Abdominal exercises

Abdominal exercises are exercises designed for strengthening muscles, tendons and ligaments of the abdomen.

These exercises are categorized into four sections: Upper Abdominals, Lower Abdominals, Love Handles and Lower Back.

In Ab-Workout, there are three levels of difficulty: beginners, intermediate and advanced. There is an extensive range of exercises available.

Exercises include the following:

- the sit-up, in which one lies on the ground with knees bent and back flat, and while keeping the back straight, brings his body up until his head is between his knees, then lowers himself again until he is flat on the floor, in the starting position again to conclude one repetition.

- the crunch, in which one is in a position as in the sit-up, with her hands behind her head and with her elbows forward, but instead of bringing herself all the way up, she curls herself up so that her elbows touch her knees, then she returns to the starting position again to conclude the repetition.

It has been found that for a six-pack, these exercises are helpful; however, other factors such as diet and cardio exercises are also necessary.

It is a common misconception that one can do these exercises to "tone" one's stomach, and especially that one can "spot reduce" fat from the stomach through these exercises. This is almost entirely false. Fat is burned in response to low blood-glucose (blood sugar) levels, and the receptors for blood-glucose are in the brain; thus, the fact that a particular region is consuming a lot of energy will not cause the fat from that region to be burned at a rate any greater than if the energy-consuming region were elsewhere in the body, since the energy deficit will only be detected in the brain rather than locally to the source of the energy deficit.

See also

• Belly dancing and weight loss