3 Types Of Ab Crunches - Work Your Way To A Nicer Abs

Getting your abs sculpted and fat-free takes more than just discipline with your food intake. Aside from cutting down on desserts, carbohydrate-rich food, soda and alcohol, you need to be overly hardworking in doing your abs routines.

Yes, by overly hardworking, it means doubling your efforts and increasing the intensity of specific exercises that targets the muscles in your abdomen.
To deliver you the maximum results you aspire for, you can try executing these steps.

1. Standard Ab Crunch. You can vary your execution of this routine. Your choices are hanging leg raise, incline bench leg lift and lying floor leg raise.

This is the very standard crunch most men and women can easily do on the floor covered with an exercise mat. After lying flat on the floor, bend your legs with your feet's soles steady on the floor.

Place your arms across your chest touching each other. Slowly bend your waist and lift your shoulders up so that you can sense the crunching sensation in your abdomen.

Once you have raised your upper body, you can lower it back down. Repeating this routine for 5 sets of 16 counts is more effective than just doing one set. If possible, target 200 counts per session to get quicker results.

2. Twisting Crunch. To contract more muscles in your abdomen, you can do this crunch. Lie on the floor with your knees and hips inclined. Place both hands beneath your head and squeeze your waist upward approaching your knees.

Your right or left elbow must at least touch the knees before bring your upper body down. Repeat the exercise but with twists alternately with your left and right elbow.

You can also bring your upper body toward the side as you lift it. In lieu of the floor crunch, you can also do side crunches or make use of abdominal twist equipment or weighted twist ups.

Choose which is most convenient to you. For beginners, you can do 16 repetitions but for a more intense burning effect, you can do 5 sets of 16.

3. Supine Leg Lift Crunch. This doesn't just target the abs but legs and hips as well. Lie down flatly on a bench and stretch your legs and grab the edge above your head for assistance as you lift your legs up.

Lifting must not allow the legs to swing but trigger contraction in your abdomen. After lifting, you can bring your legs down and do repetitions of 16 if you are a neophyte. If you want a more intense one, you can do 5 sets of 16 with 30-second rest in between sets.

Crunches are effective when you do them appropriately at higher repetitions. Tolerate the contraction as you go along so that you can get the perfect abs you desire.