion to hide yourself in baggy t-shirts, besides saving yourself from a long list of health risks.

These best ab workouts for men will definitely make you more confident and improve the way you feel about yourself as they give results!

Original article and pictures take urbanwired.com site