Nutrition Tips

Muscle Fitness Rx February 17, 2018 No Comments

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

StumbleUpon

Tumblr

RED MEAT AND PROCESSED MEAT CONSUMPTION-Linked to Disturbed Blood Sugar Regulation

Nutrition tips for diabetic prevention. Increased levels of blood sugar and insulin are symptoms of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, which are disturbances in blood sugar regulation. Diabetes increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, blindness, impotence, amputation and premature death. A large meta-analysis found a link between red and processed meat consumption and disturbances in blood glucose regulation. Consumption of processed meat was linked to increased blood glucose and insulin. Consumption of red and processed meat is lined to higher body mass index (BMI: proportion of weight to height.) Red and processed meat eaters tend to be fatter, which makes them more prone to type 2 diabetes.

HIGH-PROTEIN DIET PLUS WEIGHT TRAINING Improves Body Composition

The US Dept. of Agriculture recommends that people consume .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Active people might benefit from as much as 1.5 grams per kilogram. Researchers found that high protein intake (3.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day) plus a periodized weight training program showed greater decrease in body weight, percent fat and fat mass than a group consuming 2.3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. While there was no differences in lean muscle mass. Previous studies showed overfeeding protein without weight training did not alter body composition. They concluded that intensely training athletes would benefit from protein intake greater than 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

PALEO DIET Improves Metabolic Syndrome Symptoms

The Paleolithic or “caveman diet” is based on consuming berries, nuts, lean grass fed meats and fish. Proponents of the diet claim that human genes evolved over thousands of years. Optimizing metabolism from eating these natural foods. Industrialization changed the human diet suddenly to include the consumption of grains and calorie dense, high fat, processed foods. Food choices also increased which promoted overeating and overconsumption of unhealthy foods. While researchers found the Paleolithic diet improved symptoms of the metabolic syndrome. A cluster of risk factors that include abdominal fat deposition, abnormal blood fats, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, consuming the Paleo diet showed decreases in waist circumference, blood fats and blood sugar. While compared to people consuming a normal diet.

Weight Lifting and Muscle Building Supplments

Muscle Fitness Rx February 10, 2018 No Comments

If you are hoping to increase muscle mass, there are many valuable resources available to help you along the way. If you are looking for muscle building, you need to learn as much as you can to understand just what your body requires to succeed. This article is packed with useful information that will make it easier to plan a muscle-boosting regimen.

Regardless of how frequent or intense your workout sessions are, if you are not eating sufficiently, your body will not have enough proteins to build muscle. It is therefore critical to eat meals often. You should strive to consume at least 20 grams of protein every three hours. In addition, it is more important to eat often rather than to eat large portions.

Try to focus your time on the bench press, the dead lift and the squat. Those three make up the foundation of any good exercise routine. They improving strength and balance, increase muscle mass, and are good conditioning exercises. Always try to incorporate these three exercises in your workout in some form.

Genetics are going to play a role in the amount of muscle building success that you see. If your family has not provided you with the right genetics to have the body that you dream of, you may have to work doubly as hard to see any results. That does not mean it is impossible, it just means more hard work.

Don’t work on enhancing the size of your muscles if you are taking part in a marathon or participating in extreme cardio workouts. Cardio is important in achieving good fitness, but a lot of it could impede your attempts to bulk up through muscle building. The best way to build your muscles effectively is by concentrating on a strength-training routine.

Use visualization exercises to picture what you need to do to reach your goals. Having vague, undefined goals with no real sense of how to accomplish them is a sure road to failure. Picture yourself sticking to your workout routine and visualize what you will look like in the future. This will keep you motivated.

Bodybuilding

Focus on important exercises such as the deadlift, squat, and bench press. These three exercises are considered the cornerstone of a good bodybuilding regimen, and for good reason. They have all been proven to increase muscle bulk and strength, as well as improve conditioning. No matter how you vary your routine, always perform these basic exercises.

Consider using caffeine on a limited basis as a benefit to bodybuilding. Metabolism can be increased by drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, and caffeine can increase overall calorie burn. The intensity of workout routines can be increased by the stimulant, and caffeine can provide energy after a hard workout.

Practicing poses can be an effective and important part of a muscle-building routine, even if you are not bodybuilding competitively. The value of posing in front of a mirror is in the self-education it provides. Posing will increase your awareness of individual muscle groups and give you a better idea of how they work together.

