Thread: 4 minute abs?

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Nice going HWORREL! Keep at it! Smoking is a tough nut to crack! It probably does affect your high blood pressure so try working on that!(Yeah right! Easier said than done!!)

If you have lower back problems one of the things you can do to work out your abs is to sit in a chair(Sit up straight like your momma always told you! ) and just lean forward a little, curl your back a little and tense them as hard as you can and hold that for 10 seconds. Basically, what you want to do is to try and suck in your gut and try and touch your spine!
Try tilting your shoulders from side to side so that you can feel your obliques(Love handles) tense up. I like to do a little circular motion so I can hit them all in one exercise. Do it 10 times.
An exercise that can strengthen your lower back is called supermans. Basically, you lay, face down, on the floor with your arms stretched out in front of you(Like Superman flying through the air hence the name! ). Lift your legs and arms off the ground and hold for 10 seconds. This will strenghten your spinal erectors which are the muscles that run up your lower back next to your spine. This should help with your back pain. Don't overdo it though! Gradually work up to it if you have back problems!
When you do any of these exercises try and feel the muscle your trying to hit tense up when you do them. Don't just go through the motions because your just wasting your time! As I said before, exercising with the right form will yield you much better results faster!

Something else I haven't mentioned. Stretching! Try and stretch before you exercise. It'll keep you from getting hurt if you overdo it a little.

Sorry but your breakfast doesn't count! If you're going to commit to a diet change this has to be included.

Look at the trailmix your eating. Does it have little chocolate chips in it? Too much sugar! Trailmix is good but try and get it without the chocolate or yogurt chips. Just look at the ingredients when you're buying it and look for the one that has sugar as far down towards the end as you can.

Poor Man's Power Shake/Good Breakfast:

1 packet of sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast
One Banana
One teaspoon of Peanut Butter
1 Glass of Non-Fat Milk or, if you're Lactose intolerant, Soy milk
Put it in a blender and whip it up!

If you want to add protein powder or whatever other supplement, nows the time to do it! I like to add Psyllium(Plantago Husks) as they keep me regular and studies have shown that they help in reducing cholestorol.

John