Unfortunately, you can’t just do hundreds of crunches every day and expect to have really awesome abdominal muscles. If you’re looking to strengthen your core then compound movements like squats, deadlifts and even the bench press (yes, really) require you to engage your core to correctly perform the movement.

If you’re looking to incorporate a little isolation training at the end of your workout, then the following core exercises are the best ones you can perform for your body!

1. Plank

The plank is a fantastic and beginner-friendly exercise for your abs that, when modified, can work every single abdominal muscle. Once you’ve progressed onto and are comfortable with a traditional plank, variations like side planks work the often-neglected external and internal obliques.

2. Cable Crunch

Exercising in the gym is built around the idea of progressive overload, where over time you lift heavier, run further or simply do more reps. It can be difficult to overload your abdominal muscles, primarily because they’re used to supporting your bodyweight all day long! This is where the cable crunch comes in – by adding weight you’re able to overload the muscles, resulting in growth.

3. Ab Wheel Rollout

Ab wheel rollouts are another exercise that has progressions from beginner all the way to advanced levels and can work all abdominal muscle groups through variations. Although this exercise can be a little demanding, if you stick with it you’ll gain additional benefits like stronger shoulders and increased lower body flexibility.

4. Bicycle Crunch

Aside from being one of the most effective core exercises in hitting your abs from all angles, it’s also one of the easiest to perform. People spend a lot of time sitting with hunched shoulders, which a basic crunch exaggerates. Alternatively, bicycle crunches require you to keep your lower back and shoulder blades on the floor, taking pressure off your back whilst still working your core!

5. L-Sit

Although they appear relatively easy, the l-sit requires strength, flexibility and control making them no walk in the park. This classic gymnastic move is considered by many to be the only core exercise you’ll ever need – and for good reason. Despite being a static hold, l-sits place a huge demand on your lower abs as well as strengthening your triceps and your shoulders.

With the exception of the bicycle crunch, all of the above core exercises have multiple progressions if you can’t perform the movement straight away. It might take a bit of grit and determination to get there, but in the end you know it’ll be worth it!

Cheers,

Andrew Pallett is a qualified personal trainer and fitness author. You can find more of his health and fitness articles on his website, Sometimes I Train.

I’m very excited to be featured on the fab 4Ever Fitness!

You see I’m currently on a mission, a mission to help men and women regain their bodies and more importantly their health! I want to help men and women who are frustrated at never achieving their goals.

I’m on this mission because something I’m learned first hand this year is that health is of vital importance for a person’s happiness and I see so many unhappy people that I’ve made it my goal for 2015 to help 10 people a month start to regain their body back, and help them stay in great shape  

Even if your really busy struggling to find any time to exercise, I understand as I’m a full time specialist tutor working with autistic children while being a mumtrepreneur!  Even just being a mum is more than a full time job!

So I know that not everyone has the time to go to classes/gym or even the confidence simply because I was that person.

The beauty of keeping fit and being healthy with exercise is that you can use your own body! you can add all the fancy gear later meaning you can start today!

Regaining your body is a nutritional cleansing and weight management program that works over 69 days and is broken down into three stages;

1) A cleanse that is designed to help you remove stored toxins feel lighter and more energised!  I’ve had clients after doing the cleanse reduced their body fat %, felt lighter, reduced bloating, have more energy and lost weight!

2) Sustainable weight-loss, you will be taught how new nutritional and exercise strategies to reach your target goals in a safe and suitable manner, remember quick fixes are not fixes!

3) Build lean muscle (ladies this does not mean you will look like a body builder), this last section will simply help to tone your body!

I will be running this program on a two monthly basis accepting 10 people at a time starting in January with the next intake being the start of March, I am only taking 10 people on board so that you get the outstanding service and guidance from not only myself but a specialist trainer within a secret group meaning support is there 24/7!

In the group you will have access to exclusive exercises to boost metabolism, learn life lasting tips to help burn fat quicker that you will not get anywhere else!

Best of all this can be done in private in your own home and the kids could even join in!

If you want to see the power of the program and the transformation pictures then check out “Kelly Garsia’s Regaining Your Body” there will be lots of helpful tips and advice on health & fitness from our specialist trainer!

I wish you all the best in your health for 2015!

I always found a diagram of the human body to be very useful when it came to training. Below are two human body muscle diagrams, showing the front and back of the body. I’ve labelled the diagrams up to show the main human body muscles. I hope you find them as useful as I do.

Now that’s my bit over, making pretty pictures. I’ll leave it to the experts now, to explain a little bit more about the human body. The following information was taken from a range of professional websites, so thanks! I had no idea that the human body has over 656 muscles, although there are some experts who claim that there may be upward of 850. Muscles play an important and vital role in the body. There are three types of muscle found in the body: cardiac, skeletal and smooth. Muscles cause motion, either in the structures of the body or of the internal organs.

The neck muscles and massive triangular muscles of the back stabilise the head and shoulders and permit a range of complex movements. The most powerful muscles in the body and those that run along the spine. They maintain posture and provide the strength for lifting and pushing. The face muscles control a wide range of movements and are especially complex around the mouth and eyes.

Thanks for reading,