Weight Lifting

You should completely exert yourself when performing weight lifting exercises in order to maximize your muscle gain results. Do this by forcing yourself to keep doing one more repetition until you absolutely cannot. This sends a clear signal to your body that you need more muscle. Remember to get help from a spotter so that you do not suddenly drop the weight when you are finished.

Make sure to get an ample amount of sleep each night. Your muscles need time to repair themselves after you strain them during weight lifting sessions. If you do not allow the muscles to rest enough, it can lessen the results that you see from your weight lifting efforts dramatically.

Utilize pyramid training. A single weight lifting regimen doesn’t yield results forever. This is why you should attempt to pyramid your weight by using heavier weights throughout every set. Heavy sets allow you to build up your strength, and the medium weights maximize your muscle growth. This allows you to gain both strength and size in just one workout.

Before starting a seriously heavy full body workout regimen, make sure your body has good stability for weight lifting. Do six weeks of exercises designed to strengthen your core and back. Even when you start going for big exercises, make sure that your back is getting more attention than your shoulders and chest.

Legal-Steroids / Muscle Supplements

Are you trying to add muscle mass to your body? If you are eating calorie-dense foods and are performing muscle build workouts but are still not seeing the results that you desire, you might want to consider adding legal-steroids supplements to boost the growth of your muscles. Legal steroids aids in building muscle mass. Not only is this supplement popular with many professional bodybuilders, it is also popular with many elite athletes in other sports.

Try to use caution when using creatine. If you already suffer from kidney problems, creatine could make it worse. Also, they have been implicated in causing heart arrhythmia’s, muscle compartment syndrome, and muscle cramps. Younger individuals are generally more susceptible to these problems. These supplements should only be taken in the correct manner.

If you choose to take any muscle supplements to aide in your muscle building routine, do so cautiously. Many supplements are a complete waste of money, and some can even be harmful to your health. Discuss any of your supplement plans with your physician or a licensed dietitian to make sure that you are not harming your body.

Not all supplements are equal when it comes to helping you build the muscles you need. Try to avoid any supplements that have heavier substances. Most professionals recommend using nothing stronger than a basic whey protein so that you don’t cause any nasty side effects to your own body.

As previously mentioned, you must learn what it is that your body needs so that you can grow muscle properly. Building muscle can be done several ways; make sure you understand the best way to increase your muscle tissue. Use the advice wisely and you will be on the right road toward reaching your body building goals.

Mens’ Health Concerns 2018

Muscle Fitness Rx February 5, 2018 No Comments

Exercise Slows the Aging Process

Physically fit people have healthier, more resilient genes. Exercise preserves gene structures called telomeres, which form the ends of DNA strands and hold them together.Over time, the telomeres shorten, reducing their effectiveness which triggers illness and death. Exercise prevents telomere shortening. A study showed that people who exercised more had longer telomeres, The relationship was strongest during middle aged people (40-64), which suggests that this is a critical time for remaining active. Exercise helps men’s health overall if done properly. Other studies have found that overtraining shortens telomere length, so balance is the key.

Prostate Cancer Diagnoses Decrease In The U.S.

In May 2016, the United States Preventive Task Force – a panel of medical experts appointed and funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services – recommended against prostate – specific antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer. Most cases of prostate cancer have a good prognosis, even with out treatment. Prior to 2012, widespread screening resulted in over diagnosis of prostate cancer by 17 to 50 percent. Prostate cancer is a top men’s health issue. Early treatment often resulted in erectile dysfunction, anxiety about cancer, infection and urinary problems. Even though 12 percent of men will get prostate cancer, most will die from something else. The decrease in prostate cancer diagnoses represents improvements in prostate cancer management in the United States.

Men Concerned About Body Image

Seventy-five percent of women don’t like the way they look in the nude. That’s true even among women with terrific bodies. Consequently, sixty-five percent have behavioral issues regarding food intake and 10 percent have eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Men of the “selfie generation” are also concerned about body image. The popularity of superheroes has given modern men inferiority complexes because Superman and Batman don’t have potbellies. The modern males obsession with body image has led to previously rare psychological problems such as depression and muscle dimorphism. (obsessed with building muscle mass).

