Ab Exercises

6 Best Ab Exercises For Ripped Abs

Here's the 6 best ab exercises for ripped abs:

1. Crunches.

While crunches have their critics, this basic exercise when done properly can be highly effective for developing your upper abs. The upper abs are fairly easy to get ripped, and the convenience and ease of crunches makes this one of the 6 best ab exercises.

2. Leg Raises.

The most stubborn part of the stomach to define are the lower abs. This is where leg raises come in. They specifically work those lower abs. By doing leg raises you isolate and work the lower portion while not allowing the upper abs to assist in doing any of the work.

3. Side Crunches.

There are different variations to side crunches, but once you get comfortable with the variation that works for you, your obliques (side abdominal muscles) will be on their way to getting ripped.

4. Hanging Knee Raises.

These are great for working your lower and side oblique muscles and are a great variation to standard on the floor abdominal exercises.

5. Elbow to Knee Crunches.

These are great because you are working your upper and lower abs at the same time. Plus it's very easy to do, simply crunching up with your hands behind your head and elbows extended straight, while simultaneously bringing your knees toward you body to touch the elbows.

6. Twisted Elbow to Knee Crunches.

Out of the 6 best ab exercises, this one's my favorite and one of the most effective ever. Because you are doing a traditional crunch, and bringing your knees toward you to touch with your elbows you are working both your upper and lower abs. Now, throw a twist into the mix (twist to touch your elbow to the opposite knee) you are also employing your oblique muscles, making this an all around ab exercise, perfect for those with limited time, wanting to get a good exercise in to work the abs.

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How To Tone Your Lower Chest

How To Tone Your Lower Chest Using 2 Simple Exercises

If you want to get a bigger chest one of the best ways to do so is by learning how to tone your lower chest as opposed to working on another portion of this muscle group. Although you may not have heard this tip before it is very effective in bringing out definition in the chest area.

The chest muscle group is divided in the following manner: top chest, middle and lower chest. Often times guys focus on either the middle or sometimes the upper chest to bring out definition and develop it to its potential.

The Bottom Heavy Myth

In weightlifting there is a myth that working on the lower chest will create a "bottom heavy pecs." The belief is that as more muscle is developed in the lower chest gravity will eventually cause the pecs to hang lower. I do not agree entirely with this belief if you are working the chest area properly.

The Proper Way To Work The Chest

In order for the pecs to look their best they have to be exercised from each angle as mentioned earlier. Simply choose exercises that will target each area of the pecs. Because of the fear of getting bottom heavy pecs many guys will ignore the lower part of the pec area.

The Best Exercises For The Lower Chest 

Dips: Perform dips using your body weight. As you lower your body keep your chin tucked in and touching your upper chest. This tweak will force the lower chest to become more involved.

Decline Bench Press: Use dumbbells or a barbell when performing this exercise. When bringing the weight down do not over stretch the muscle. For best results have the arms form a 90-degree angle at the lowest point.

Simply adding these two exercises will help you tone your lower chest. Include these exercises along with exercises that target the middle and upper chest and you will have great definition in your pecs.

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Building Muscle Quickly

Dumbbells - Building Muscle Quickly and Conveniently

One of the best ways to build muscle both conveniently and quickly are with a pair of dumbbells. It really doesn't get more simple, and more effective than this. Here's why building muscles strictly with dumbbells is ideal:

1. You get to perform free weight exercises in your own home.

Most everyone agrees that free weights are the most effective way to build solid muscle. There are all kinds of machines and contraptions out there, yet none of them are as effective as good old free weights.

Typically you would need to join a gym or else outfit your whole garage with a ton of free weights, bars, benches and equipment. But there is an easier and much cheaper way to get a good, solid free weight workout in. Dumbbells. There are a ton of dumbbell exercises out there which are excellent alternatives for the traditional barbell exercises, and some much more effective anyway.

2. Convenience, Space, and Saving a ton of money.

This is the huge advantage to dumbbell workouts. The number one reason people fail at working out is their lack of consistency due to having to go all the way to the gym. They remain in the groove for a short spell, but then once they miss a workout, they'll miss another, and another and before they know it they are back to square one.

But what if you literally had a pair of dumbbells at your feet, ready to go at your convenience. The excuses become greatly reduced. You'll definitely be more inclined to stick with a program and see good, solid results much quicker.

