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. Performing exercises that challenge your core to stabilize your body (i.e. single leg deadlifts)
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. Holding your abs tight through daily activities like sitting and walking. For the best and fastest results, you should be doing all three. The most effective exercises that strengthen your abs are those that have your body depending on those muscles to hold you up, such as the plank position or the boat (sitting, legs and arms raised, body in a 45 degree angle), and any variation of those exercises. It’s also crucial to work your abs in all angles and directions, not just linearly like in a crunch.
Incorporating stability exercises into your regular routine does wonders for your core by firing the small stabilizing muscles that are too often neglected. It also forces you to engage your abdominal muscles as you attempt to maintain balance. You get toned faster the more you incorporate your abs, so the next time you’re doing shoulder presses, stand on an unstable surface or on one leg, alternating. Or perform single leg squats or deadlifts. Holding your abs in isn’t just for cosmetic purposes; it creates proper posture because it relieves the pressures from your lower back. But the other major benefit is that you really do see major improvement in tone by simply
SUSPICIOUS SUPPLEMENTS By Dev Sharma Many guys use supplements, such as whey protein, to aid their muscle building process. Earlier this past year, I was feeling very tired during my workouts and my friend suggested I try pre-workout supplement, Jack3d. I bought it over the counter at GNC shortly after and began using it as recommended. At the time I started to take the pre-workout, I was also in the process of applying for jobs. In the “proprietary blend” of ingredi-
“sucking it in” throughout the day. That’s because holding your abs in all the time puts you in a habit of making your muscles work continuously. Don’t strain to the point where you can’t breathe, but do remember to keep your midsection from jutting out and lead with the hips when you walk instead of your torso. As far as how often, treat your abs like any other muscle group. You don’t want to overtrain your abs by directly working them every day. Doing a 30-minute ab routine 2-3 times a week is sufficient. You don’t want to go more than that. What you’ll get: sleek, ab definition, a defined waistline and best partno lower belly paunch.
ents in Jack3d is a chemical called dimethylamylamine. This chemical shows up in corporate drug tests from time to time as a false positive for methamphetamines! When I learned this, I promptly quit taking the supplement and was lucky to pass drug tests, although I had done nothing illegal. Since then, I have been a little skeptical of any supplement that doesn’t provide full disclosure. The moral of the story is to be careful as you try to meet your fitness goals this year,