While eating disorders are rare in men, millennials are resorting to anabolic steroids, plastic surgery and makeup to make them feel better about themselves. The modern emphasis on gender equity has caused many modern young men to question their masculinity. Most women have no trouble talking about their insecurities, but men tend to hide them. Feelings of physical inadequacy are new psychological challenges in modern men.

Weight Training Prevents Brain Deterioration

Weight training reduced the incidence of brain injuries (white matter lesions) in older women- according to a study. Exercise is the new ” brain food” Even moderate physical activity can improve brain health and function, and may delay the declined in cognitive function that occurs in many people as they age. Exercise improves the brain’s ability to learn, remember, think and reason. It promotes the creation of new nerve cells throughout the nervous system and enhances the nervous system’s plasticity- its ability to change and adapt. Exercise protects the brain as people age, helping to delay or prevent brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise is the true Fountain of Youth.

Arm Training Tips-Welcome to the Gun Show

Muscle Fitness Rx February 1, 2018 1 Comment

1. Before you train arms more often, consider other factors.

What would you do if your arms aren’t growing? May times, the solution we jump to, or that is instantly suggested to us, is arm training more frequently. Some men will hit their guns twice or even three times in a week in a desperate effort to spur growth. Many believe that is jumping the “gun”. Some would try training twice a week-If that did not produce results after a couple of months-I would stop training them completely for a couple of months. As crazy as that seems, some guys have seen results from that and guessing its because their arms were in a constant state of being over trained. Keep in mind that not only are the biceps and triceps are small muscle groups, but also involved in exercises we use at other workouts for chest, back and shoulders. Without recovery, there is no growth. Using a legal steroid will help with recovery and strength.

2. Don’t think sets, think time spent training.

Bodybuilders often want to know exactly how many sets are optimal for a body part in any given workout. It’s commonly accepted that larger body parts like the legs and back should be trained with a higher volume of overall exercises and sets than something relatively smaller, such as the biceps and triceps. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes for biceps and another 30 for tri’s. So depending on whether you go heavy and rest more between sets, or not so heavy and keep your rest periods shorter, you will have fairly different amounts of volume. You can train long or you can train hard, but you can’t do both.

3.No less than six reps per set.

You might hear advise to work in the four to six rep range for arms, or to do heavy sets of five on certain basic movements like barbell curls or close-grip bench presses. Going really heavy and doing low reps will beat the crap out of your joints and tendons, and you usually don’t see very good form with lower reps, either. Ideal rep range is eight to 12.

4. Shock ‘Em!

If arms are a stubborn body part for you, obviously you want to show them no mercy. But even beyond that, every so often you should really put them through the wringer. Bear in mind that doing so on a regular basis would leave to over training. Here is a shock routine you can try no more than twice a month for muscle building results:

BICEPS (PERFORMED FIVE TIMES)

ALTERNATE DUMBBELL CURLS-10 REPS
BARBELL CURLS-10 REPS
PREACHER CURLS-10 REPS
“PLATE” HAMMER CURLS-10 REPS (USING 45 POUND PLATE)

TRICEPS (PERFORMED FIVE TIMES)

FLAT BENCH SKULL CRUSHERS-10 REPS
WEIGHED DIPS-10 REPS
STRAIGHT BAR CABLE PUSHDOWNS-10 REPS
BODYWEIGHT TRICEPS EXTENSIONS-10 REPS (PERFORMED WITH OLYMPIC BAR SET JUST ABOVE WAIST LEVEL IN SQUAT RACK-MOVEMENT RESEMBLES AN OVERHEAD BARBELL EXTENSION)

5.Cheating has a time and place.

Use good form. Loose form allows more weight to be used and thus boosts the ego, but it does very little to stress the target muscle and instigate growth. Never take advantage of technique at proper times can actually hinder results.

6. Do not accept defeat!

By the time most of us have been training 5-10 years, it is clear which body parts were meant to be good and which ones got the genetic shaft. There are so many different exercises, techniques, rep tempos and so on that is would be pretty tough to say you have tried everything. You can not give up on building muscle!

7. Feed your arms.

If you don’t proved your body with the right nutrients it needs to repair and rebuild you will not see results you need to see. Eating a lean protein meal immediately after a workout will help-you need to feed those starving muscles right away. Here is a high protein recipe you can make ahead to have ready to feed your arms. Adding muscle building supplements helps with gains, strength and recovery.

