The lower abs is a tricky spot to exercise, as evidenced by the sheer number of people looking to target this trouble spot with lower abs workout routines that may or may not work. The underlying reason for the difficulties comes about as a result of not understanding how best to exercise the abs so that you can build up the muscles and tighten your core. What are some common myths that dog people looking to make the most out of their lower abs workout?
No Pain, No Gain.
A common myth in any exercise is the ‘no pain, no gain’ myth. While some pain is bound to happen, particularly the day after exercising, while you are doing your lower abs workout, you should not be feeling pain in your lower back. If you are, you’re not doing the exercise right or you’re doing them too stringently; either way, it’s time to call it quits and rethink your strategy. Remember, if you throw your back out, you won’t be doing any exercising!
You Have to Do Hundreds of Ab Exercises a Day
This is blatantly untrue; it’s not the quantity of your lower abs exercises that counts, it’s the quality. It’s far more important and effective to do twenty lower reps of your exercises that actually forces you to go harder than it is to a hundred exercises that don’t really tax you at all.
You can do a hundred crunches a day for a year and you still won’t get the same results as the person who did twenty pelvic tilts a day for a year. This same thing goes for using machines in your gym; there is far more effective in doing ten reps with a weight that is just a bit too heavy for you than a hundred with a weight that is far too light.
Go Big or Go Home
Abs are not about getting through exercises fast. They actually respond better in the long run; endurance training over speed. Slowly work up to the harder machines and exercises from the small instead of rushing straight to the hard stuff and you’ll have better results and less risk of damage to your body.
Breathing?
It seems to be a gut reaction to hold one’s breath while doing lower ab exercises, but this is actually pretty damaging. Your muscles require oxygen in order to grow and burn fat, plus you’ll get winded pretty quickly! Breath in when you’re tightening your muscles and breathe out when you release; that way, you keep the air flowing and the muscles growing.
Lower ab workouts are not necessarily difficult, but owing to a lot of misinformation about them, many people fall prey to myths that retard their muscle growth. Avoid these top four myths and you’ll find that your lower ab workouts are easier, more effective, and will result in a stronger, tighter core. Choose a good lower ab workout and stick with it in order to reap the benefits of a great-looking stomach!