6 Greatest Ab Exercises of All Time!!!

The people who have been working out in a gym since years must have noticed and suggested to do these classic abs exercises and to list few of them they are:

• Abs Crunches
• Cable Crunch
• Lying Leg Raises
• Side Crunches
• Seated Abs Crunches
• Side Bend Crunches

Now time has changed and the approach towards the Ab exercise has also change, more rethinking has been done on the methodologies of these exercises and also there are lots of different ways has been introduced in the fitness world to maintain an individual's body. Better results with least efforts is the main goal of an individual to transform his body from unshaped body into muscular body.

Sculpt rock-hard abs with these new takes on a few old classic Ab Exercise:

Long-Arm Weighted Crunch:
This exercise targets your upper abs. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a light dumbbell in each hand and extend your arms straight back beyond your head. Now crunch your rib cage toward your pelvis, keeping your shoulders still and your arms straight. Don't generate momentum with your arms. For better results perform 12 to 15 repetitions.

Seated Ab Crunch:
Sit on the edge of a bench. Grip the edge of the pad and lean back slightly, extending your legs down and away and keeping your heels 4 to 6 inches off the floor. Bend your knees and slowly raise your legs toward your chest. At the same time, lean forward with your upper body, allowing your chest to approach your thighs. Return to the starting position. Perform three sets of 12 repetitions.

Corkscrew:
This exercise targets both the lower abs and the obliques. Lie on your back, with your legs raised directly over your hips. Your knees should be slightly bent. Place your hands at your sides with the palms down. Use your lower abs to raise your hips off the floor and toward your rib cage, elevating your feet straight up. Simultaneously twist your hips to the right. Hold, then return to the starting position. Repeat, twisting to the left. Do 10 repetitions to each side.


Weighted One-Sided Crunch:
This exercise targets both the upper abs and the obliques. Lie with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, and hold a dumbbell with both hands by your right shoulder. Curl your upper-body up and rotate to the left. Lower yourself, finish the set on that side, then switch directions and repeat, holding the dumbbell next to your left shoulder. Perform three sets of eight repetitions to each side.

Kneeling Cable Crunch:
Kneel facing the pulley and hold the ends of a rope attached to the high cable along the sides of your face. Bend forward, aiming your chest at your pelvis. Return to the starting position, then repeat the movement, this time aiming your chest toward your left knee. Return, then repeat to your right. That's one repetition. Perform three sets of eight repetitions.

Crunch/Side-Bend Combo:

This exercise targets both the upper abs and the obliques. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and hands behind your ears. Curl up so your shoulder blades are off the floor. Bend at the waist to your left, aiming your left armpit toward your left hip. Straighten, then bend to your right. Lower yourself to the starting position and repeat. Perform three sets of eight repetitions to each side.

Boost up your Cardio in 20 minutes!!!

Run less, lose more this summer its the perfect time for burning body fat, you must have heard of Slow and steady wins the race but when it comes to cardiovascular exercise this doesn’t apply all the time. The key for burning fat and loosing weight depends on cardio exercises and how they are practiced.

Speed Interval workouts – that’s what I have noticed and practiced it, the workout that is done at high intensity levels with lower intensity effort alternately at the same time. It helps your body to burn unwanted calories faster and quicker, it can be use in any way like running, cycling and swimming even while walking you can apply this technique. It’s the best way to keep your body fresh, energetic and also for building physical endurance.

The intensity levels can be practiced in different combinations according to your body type and stamina, the best part is that you will get benefits within 20 minutes of your interval workout but don’t do it more than twice a week as you may burn your unwanted calories but also burn out yourself.

You can practice this workout as shown below and can also build your own high-intensity interval training sessions.

3 to 5 minutes warm up
30 seconds high intensity
1 minute low intensity
1 minute high intensity
1 minute low intensity
1 minute high intensity
1 minute low intensity
45 seconds high intensity
1 minute low intensity
75 seconds high intensity
1 minute low intensity
30 seconds high intensity
3 to 5 minutes cool down

Acupressure Therapy

In this fast-paced world, we are used to take burden on ourselves, taking on too many commitments and extend ourselves to the point of exhaustion. This imbalances the energy and weakens our immune system. If we take good care of our body by eating properly, taking enough rest, exercising and practicing techniques that release tension and balance our bodies then our resistance to illness will be strong but if we don't, we will be more prone to illness, i have come across an ancient therapy called 'Acupressure' which is very effective for our body and mind.

Acupressure therapy is a useful way to strengthen our immune system and to fight with illness, it also helps to release muscular tension, allowing the blood to flow freely and toxins to be released and eliminated. This therapy is performed not only for relaxation but to ease a wide variety of ailments and symptoms. Acupressure massage has various benefits to the body to list some of them they are:

• Skin
• Muscle pain
• Migraine headaches
• Pregnancy
• Digestive system

There are various acupressure points in our body which has been shown below, massage these points using fingers and get relieved.

Get rid off Stress

Almost every person gets stressed out daily through cranky situations in life; Now what these situations are? Is it tiring schedule, frustration or may be some other reason. Stress is the body's reaction to challenging situations and circumstances. When you are stressed, the body produces the energy to fight or run away from those situations. If stressed too frequently, your body, mind and daily routine will be affected.

Some sources of stress are workloads, fears, worries, relationships, change, commuting, disease, finances, projects and work. When "stressed out" for long periods of time, people become tired, irritable, anxious, or depressed. If it goes on without relief, it will affect your body, immune system and leads to disease.

Relaxation allows recovery from stress during this period; always take time to care for both your body and mind. I personally think that relaxed breathing is the quickest and easiest way to release some stress try some of these relaxation techniques like Yoga, Music, Exercise, Meditation, Massage, visualization technique etc. to get rid off stress.

Take your time for relaxation everyday, prioritize your time. Learn to adapt to change. Remember that the mind and body work together. When the body is healthy, mind is more positive and steady. Stress is part of the job, but when tension starts turning into exhaustion, it's time to step in and save your mind.