I’ve built up slowly to the number of repetitions of these exercises that I now do every other day. It is important that you carry out these exercises every other day, since by taking a days break in between it allows the muscles that you’ve broken down to rebuild, only this time they will rebuild stronger.
Ok, so there are currently 5 different exercises that perform and based on my current number of reps, they take me between 20 and 25 minutes.
1. Knees to Chest / Reverse Crunch
For this exercise you lie on your back on the floor and place your arms at your sides, wih your plms facing the floor. Rest your head on the mat and tighten your abdominal muscles.
Position your legs together with your knees bent at 90 degree angles. Lift up your legs until your thighs are perpendicular to the floor.
Keeping your lower back on the floor, slowly lift your buttocks a few inches off the floor so your legs lift up and lift slightly back towards your head.
Pause for a moment and then slowly lower your buttocks back to the starting position.
2. Bridge
Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent. Position your feet flat on the floor, roughly shoulder width apart.
Place your arms at your sides with your palms facing down. Tighten your abdominal muscles.
Slowly lift your buttocks off the mat by pushing through your heels until your body and thighs form a straight line.
Hold the position for about 10 seconds and then slowly lower your buttocks back to the mat.
3. Knees side to side / oblique exercise
Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent. Position your feet flat on the floor, next to each other.
Place your arms on your chest. Tighten your abdominal muscles.
Slowly lower your legs to the left and then back to the center and then down to the right. Make sure that you are using your abdominals to raise your legs back up to the center from either side. Your arms should remain on your chest, so that you cannot use your arms or your shoulders to assist you.
4. Bicycle Legs
Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent. Position your feet flat on the floor, roughly shoulder width apart.
Place your arms at your sides with your palms facing down. Tighten your abdominal muscles so you feel your back being pushed in to the floor.
Slowly lift raise both of your legs off the floor and get them in to a position as if you were riding a bike. You should then effectively ride the bike, the slower you do this exercise the more effective it is in terms of developing your six pack.
Ok, so that’s it. These are the only specific exercises that I perform which are aimed at developing my abdominal muscles and that elusive six pack. So not too difficult to perform and you should start to see the benefit within a matter of weeks.
Remember, you have to also perform some cardiovascular exercise along with these exercises, since this will help to burn the fat surrounding your abdominals. The more the better ! I swim once a week and play squash twice a week. I also walk as often as I can !
If you need any help with the exercises then let me know and I will be happy to help.
