Abdominals for Winning Results
Gabriel Esparza C.F.T.

It is my belief that simple and easy abdominal exercises can be used to develop the muscles in your midsection and help to trim your waist. It does not matter whether you are only doing abdominal exercises to slim down your waist or even if you are attempting to win a bodybuilding competition. You should only need to do few simple exercises to create a BETTER AND MORE SCULPTED MIDSECTION.

My own training experience with a variety of exercises has taught me that with abdominal training it is very important to have a good mind to muscle link. This is really the KEY to developing great abdominal muscles. Most people, even experienced weight trainers, do not perform abdominal exercises correctly, and it shows. You need to feel each and every repetition deep in your abdominal muscles while performing your exercises. Anyone who wants to make their abdominals look good should follow the following routine. I used this routine while preparing for the 2001 NPC Mr. California. After winning the men's open middleweight class, I intend to follow this same routine while now training for the World Musclemania. This routine is SIMPLE AND EASY!

1st Exercise: Hanging Leg Raises, 5 sets x 15-10 repetitions. Each repetition is done slowly, making sure to hold each contraction for about 1-2 seconds. This exercise will work the rectus abdominis, external obliques and anterior serratus. I personally add a few side twists while bringing my legs up and crunching. When the repetitions become slower they can also become more painful. Therefore, when I can no longer do full leg raises, I bend my knees and do knee ups and then partial knee ups when the muscles become really fatigued.

2nd Exercise: Decline Sit-ups, 5 sets x 20-15 reps. Again each repetition should be done smoothly and in a controlled manner, with a tight squeeze of the abdominal muscles each time you bring your upper body up and forward. I always do these with at least a 25-lb. plate on my chest. For best results I would suggest using weight with these if you can.

3rd Exercise: Seated Crunches or Kneeling Cable Crunches, 5 sets 15-10 reps. It is advisable to use lower repetitions with this exercise because the abdominal muscle will definitely be fatigued. It is important to perform each repetition smoothly. Feeling the muscles flex and stretch with each and every repetition is the main goal. Not how many you can do. With this exercise, as with most, quality is better than quantity.

Abdominal training is performed every other day for approximately 16 weeksprior to a competition. Otherwise, ab training is only performed twice a week. Abdominals are usually trained on the same day prior to training another muscle group. Use these EASY Exercises for championship abdominals. Forget the AB roller, the AB rocker, the AB-doer or whatever. All you need to develop abdominals that LOOK BETTER than the models in those companies’ infomercials, are these EASY exercises and some SIMPLE determination. By following this YOU too will build - GREAT ABS!

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article please feel free to contact Mr. Esparza at RomanGabriel2@aol.com