SPANISH CHICKEN OVER PENNE

PREP-15 MIN/COOK TIME-30 MINUTES/4 SERVINGS…

24 GRAMS CARBOHYDRATES

13 GRAMS NET CARBS

11 GRAMS FIBER

71.5 GRAMS PROTIEN

13 GRAMS FAT

520 CALORIES

1 1/2 LB Boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch chunks

1/2 t salt

Half medium onion chopped

1/2C finely diced green bell pepper

1/2 C finely diced celery

1 large garlic clove pushed through a press

2 t ground cumin

1/4 t crushed red pepper

1/2 C dry sherry

1 C canned diced tomatoes in juice

1/4 C reduced sodium chicken broth

1 T butter

8 ounces low carb soy penne pasta cooked according to package directions and drained

1.Sprinkle chicken with salt. Heat 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat; add chicken and brown 4 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time.

2.Stir in onion, pepper & celery. Reduce heat to medium and cook 4 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add garlic, cumin and crushed red pepper; cook 1 minute. Add sherry, let bubble about 10 seconds., then add tomatoes and broth;bring to boil.

3.Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 12-15 minutes until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in butter until melted. Serve over pasta.

Men’s Issues-Erectile Dysfunction and Sexual Performance

Muscle Fitness Rx January 26, 2018 No Comments

HIGH BLOOD VESSEL AGE LINKED TO ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION

Baseball legend Mickey Mantel once said, “if I knew I was going to live this long, I’d taken better care of myself.” People living healthy lifestyles can have tissues and organs that are biologically “younger” than those who smoke, eat poor diets and don’t exercise. A study developed the concept of vascular age (blood vessel age) based on weight, height, blood pressure, blood fats, smoking history and blood sugar control. Researchers found that men with higher vascular age showed an increased risk of erectile dysfunction. Poor sexual health is both a symptom and cause of poor metabolic health triggered by poor diet and lack of physical activity.Using testosterone boosters will help with this issue as well.

STATINS AND SEXUAL PERFORMANCE

Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol. Men under 70 with heart disease live longer when they take the drugs. Effects on sexual performance, less well understood. Lowering cholesterol improves blood vessel health, which is important for promoting strong erections. But over 50 percent of statin users have trouble achieving orgasm. So, statins have positive and negative sexual effects. Statins are also linked to fatigue and muscle weakness, which is not good for sexual performance or for weight training. Statins are probably overprescribed for preventing heart disease in otherwise healthy people.

Leg Day

Muscle Fitness Rx January 17, 2018 No Comments

Leg Day Training

We all have our favorite exercises for each body part but sometimes it is useful to look at our training program from a different perspective. Leg day, this article outlines a couple of familiar leg exercises with a slightly different twist. You will build strong legs in no time with workouts and the best muscle building supplements.

Get Huge Strong Legs-Best Muscle Building Supplemetns

Every bodybuilder and weight trainer will have his or her favorite exercises for each body part. That’s how it should be – as you progress through the various stages of learning you’ll understand what works best for you. It is useful, however, to take stock of your progress every so often and carry out an analysis of where you are and what changes, if any, are needed to move onwards and upwards.

Part of this analysis should include an assessment of the core exercises that make up your bodybuilding training program. In this article we’ll look at the leg exercises that have proven their worth to serious bodybuilders for many years. Where appropriate a series of exercises suitable for achieving pre-exhaustion presented. All exercises should be performed to failure with one set of six to eight reps.

1. Leg extension – this exercise will allow you to isolate the thigh muscles preserving the strength of the other leg muscles for the compound exercise to follow.

– Push the pads until the knees about locked.

– Pause.

– Lower with control to the starting position.

2. Leg press – you can move straight on to this exercise if sufficiently experienced.

– Place your feet firmly at shoulder width on the foot board.

– Bend the legs until they are almost touching the chest.

– Pause.

– Return with control to the starting position.

3. Calves – the best way to work the calves is to perform raises on special gym equipment that allows standing raises and sitting raises while working both calf muscles.

Kayaker Banned from Olympics! Steroid Scandal

Muscle Fitness Rx January 12, 2018 No Comments

Sports and Anabolic Steroids

One of Japan’s top prospects for the 2020 Tokyo Games has been banned from the Olympics. Admitting to spiking his fellow kayaker’s drink with anabolic steroids.

