Fit Or Fat: Nutrition and Exercise

How Do I Get My Abs Ready For The Beach?

Posting Date: 07/13/2000

Q: I?m going to the beach with my family in a few weeks and I want my stomach to look toned. Is there any way I can get my abs defined in a short time?

A: You can help your abdominal area look defined by doing sit-ups. There are a bunch of ways to do sit-ups, or crunches, as we now call them. You can do them sitting, standing, lying down ?- you name it.

But there is one issue. You have to have a fit body in order to show off those hard-earned abs. Working the abdominal area with resistance exercise does not remove the fat from the area -- it just defines the muscles. So, be sure that you are combining aerobic exercise with abdominal exercises in order to get the best results. Click here for more on Spot Reducing.

Remember, too, that it may take several weeks to see changes to your muscles. So, allow yourself time. The quantity of crunches varies depending on your fitness level. In general, do enough to reach fatigue, rest for a few minutes and then repeat. It's better to do several varieties and allow yourself to recover than to do so many that you can't get up!

With all this said, here are 10 tricks to turn your tummy in to a toned torso! Get ready to hit the beach -- belly first!

Regular Crunch
Lie on your back. Knees up, feet on the floor. Press your lower back to the floor and place your hands lightly behind your head. Curl up, chest first, while pressing lower back to floor. Just bring your shoulders off the floor 5-10 inches.

Reverse Crunch
Lie on floor. Place legs in air with feet towards the ceiling. Press legs, feet first, towards the ceiling by curling abdomen so that legs are lifted upward. Imagine a pizza balancing on your feet.

Cross Leg Crunch
Lie on floor with knees bent. Cross one leg so that the ankle rests on the opposite knee. Place hands behind head and curl elbow towards the crossed knee.

Roll Down Crunch
Sit on the floor. Knees to chest, feet flat on floor. Slowly curl your shoulders down to the floor while keeping feet pressed to floor and maintaining a curved spine.

Side Slide Crunch
Lie flat on the floor. Place arms by side of body, palms up. Slide one arm down towards your feet, one side at a time. Focus on tightening the obliques (the muscles on side of abdomen).

Vertical Crunch
You?ll need equipment for this one. The ideal method is to use the vertical ab stand in a gym. Hold on to the bars and hoist your weight on to your arms. Hang your feet in the air. Curl your knees up to your chest. You could do this at home by using two stools or anything sturdy where you can rest your weight on your arms while freeing your legs to move.

Upside Down Crunch
Perform any of the crunches in a position where your head is lower than your legs. You can use pillows to prop up your lower body or, ideally, a decline bench at a gym.

With Weight Crunch
Perform any of the crunches with added weight. Be careful where you place the weight and that you maintain control and stability while you do the crunch. The closer the weight is to the center of your body- the easier. The farther away ? the harder. For example, if you hold the weight on your belly the exercise will be moderately hard. But, if you hold the weight over your head as you perform a crunch, the exercise will be much harder.

Double Time Crunch
Do any of the exercises in double speed. BUT... you must maintain form, balance and safety!

Slow Crunch
Do any of the crunches in super-slow mode. Really focus on form and controlled motion. Contract the abdominals to get an extra dose of intensity.

Bonus Tip: Work Your Abs At Work
Make use of down time. You can work your abdominals while sitting. As you sit at your desk during the day take 3 minutes every hour to sit up straight, curl your tail bone in and contract your abs. Hold each sitting crunch for 30 seconds and release. Repeat.

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