Intense Abdominal Workouts

These are the days of washboard and six pack abs. People want to reach their goal at the fastest. To reach to the goal of washboard or six pack abs faster, there are some changes that can be incorporated in the workout. The workout should consist of right abdominal exercises and cardiovascular exercises.

Doing only abdominal exercises will not go a long way and you will see that you are stuck and cannot get to your goal. Many times it is seen that people work out their abs for hours everyday, but are not able to get to their goal.

To add intensity to the workout, the first measure is to include any cardiovascular exercise in the workout. The cardiovascular exercise has to be done for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes. It can then be followed up with a core workout.

Simple cardiovascular exercises like walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, walking up and down the stairs, etc. can be included in the workout. These exercises will help in burning the fat accumulated around the mid section. Other than the cardiovascular exercises, it is important to choose the most effective abdominal exercises.

Circles: This exercise should be included in the intense ab workouts. Lie on your exercise mat with your hands placed next to your buttocks and your legs extended out straight. Now lift both the legs of the floor and draw a big imaginary circle with your legs. Make sure you move the legs from the groin and not just the feet or the legs below the knees.

Draw 10 to 12 clockwise circles and 10 to 12 anticlockwise circles. When you are drawing the circles, the legs should not touch the floor and they should be extended out straight all the time.

Hanging Leg Lifts: This exercise finds place in a number of intense ab workouts for men. To do this exercise you will need a pull up bar. Grip the bar with shoulder width distance between your hands with your legs hanging down. Without moving your upper body, bend your knees and lift them up towards your chest.

Do not swing your legs, when you are doing this exercise, as doing the exercise with momentum makes the exercise futile. To make the exercise a little easier, you should inhale when your legs are extended straight down and exhale when you lift them up.

Twist and Bend: This is another exercise which you will want to include in your workout regime to make it an effective ab workout. Stand with a little more than shoulder width distance between your feet. Intertwine the fingers of your hands and place them behind your head. Without moving your lower body twist to your right and then gradually bend down to reach your forehead to the side of the knees. Slowly come back up to the center and then twist to the other side.

Bicycle Crunches: This exercise works the upper abs, lower abs and also the obliques. Lie on the lower side, so that your lower back is pressed firmly into the ground. Intertwine your fingers and place them behind your head. Now bend both the knees and try to bring them closer to your chest.

Lift your shoulders off the floor and twist to the right and try to touch the left elbow to the right knee and extend the left leg out straight in midair. Slowly come back to the center as you extend the right leg out straight and bring the left knee closer to the chest.

Twist to the left and try to touch the right elbow to the left knee continue with the bicycle pedaling action for 10 to 12 counts on either side, per set.

Boat Pose: To do the boat pose lie on the floor with the legs extended out straight and hands placed next to the buttocks. Lift both your legs, shoulders and hands off the floor and hold the position for 10 to 12 counts. The legs should be about 6 to 8 inches off the floor and your hands should point to your legs. Repeat the exercise 5 to 7 times, but with each time increase the number of counts for which you hold the exercise.

Along with the workouts, you will also have to pay keen attention to your diet. When you want a flat stomach, it is important that you have a healthy diet with no place for junk food. Have 5 to 6 small meals throughout the day and drink 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday to see the results faster.