As reported by The Japan Times and announced by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday. 32-year-old Yasuhiro Suzuki will be ineligible to compete in any Olympics for the next eight years. After an investigation by the Japan Canoe Federation revealing he put a “muscle-building supplement” with a “banned steroid” into the drink of Seiji Komatsu.

Japan’s Anti-Doping Agency called Suzuki’s violation the country’s first case of “deliberate contamination.” But The Japan Times suggested that the banned kayaker is no stranger to such controversy.

“In its investigation into the incident, the canoe federation found that Suzuki had made repeated attempts to sabotage other competitors. Not only Komatsu, by such means as stealing equipment used in training and competition. It has recommended Suzuki’s expulsion from the federation.”

Stay on the safe side when competing and bodybuilding. Furthermore, use legal steroids and steroid alternatives . Because legal steroids contain no banned substances.

Testosterone Boosters -Are They Safe?

Muscle Fitness Rx December 23, 2017 No Comments

Yes! There are many benefits to testosterone boosters. These testosterone supplements are a great way to build muscle, burn fat and increase libido.

What is a testosterone booster?

Used to improve results in bodybuilding and athletics. Athletes turn to testosterone boosters for much-needed boost in sporting activities. These legal steroids, responsible for helping athletes build strength and increase muscle mass.”T-boosters”, such as gels, creams and pills have positive effects on male hormone testosterone. Boosters instigate more of its production. What’ll happen if you maximize your levels?

Testosterone to build muscle.

You’ll build more muscle mass fast when supplementing T-boosters. In conjunction with a resistance training program, T-boosters equally allow athletes to work harder in the gym. Thanks to the increased testosterone that speeds up the rate at which muscles rebuild during rest. While resting after a painstaking training session, microscopic tears in your muscles get rebuilt. This process quickens with T-boosters.

T-boosters to burn fat.

When you boost natural hormone with these supplements, you gain significant muscle mass. In turn lose unwanted fat in your body. The lost fat will then be replaced by muscles that will have increased over the course of your T-booster usage. So you won’t lose weight; instead you will end up weighing almost the same as you did before. Yet burn fat quick due to more lean muscle.

Increase libido.

The effect that T-boosters have on your sex drive is remarkable. The sole reason many take them, not just to improve their performance in the gym but also to improve their performance in bed. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone responsible for governing your sex drive and making you manly. So a boost of this hormone is bound to increase sex drive especially if your libido is lower.

As you can see, there are many benefits to supplementing testosterone boosters!

Increase Muscle Mass and Gain Weight

Muscle Fitness Rx December 18, 2017 No Comments

If you want to increase muscle mass and gain weight, while weight lifting. Remember that in order to effectively bulk up, you will need to be persistent in your efforts. Increasing your caloric intake is an important part of gaining weight and building new muscle tissue. When you feed your body more food than it can burn, you gain weight.

Weight training is also an important part of gaining weight and increasing your muscle mass. Weight training stimulates the muscles and promotes growth. The combination of weight training and proper diet is the best, most effective way to gain weight and increase muscle mass.

Failure to eat properly while weight training could result in loss of muscle tissue. Make certain you get plenty of protein, fats, and carbs and in large enough quantities to allow your body to gain weight. Legal steroid supplements can play a role in building body mass if taken while adjusting your diet and training with weights. A great muscle building supplement for beginners, like a bulking supplement. Meal replacement bars, powders, and protein drinks can be an excellent way to increase your daily caloric intake. In order to increase muscle mass, you must give your body approximately 500 more calories per day than the number of calories your body uses.

Exercise and diet are the most important things to consider when attempting to gain weight and increase muscle mass. Weight training and the adequate food intake will leave your body with no choice but to gain weight and add mass. Make sure to get enough rest between workouts to give your body time to recuperate and build new muscle tissue.

If you want to get the maximum benefit from your mass building routine. Avoiding the most common reasons that cause people to fail at building muscle and gaining weight. A quality mass building routine combined with proper nutrition and plenty of rest. Produces results that you never dreamed possible. Consistency, smart eating habits, the proper weight lifting techniques. Lots of rest are the common elements shared by every successful body builder.

