Dumbbell Side Bend - Abdominal Exercise

A well-chiseled abdomen is an enthralling sculpture to behold, particularly one forming that delightful V shape.
But one issue to contend with is that a hefty statistic of all abs exercises performed by bodybuilders is composed of variations on the sit-up and the leg raise. Drawing the legs and torso closer together work as flexions of the abdominus rectus body, short of a complete six-pack abs exercise.Though in essence they are all exercises to get abs, flexions are only one of the three functions of the abdomen.

Drawing the legs and torso closer together workas flexions of the abdominus rectus body, short of a complete six-pack abs exercise. Though in essence they are all exercises to get abs, flexions are only one of the three functions of the abdomen.The other two are bending to the side, and twisting from side to side - these movements depend on the oblique muscles. Honing your obliques is the creed of every proper flat abs exercise.The obliques refer to the large muscle group on either side of your lower back. Located just under the ribcage, obliques assist in twisting motions for the torso, whether bending it to one side and forward or twist it at the waist from one side to the other. They are also designated to transfer power from the legs to the lats and upper back and shoulder. Apart from its crucial role in lateral bending and twisting, the obliques play a pivotal role in all abdominus rectus exercises, and act as a counterforce to the spinal erector muscles of the back.
More than the abdominus rectus could, the obliques cover and hold in a much larger portion of the abdomen. The muscle group curves inward and downward from the sides to the front of the lower abdomen, and down into the crotch. For that reason the obliques are not just a side muscle, but a frontal muscle as well, particularly the internal obliques and the lower portion of the external obliques. For an exercise to build your abs, this exercise for lower abs is your answer.
Your hackneyed sit-ups and leg raises don’t work the obliques much at all. They even bite off more than it can chew as they gradually force the top of the pelvis to tilt forward, contributing to swayback.
Touted one of the best abs exercises around, the dumbbell side bend is the most frequently recommended to train the obliques. There is many an abs exercise video with oblique training in their program.
Here is a basic abs exercise tip nevertheless. For those Greek god obliques, stand erect, feet spaced 16" apart. Grasp the dumbbell in right hand, palms facing inwards. Place left hand on waist, remembering to keep the back straight. Lean right as far as possible, and then bend to left as far as possible. Shift weight to left hand and do repetitions of the movement. Bend only at the waist, not at the hips or knees.
This abs exercise works well with other abs exercise equipments such as barbells as much as it does with dumbbells. In a barbell side bend, stand erect, feet still spaced 16" apart. Position a light barbell on shoulders while never forgetting to maintain an upright back. Bend to the right as far as possible, and then lean leftwards as far as possible. Remember to bend at the waist only, not at hips or knees. This variant of the flat abs exercise can also be done seated.

Leg Raise - Abdominal Exercise

Any commendable abs exercise program is comprised of high intensity muscular overload and progressive increase in intensity. Abdominal exercises are crucial for helping you gain strong stomach muscles and back muscles. Henceforth, you may not have to contend with the likelihood of back pains. Moreover, they provide protection against injury by efficient response to stress.
Even then, abs exercises must be undertaken carefully in a way that the back is adequately supported.There are abs exercises that tend towards developing either the upper or lower abdominal region. The leg raise is one such lower abs exercise, focusing on defining the lower abdominal muscles. A single leg raise involves raising one leg from the floor while the double leg raise involves raising both legs from the floor at the same time.Individuals with long or heavy legs should probably avoid this exercise.

With them, this abs exercise pulls the lower back into a distended arch. In general, lying leg raises are ideal lower abs exercise. Such are six pack abs exercises.Individuals with long or heavy legs should probably avoid this exercise. With them, this abs exercise pulls the lower back into a distended arch.
In general, lying leg raises are ideal lower abs exercise. Such are six pack abs exercises.
Execute a lying leg raise by lying on your back with your hands, palms down under your buttocks. Raise your legs at a height of about 12 inches off the floor and hold them there. Using the force of your lower abs, raise your legs by another 6 inches. You can do this by tilting the pelvis. Keep those knees of yours slightly bent.
There are also other variants of this lower abs exercise. They are ideal abs exercise for women.
Side Leg Raise
Using a pillow to cradle your head, lie on your side, with legs straight and in line with your spine. Keep the balance by placing your hand on your bed and bending your bottom knee. Raise your top leg straight up to the horizontal position and then lower your leg slowly. Finish ten repetitions before changing sides.
Hanging Leg Raise
This is a good exercise to get abs. Suspend yourself from a bar with your legs straight down and raise your legs by flexing your hips. Continue raising your knees towards your shoulders by flexing your waist. Never swing nor use momentum, else go slow and concentrate on using your abs to pull your legs up. Return to the starting position and complete repetitions.

