Did you miss me? I hope everyone had a great weekend. Sorry I missed you on Friday and for the late post today. Lots of stuff has been going on but rest assured that your daily fix of LMC Fitness is back and here to stay. With that being said, we are two weeks into our April Abs Challenge. My clients and I are feeling the burn and loving it! My personal tally is 3,200 abs so far which puts me on pace for 6,400 this month. I’ve even started teaching an extra abs class to spread the word even more. Don’t be shy about letting me know how far along you are this month. If you haven’t started yet there is no time better than the present. No need to play catch up, just start going at a steady pace.
With only a few weeks left in our April Abs Challenge it’s time to increase the difficulty of our exercises. Take it up a notch, if you will. As I previously stated we have to make sure we are hitting the four target areas: lower abs, upper abs, obliques and core. It’s critical when you are working out your abs to hit all four areas if you want to truly define them. The new exercises we’re focusing on today are: Captain Chair Leg Raise, V Sit Ups, Standing Oblique Crunch, and Leg Pull-In.
CAPTAIN CHAIR LEG RAISE
- Press your back against the mat & contract your abs in order to raise your legs while lifting your knees towards your chest (Don’t arch the back or swing the legs up)
- Slowly lower back down to starting position
- Repeat
Note: You can also do this same exercise keeping your legs straight
V-SIT UPS
- Assume start position as shown by laying on floor.
- Bend right leg, keep left leg straight and hold a ball above your head.
- Slowly lift your left leg as you reach the ball up towards your left foot.
- Return to start position
- Repeat with other leg
STANDING DUMBBELL OBLIQUE CRUNCH
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, your weight on your right leg, and a 3 to 5 pound dumbbell in your left hand.
- Stretch your left hand up and overhead to the right so you feel a stretch in your left obliques
- Crunch your torso to the left, bringing your left knee up and left elbow down toward each other
- Return to previous position and repeat
Note: You can perform this exercise without weights
LEG PULL-IN
- Sit on the floor or on a flat bench with your legs off the end
- Place your hands flat on the floor or grasp the edge of the bench
- Extend your legs straight out, leaning back at a 45 degree angle
- Bring your legs in towards your chest, bending the knees
- Slowly return legs to starting position using your ab muscles
- Repeat
REMINDERS
Be careful to watch your form! Make sure you are doing each exercise at a nice tempo.
Feel free to have someone hold your feet or place a weight on your feet to assist you if needed on any of the exercises.
Make sure when you are doing your abs you always rotate your exercises.
Lastly, make sure you target two different areas each day. You don’t want to work the same area repeatedly. For example, one day you can target your lower abs and side obliques then next day upper abs and core.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO
I hope everyone continues to work hard on their abs. Also, if you haven’t started the challenge yet, it’s definitely not too late. Look forward to articles about cardio, arm exercises & nutrition this week.
Yours In Fitness,