Abs Work: Rotating Plank Twists

As I always say, when you work the abs, work as many of the abs muscles as possible. The muscles that help give you that definition in the sides of your waist are called the obliques. Several movements that involve rotation and twisting help work the obliques. I tried out this one where you incorporate the plank, but you twist out your waist as well. Want to try it?

All you need to do is to start in an elbow plank looking down. Keeping your upper body straight, slowly rotate your lower body into a twist (like you would do for a side plank) so your waist is kind of wrung out. i.e. the torso is facing downward and the legs are facing one side. Return to center, and then rotate to the other side. 

Confusing? Watch the video below for a demonstration.

Try out 4 sets of 10 on each side to really feel it in your abs.

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Get your Obliques Working

Anyone who consistently works his/her abs muscles knows that you have to hit multiple muscle groups within that region and this cannot be achieved by doing just sit-ups. The sides of the abs (the obliques) are very crucial to getting that shape right and getting the strength you need in your ab region. Here are a couple of exercises to really help build those oblique muscles:

This exercise works the biceps and obliques and even gets a bit of leg in there:

This exercise focuses a lot on the obliques and the upper body as well:

Try both for 3 sets of 10 on each side.

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Abs: Standing Twists

People tend to forget a lot of muscles when they work the abs. The obliques are pretty important when trying to get some definition in your abs. 

The up-down movement of the sit-up shouldn't be your only abs strength training. Twist from your midsection and look to the left and the right as you turn. See the video below for a demonstration.

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Abs and Legs: Oblique Squats

Work multiple muscles by doing this simple exercise. It does involve some good form and focus though. I like to call them oblique squats as they work your obliques (sides of the abs), glutes (bum), and quads (thighs). How do you do them?

• Sit very low in a wide squat. Try to keep your knees over your ankles so your hips are square.
• Tighten your pelvis so your bum is really working.
• Tighten your abs and keep your upper body upright.
• With your palms behind your head, bend your waist to the right side until your right elbow touches your right knee. Make sure you are bending just from your waist and keeping your abs tight!
• Come back to the starting position and repeat on the left side.

Watch the video below for a demonstration.

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Dumbbell February: Dumbbell Side Planks

As you probably know, abs are more than just the front of your midsection, and strength training for abs is more than just crunches. Side planks are a great way to work your core strength, especially your obliques (side of your abs). Let's incorporate more tension in the side plank like we've been doing all month by adding in some dumbbells.

Dumbbell February: Lunge Twists

Want to work your thighs and your core at the same time? Try lunge twists with a dumbbell. 

• Simply start in a standing position holding out a dumbbell in front of you. 
• Step one foot forward. 
• Bend both knees to about a 90 degree angle with your front knee not going beyond your front toes. 
• Then twist your upper body from your waist to face the side of the front knee. You should really feel it in your obliques. 
• Step back and repeat on the other side.

Do the whole rep 10 times on each side, and repeat it for 3 sets.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Dumbbell February: Russian Twists

Use dumbbells to work your obliques. How? Russian twists! Start seated with your knees angled and your heels on the floor (like in option 2 in the image above). Extend the dumbbell in front of you and slowly twist from side to side (twist from your waist, not your neck). As you twist to one side look at that side as well. Repeat 10 times on each side, and do that for 3 sets.

To work your core even more, lift your feet up like in option 1 in the image above. This is harder so try to hold it a little longer every time you do it.

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Knee to Elbow Plank

It's still August, which means we are still focused on our arms. The knee to elbow plank is a great exercise to work your arms and obliques. But as with any exercise, you have to do it right to yield the right results. Watch the video below for more instructions.

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20 Minute Abs Circuit

It's cold, snowy, and wet outside in New York. The perfect day to go indoors and do some ab toning exercises. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to work on your abs is not just by doing crunches. You would need to do enough cardiovascular exercises (running, swimming, cycling, elliptical, etc.) to burn the fat all around your body, including your midsection, and then do strengthening exercises to tone up the muscles.

Our focus today is on the strengthening piece, so please make sure you are still getting consistent cardio in, and not simply relying on the work you do to tone. Prior to doing the routine below, I would suggest warming up for about 5 minutes. You can run, use the elliptical, cycle, do jumping jacks, skip using a jump rope, or any other cardio exercise that requires sweat and constant motion.

Here are a few of my favorites that I have put together to form this 20 minute abs routine. Take your timer or stopwatch and do each exercise for 1 minute. When you are done, start from the beginning and do it all over again. Are you ready?

Understanding Your Abdominal Muscle Anatomy

Everyone talks about abs and how a six-pack makes you look sexy and toned. However, people don't always know how to target the abs. For strong toned ab muscles, you really need to focus on all the muscles in that region.

The rectus abdominis: The long vertical muscle we refer to as the six-pack.

The transverse abdominis: The horizontal muscle which runs around the torso.

The obliques:  The pair of diagonals which run down your sides (internal and external).

Knowing the various abs muscles helps us know how to target each. A lot of the floor crunches people do tend to target the rectus abdominus, but may not work the obliques or the transverse abdominus. It is important to do exercises that work all the ab muscles to get the complete look and feel.

Here is one exercise you can try for each today:

Rectus Abdominis

As you see in the image above, these muscles go all the way down to your pelvis, and so pelvic exercises work well here. One awesome one you can do is the bicycle. It's a crunch so it's not my favorite, but it really works you out.

Transverse Abdominis

You use this muscle when you suck your stomach in and hold it tight. So do exercises where you require your core to balance. One example is the single leg lift. Use one leg for balance and raise the second knee towards your abdomen, holding your abs tight.

