Abs exercises

[javasaurus]

MSN health and fitness article on exercises for your abs. Mentions good and bad exercises, and describes why they do or don't work.

article link

I especially like the "at-your-desk" exercise -- I found it surprisingly difficult, but I could feel it in my abs immediately!

Comments

[dawntreader]

thanks for the link! i forwarded this to myself so i can re-read it (and post a reminder for myself) at work.

although i have to say the best part of the article was this:

Worst Exercise:
Reaching for the candy bars in the bottom drawer.

*lol*

on a similar topic, now that the fitness challenge is over, is it easy to keep the weight off and the good habits going? or do you find you are slipping? (or did you take ANOTHER fitness challenge?)

it seems like once i get close to my goal, i start slipping which sets me back again and i have to work hard to reach my goal again. it's very aggravating, especially because i KNOW i'm doing it. :P

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

I continued losing weight for a while after the original fitness challenge ended, about 10 more pounds worth. Then various holidays hit. The good news is that I didn't gain during the holidays, but I did go into a maintenance mode. After living on 1500 to 2000 calories per day for months, I'm now eating 2000 to 2500, and not gaining or losing.

The fitness challenges continue, and I find them to be great motivation -- periodic reminders to be good. I also find that since somebody is taking the time and effort to send me the updates, then I have to honor them by making the effort to get healthier.

My one failing so far has been that I've not been exercising. The "no time" excuse. Well, I've started sneaking in a few exercises when the Larry (what I will call the lazy side of my brain) wasn't looking! Exercise 1: knee-bends. Not deep knee bends, but half-squatting, keeping the heels on the ground. About 100 to 150 per morning, in sets of 25 to 50. Exercise 2: tip-toes: while standing, raise up to tip-toes, then down. About 50 to 75 in sets of 20 to 25. Not extreme exercises, but I do feel it in my calves and thighs. The sneaky part: I do these while washing my hair during my morning shower! Ha! Larry hasn't caught on yet!

Since reading that article yesterday, I've also done a few sets of the at-the-desk leg-lifting crunch things. Larry thinks I was just reading e-mail!

So yes, I'm continuing to work on my health, though over the holidays I went into maintenance mode. I'm hoping to lose at least another 20 pounds in the coming weeks, and add more exercises that Larry won't notice.

Oh, side benefit: when you do more floor exercises (crunches, stretches, etc.), you are very motivated to vacuum the floors more often!

[dawntreader]

yeah, i sort of am stuck in maintenance mode, too. i go up three and back down three, but no real movement in any direction. at least it's not UP. hey. i gave blood yesterday AND got a hair cut earlier in the week. that ought to be worth a pound or two! *lol*

the thing about 'maintenance' is that it's easy for a sudden turn of tide to kick in and move you the wrong direction.

in the meantime, keep up the good work and good luck fooling Larry. he sure sounds like one lazy bastard. ;)