Saving money is another huge advantage. No expensive gym memberships, no expensive at home gym contraptions; just a pair of dumbbells with interchangeable weights, and a fold up bench can be optional.

3. Easy to Learn Exercises.

Dumbbell exercises are great because they are simple, straight forward and easy to learn. There are excellent guides available which will outline all the effective dumbbell exercises, showing you exactly how to perform them safely and effectively.

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Gain Muscle And Get Lean!

The ultimate athletic physique is one which carries muscle, yet at the same time remains lean. You can gain muscle and get leaner at the same time by doing the following:

1. Lift weights heavy and hard for muscle gain

Gaining muscle in the quickest way possible is going to require lifting weights for repetitions in the 6-8 range. You want to find a weight which is heavy enough where you can only perform between 6-8 reps and no more. This rep range is the best for fast muscle gain. Of course you want to make sure your form is good and you are not sacrificing safety.

2. Do cardiovascular work throughout the week.

In order to get lean you are going to have to do at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise, 3-4 times a weeks. This will burn off the fat, and keep it off. The key is not doing cardo too hard or too often. This would interfere with your muscle gains.

For example, you will see individuals who work out in the gym, but also do heavy running. Their physique seldom changes, and they never seem to gain any substantial muscle. Most of their hard work lifting weights becomes null and void for muscle gains due to their strenuous running routine which breaks down the muscle rather than rebuilding it.

3. Watch your carbohydrate intake.

As far as diet, you will have to watch what you eat and not consume junk food continuously. But beyond that what you really should focus on is cutting out those heavy carbohydrates like breads and pastas. These add a ton of calories to your diet and definitely won't get you lean, rather they'll add fat and all your hard cardiovascular exercise work won't get you lean if you keep consuming heavy carb foods.

An easy route to take to accomplish all of the above is simply getting on a muscle building program which promotes more muscular development while at the same time gets you lean and athletic looking.

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Gain Muscle Mass

Gain Muscle Mass The Easy Way - Discover Secret Killer Tips To Gain Muscle Mass

Whilst many people want to lose weight because they are fat or obese, some people have the reverse pattern -- seemingly no matter what they do, they cannot gain muscle mass. Often, such people feel that they are eating a lot but still not gaining any pounds. Before we discuss the killer tips, let's quickly examine why some people cannot gain any weight.

Let me tell you straight away that is has very little to do with metabolism. A slow metabolism is an often quoted excuse by overweight people. In reality, metabloic rates do not vary much from person to person unless someone has a serious medical condition. Both you and I derive similar amounts of energy from the same food. One person cannot be twice as effective at getting food from energy as his neighbor!

If you are having trouble gaining weight then you are either not eating enough or you are expending too many calories. Perhaps you walk really fast all the time. Perhaps you are taller than your peers. Perhaps you do more exercise than you think. You must take in more energy (through food) than you burn (through exercise and simply existing). If you do not, you will maintain or lose weight.

Secondly, let's assume that you satisfy the above condition. Now, there are two ways of gaining weight. Either your body fat increases and/or you gain muscle mass. Obviously, you do not want to become fat, especially if you have recently lost a lot of weight. These killer tips will show you how to ensure that you gain muscle mass and no or a little amount of fat.

Use free weights rather than machines. Because you can obtain a much wider range of motion and because free weights use several muscle groups and not just single isolated muscles, you can gain muscle mass, more so that using a machine.

Work out to your limit. Don't perform twenty reps per set. This is too many and means that you weren't using enough weight! Ideally, aim for about eight to twelve reps per set. Too few reps will mean that you rest too much compared to working out. This is also ineffective if you wish to gain muscle mass.

Protein is key to gaining muscle mass. Avoid junk food. If you eat more than your body needs but fill it with junk food, you will only get fatter and not gain any muscle mass. Instead, eat plenty of proteins and good fats such as those you get from fish. Avoid eating too many carbs as these are not useful when you wish to gain muscle mass.

Lastly, keep your body thinking and vary your routine. If you do the same routine for weeks on end, your body will just get used to it and lose the ability to gain muscle mass. Instead, you should vary the workout by trying new workouts on the same muscle groups and performing them in different orders. Your body will eventually adjust again but you can mix it up once more.

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