Healthy Andy

Moms face an extra difficult challenge when it comes to their ab workout.  Not only are they dealing with the weight gain and body changes associated with a recent pregnancy, but also the demands of caring for their children make it harder for them to actually get their training in.

In this article, I hope to give you some quick information that will make it easier for you moms to bounce back as quickly as possible.  The good news is, abs training is cheap and relatively easy.  You don’t have to belong to a gym and the two pieces of equipment I usually recommend (stability ball and medicine ball) cost around twenty bucks each.

 Plus, you can do it in your home and sneak it in pretty quickly.  You first have to make up your mind that you can do it, though.  Once you try it out a few times, you’ll see that even with a mom’s crazy schedule, you too can fit in some effective abs training.

 First off, avoid heavy resistance.  You don’t need to mess with any heavy dumbbells or gym equipment… in fact, I suggest you avoid all that.  Heavy resistance training builds bulk and you don’t want that.  Stick with very light resistance or body weight based exercises.

 Next, split up your training.  What I mean by that is, remember that you have front abs, side abs, and what I like to call the “rear abs” or lower back extensors that make up your core.  Each needs to be trained… but they don’t all have to be done at one.  You can more easily sneak in your front abs training alone, then come back later to side abs, then later still for the extensors, much more easily than trying to find the time to do them all together.

 By separating them out, now you only need a few spare minutes here and there to get your training in.  It’s MUCH easier to fit in, say, five minutes of exercise three different times, than fifteen minutes straight.  Make things easier for yourself.

 Finally, target your lower front abs and tranversus (that’s a deep muscle that goes around your stomach like a girdle).  These are usually the problem areas for moms, and here’s a great exercise to handle them.

 It’s called the ball transfer and it’s what it sounds like.  Lie on your back with legs flat and arms overhead holding a medicine ball or exercise ball (your choice).  Lift up your legs and put the ball in between your lower legs and squeeze to hold it there.  Lower your arms and legs to the floor (the ball is still between your legs).  Lift them back up and take the ball from between your legs and hold it in your hands.  Lower your arms and legs to the floor.  Now you’re right back where you started, so just repeat.  You’ll feel it soon enough.

 While you do the exercise, visualize pressing your belly button to your spine (or sucking your gut in, whichever image works).  This will engage that deep transversus muscle.

It’s quick to do and very light resistance.  So now that you have the ab workout information you need, for all you moms out there, all you need to do now is start doing it… and you might be surprised how easily you can do it if you follow my recommendations in this article!

If you want to learn more about abs training and fitness, visit my new mini-site called www.roadmaptoabs.com.  It’s still under construction, but there’s already a lot of information up and, so check it out!

Okay everybody, I finally got around to shooting a video demonstrating the side plank, the best exercise you can do for the side abdominal muscles (the obliques).  Remember, there’s more to the abs than just the front “six pack” abs.  I know, I know, the six pack gets all the press, but the abdominal muscles form a ring all the way around your waistline that acts as a built-in weight belt to protect your spine and support the contents of your abdomen (i.e., your guts).

A huge mistake in exercising the obliques is the use of heavy resistance.  You’ll sometimes see somebody in the gym holding a heavy dumbell in one hand, bending at the waist the other way.  Bad idea.  First off, that’s not the way the joints are aligned in the lower spine, so you’re asking for an injury.  Also, heavy resistance builds bulky, big muscles, not sleek, slender muscle.  I don’t know anybody who’s thinking “You know what I want?  A thicker waistline!”

The side plank will offer a low level of resistance for a sustained period, which is what you want to create a slimmer, sleeker look in the abs.

So there it is, the mighty side plank.  Be sure to check out the other videos on my youtube channel, healthyandy9.  Why healthyandy9?  Because some dirty SOB already took healthyandy, that’s why!

Did you find this video helpful?  Questions?  Comments?  Post them below, and as always, if you see someone in the gym screwing themselves up with dumbell side bends, tell them about this video and healthyandy.com!

Stay healthy!

It’s a double video post today, my friends.  The first is kind of a funny video, in which I discuss my favorite ridiculously bad idea when it comes to abs training.  This comes from a former patient of mine who had super-kooky notions on how he was going to get a six pack.

Second, I go over how to choose abdominal exercises that are going to actually accomplish what you want to accomplish. 

So first, what NOT to do:

And now, what you SHOULD do:

What’s the most ridiculous thing YOU’VE ever heard when it came to weight loss or getting great abs?  Post your funny story in the comment section below!

Stay healthy!