Obliques

The obliques really require a lot of controlled twisting. Luckily, I wrote about this a few weeks ago with a video too! Check that out here and try the plank oblique.

In no time, you'd be an expert working out your whole abdominal region.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Dailynews.com, Exercise.com

Abs Week: Steam Engine

It's the final day of abs week, and so I thought I'd give you a standing exercise. We tend to think of abs exercises as crunches or some other exercise where we sit or lie on the floor. Well, not always. There are some everyday exercises that help work your abs better than others. One of those is the steam engine.

You may know it as High Knees with a Twist, Standing Alternating Crunches, or some other name. The premise of all these is the same: Use your abs to lift your knees off the floor as you stand. Here is what you need to do:

Start in a standing position with your hands behind your head to give you a little resistance and make your body not move around so much in the pose. If this is too difficult during the move, you can bring your arms down and keep your fists clenched below your chin in a boxing stance.

Lift your right knee and try to bring your left elbow to meet your knee. You should be tightening your abs and using your ab strength to lift your knee, so your upper body shouldn't be moving down so your elbow can meet your knee. Rather you should be staying as straight as possible and lifting your knee as high as possible without bringing your upper body down.

Bring your right knee down and repeat on the other side. This time, bring your right elbow to meet your left knee. Repeat.

You should feel it on both sides of your abs because you are working diagonally. To see the fluid motion, watch the video below as a tool:

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Maintainbodyshape.blogspot.com, Exercise.com, Fitstudio.com

Abs Week: Lower Body Russian Twist

We've tried different types of ab exercises this week focusing on the upper and lower abs and the obliques. So many complex exercises went through my head when I was thinking of which one I should put up today. But I settled on somthing simple (Yes, thank your God).

Today's exercise should be pretty familiar if you have tried yoga. It is called the Lower Body Russian Twist or the Lower Body Torso Twist. Typically, people tend to do it slowly as a stretch and maintain the position for a while. If you do it continuously though, you can work your abs, especially your obliques.

Lay flat on your back with your knees up in the air at about a 90 degree angle. Extend your arms straight to the sides with your palms down or up to hold down your upper body. Palms down seem to be easier to hold without slipping.

Rotate your lower body to the right using your waist. Be sure to keep your upper body firm on the floor, and try to keep your lower back planted as much as possible. As your knees are right, look to the left to create more of a twist at your waist.

Raise your knees back to the starting position, and then rotate to the other side. Repeat.

To make it more intense, you may straighten your knees. That makes your core work more to twist your lower body.

Here is a great video to guide you!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Rawfoodswitch.com, banyanbotanicals.com, houstonhealthychoices.com

Abs Week: Russian Twist

Sometimes when we do crunches, we forget the obliques. The obliques are really on the sides of the abs, and give that definition that we all desire. I found a detailed video that shows how to do this great oblique workout called the Russian Twist. You may know it, but just may not know what it is called.

So before you watch the video, how do you do it? Here are a few easy steps:

Sit on your butt (like there is some other way to sit, right?) with your knees bent at an angle in front of you. You can either have your heels on the floor or your feet off the floor.

Your upper body should be at a 45 degree angle with your shoulders down, your abs tight, and your chest out. Make sure you are not putting pressure on your shoulders because the body innately wants to crunch forward as you do uncomfortable positions.

Hold your hands in front of you and twist your torso to one side. As you twist, try to touch the floor beside your butt on that side.

Rotate and twist to the other side. Keep going with this motion. You can do this with weights or a ball to increase the intensity.

Here is the video that describes each step of the movement:

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Wholeliving.com, Guardian.co.uk, Gabbyandlaird.com

Eights & Weights Video - Side Plank

Yes, I know it will no longer officially be summer tomorrow morning (*sobs*), but autumn is still a great season to work out since the winter coats haven't come out yet. Here is a video I made to help you work on your obliques. Working on your obliques help create than total ab definition that we all want. You don't have to do a push-up as you switch from side to side. Watch and try it at home.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Standing Oblique Twist

Last week, we talked about the standing oblique twist and described how to do it. Check out that post here: Crunch-Free Ab Exercises. This week, I thought I'd show you. The twist is great for your core because you're twisting side to side. But make sure you keep your core tight as you move. The punch also help work out your shoulders and the back of your arms so make sure you hit hard!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Crunch-Free Ab Exercises

I don't know about you, but I pretty much hate laying there doing repetitive movement trying to get to a 100, and creating tension in my neck in the process. Don't get me wrong, crunches work if they are done as part of an overall training routine. But doing crunches every day can get boring. Thankfully, the cruch is not the only way to work your abs. So let's try some other movements.

Knee Lift Twist

Lift your knees like you're running with just high knees. Each step should see your knee coming up to your waist-level. As you lift each knee, don't lean back. Use your core to lift each knee up so it's like you are doing a crunch in the standing position. As you lift your knees, put your wrists in front of your chin and rotate your waist to the same side as the knees you are lifting. This means your elbows should be almost touching our knees.

Oblique Twist with a Reverse Hook 

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your wrists and fingers like you're ready to punch. Leave the left arm beside you, but move the right arm in front of your chest and parallel to the floor. At the same time, move your upper body to the left using just your waist. Punch out straight with the side of your right wrist. As you are punching, move your upper body to the right side. Switch hands and repeat on the left. See the photo below for guidance. You should definitely feel this in your obliques (the sides of your abs).

Scorpion plank 

Get into a plank position. And then bring your right knee towards your left elbow. Repeat the same motion with your left.

Pulsing plank 

Start in a plank position. Then simply start to pulse your pelvic region (small pulses), while you keep your abs tight. You'll notice how much more of a core workout you get from this.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Exercise.com, Shapemag.co.za