Building muscle is a slow process and it could possibly take several months before you see noticeable results. If you are determined and consistent in your muscle mass building routine and your eating habits, you efforts will pay off in time. Nutrition is also crucial in building muscle mass. The right amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats must be included in your diet in order to give your body the fuel it needs to add muscle tissue. The trick to building muscle is to find the combination of foods that allow you to add new muscle mass. Trial and error combined with sound dietary guidelines will allow you to find just the right nutritional plan for you.

The proper weight lifting techniques are a very important part of a muscle mass building routine. If you don’t work your muscles, they won’t grow. You will need to find the right amount of weight and the right weight lifting exercises for your body. Determination, trial and error, and a consistent effort will eventually give you the results you want. The most important thing is to stay focused and realize your reward is waiting for you down the line.

SUPER ABS! Fat Burners and Six Pack Abs

Muscle Fitness Rx December 15, 2017 No Comments

The goal of six pack abs mainly depends upon losing weight by completing exercises that focus on the muscles in the abdominal area. There are literally dozens of such exercises including many that are meant for other major muscle groups, but that can be modified to include a workout for your abdominal muscles. Here are just a few of the major abdominal emphasis exercises. These exercises total fat burners!

By adding a legal steroid for cutting and burning fat, like clen to your daily routine, abs will be popping out in now time! Fat burners help burn fat and lose weight.

CRUNCHES

Crunches are done by lying on the floor either on a mat or not, with your arms crossed in front of your chest. Many people do crunches with the hands behind the head, but this can create lower back problems because of the pull on the head and neck. A slightly different position has the finger tips placed behind the ears, rather than crossed on the chest. It is important not to pull on the neck or on the ears for assistance in rising off the floor. Instead, suck the abdomen back toward the spine and inhale through the nose at the same time. Raise the shoulders toward the knees using only the muscles in the abdomen. The entire back should not be lifted from the floor, as this is likely to create back strain. No additional benefit to the abdomen is gained by raising the entire torso.

The key part of the crunch is the initial flexing of the abdominal muscles as the shoulders are lifted off the floor. As the shoulders clear the floor, exhale through your mouth. Complete the exhalation with a gasp to expel the last of the air from the lungs as your shoulders stay clear of the floor. Lower the shoulders back to the point where the shoulder blade touches the ground while inhaling. It is important to maintain the proper breathing control and muscle flexing to get maximum benefit from crunches.

SIT UPS

Once again start in a position on the floor with your feet flat and your knees bent. The fingers should be placed behind the ears, or you can cross your arms on your chest. Slowly raise the entire back off the floor while inhaling deeply and exhale as you reverse the move. This exercise can be made more challenging in several ways. For instance, you can do sit ups from an incline with your head lower than your lower body. You can then add weights on the chest to lift while you are sitting up. Weights can become heavier on an incline bench. The next difficult step, attained by holding the feet off the ground while doing sit ups or making a bicycle peddling motion while doing sit ups with your legs. These exercises may not be easy, but are very beneficial to the abdominal area.

LEG LIFTS

Leg lifts begin with the legs straight and the hands at your sides while lying on the floor. Lift both legs up at the same time without bending the knees until the legs are at a ninety degree angle or a close as possible. Not everyone is flexible enough to reach the ninety degree angle. Lower the legs as close as possible to the floor without actually touching and repeat several times. Increase the challenge of this exercise by adding weights to the legs while lifting them. Another challenging exercise for improving definition and musculature in the abdomen is to hang from a pull up bar while lifting both legs to a ninety-degree position. As with most other exercises, try to stay conscious of breathing while slowly doing the routines.

JACKKNIFE SIT UPS

This exercise begins by lying flat on the floor with the hands at your sides in order to provide better balance. At the same time you raise your knees, bring your torso up slowly till the face and knees meet. Return slowly to the original position while in full control of the movement. The jackknife name comes from the natural tendency of the legs to bend at the knee. With the feet dropping to the hips presenting the shape of a jackknife. The difficulty level of this position increase by holding a weight between the feet while performing the sit ups.

V UPS

This exercise begins with you on your back on the floor with the arms extended over your head. Bring both legs and torso up at the same time without bending the knees or the arms. Keep the pace slow and steady. Reach for your feet with your extended hands at the top of the arc. If possible, try to touch your feet, but this move can be tricky until your level of flexibility increases. As with other exercises, adding weight between the feet increases the difficulty level.