Stomach Toning Exercises
Stomach toning exercises are designed to strengthen the relatively small muscles in the abdomen. At least, the stomach muscles are small compared to some of the other muscles in the body. The stomach muscles in the average woman are usually not well developed and often hidden by too much fat. To tone the stomach muscles, it is necessary to do the right exercises enough times to make the muscle work. At some point, as you get stronger, weights will have to be added. Without the weights improvement would come to a halt.
Stomach toning exercises sets usually include three to five different exercises. If you are just beginning a toning program, it is best to start with three repetitions of each exercise. It is important to understand the terminology because it appears in every article, every program and will be used by coaches and personal trainers. When you say you are doing a 3x5 program, it means 3 sets of 5 exercises. Then each exercise is done for 3 repetitions. It can be a little confusing at first, but will make perfect sense in a very short while after you begin exercising.
When you set your goals for stomach toning exercises, you will want to work towards doing 25 repetitions of each exercise. In other words, once you have reached your goals you will be doing 3 sets of 5 exercises and each exercise will be completed 25 times. That sounds like a lot, but you will be amazed at how quickly you reach your goals if you remain dedicated to the program. At the point you reach your ultimate goals, set new ones! Now you can begin to add weights to the program.
That is one of the fascinating facts about the body. You can work it hard and think you have reached your limit, and then discover you can do even more. Stomach toning exercises will strengthen your abdomen muscles, improve your balance and coordination, and aid in the development of a strong back.
A good program of stomach toning exercises will increase your muscle control and flexibility. You will also be working on the range of motion. If you have ever tried the twisting abdomen exercise and discovered you cannot twist far enough either way, you have learned about your range of motion limitations. Improving range of motion is important for all the muscles and joints in your body.
Following are some suggestions for good stomach toning exercises:
- Forward crunches
- Oblique crunches
- Twisting from side to side while squatting with feet apart and back straight
- Slow roll-ups
- Bent knee leg lifts
Crunches are very intense stomach toning exercises, but they work exceedingly well. Each exercise should be completed in a controlled manner and not hurried. There is always time to increase your speed as you get stronger. An exercise program should be progressive with your toning and strength built carefully through increasingly more difficult routines.
So what are you waiting for? Get busy and start your 3x5 stomach toning exercise program!