Crunch - Abdominal Exercise

Looking for an exercise to build your abs? Crunches rank one of the most commonly used exercises for abdominal muscles, primarily the rectus abdominis. They are hailed as the most commonly used abs exercises in the gym today.
Aside from working on the rectus abdominis, crunches are known as super isolation exercises for the intercostals. This is every way an exercise to get abs, basically performed while lying face up on the floor with knees bent and curling the shoulders up towards the pelvis. Your hands may be placed behind the head for support, but caution should be heeded as not to pull on the neck.

As an alternative, the hands may be placed on the shoulders, with the forearms crossed over the chest. An upper abs exercise, the crunch is different from the sit-up in that the lower back never leaves the floor upon ascent. Through this, the hip flexors are not involved in the activity, effectively isolating the abdominals in turn.
That begs to differ though - crunches have been criticized, for the participation of the hip flexors are not in fact reduced. When the tension spreads from the abdominals to the hip flexors, the tension of the hip flexors reduces the workload on the rectus abdominis.
As an exercise to build abs, the crunch has many variants including the use of an abs exercise equipment, the crunch machine. Lying on a decline bench or holding a weight on the chest can augment to the challenge of a crunch.
Here’s how to execute this six pack abs exercise. First, lie flat on your back and place your calves on a flat bench seat. Your hamstrings should be perpendicular to the floor and knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Position your hands as support behind your head, with fingers interlaced together.
Simultaneously, pull your hips from the floor using your lower abdominal muscles and raise your shoulders and back from the floor using your upper abdominal muscles. While doing such, compel your shoulders to move toward your hips. Sustain the contracted position for a slow count of 1-3 seconds.
Shoulders must come up off the floor only around four inches high. The lower back should remain at all times on the floor. Movement is paced slow, controlled.
This exercise for abs is also good for women who want to get flat abs.

Front Squat - Leg Exercise

In a nutshell, a front squat is the reverse of a back squat. Whereas in the back squat the weight is lifted at the back, the weight is held across the upper chest in the front squat. It dramatically shifts the balance of the movement, as well as the placement of the tension on your muscles.
As a very commendable leg exercise, the front squat is generally used to more effectively target the quadriceps. You are able to maintain a more vertical torso position since the weight is focused at the front of the body. As a result, this allows more tension to be placed on the quads rather than the glutes and lower back. In spite of, this leg and butt exercise requires strong abdominals and shoulders in order to keep the barbell properly racked across the front of the shoulders.

Variations
The concept behind holding the bar on your shoulders or front squat racking can be likened to holding the broomstick in place without using your hands.
Begin this leg exercise by suspending the weight across the pins in the power cage or rack, leveling it at par with your collarbone or a bit lower. Go under the weight in a way that it is sitting about the base of your neck and then bring your elbows up in front of you as high as you can. Reach as high so that your upper arms are parallel to the floor, in turn forming a break between your shoulders and collarbone.
You have a choice between two methods of racking.
Clean-style rack
This version of leg and thigh exercise imparts a wider support for the weight. This is also known as a clean grip, because this is the position that the bar rests at in the top part of the Olympic lift called the clean. It is a recommended leg muscle exercise for people with flexible wrists and shoulders. For al its credit though, it is very difficult for those lacking elbow, wrist and shoulder flexibility or for anyone who has any trouble with those joints.
To do the clean grip anyway, jut your arms out forward, palms down like a zombie from horror B-movies. Fold your hands back facing your face and grip the bar. Palms then face upwards.
Crossed-arms style rack
Also referred to as the crossed-wrist grip, the crossed-arms style of racking in a front squat is executed by holding the bar with palms down and wrists crossed. It is a leg and thigh exercise good for women.
The bar, in this method, is placed across the anterior deltoids and the elbows are pointed forward. Forearms are crossed over directly in front and the hands get a grip on the bar.
In all, the crossed-arm grip is easier on the joints of the upper body. But it leaves you with somewhat less control over the bar, with the added risk that the bar also has a greater tendency to roll back down into the throat.
Both racking styles pressure the rib cage – in this way, it can cause you to run out of breath before your legs are thoroughly worked. Such leg extension exercise is sure to tone your leg muscles and is an exercise to slim legs.

Back Squat - Leg Exercise

Learn to do the back squat well and your body will reward you with a fabulous set of quadriceps.
Often referred to simply as the squat, the back squat is one of the most reputed of leg exercises, let alone one of the best leg exercises around. It targets the totality of your body, giving emphasis on your legs, butt, hips, and lower back.No matter what they say, the leg press exercise is no substitute to the back squat. Unlike a leg press, the back squat not only imparts strength, but also balance, coordination, endurance, and power. Sensations of dizziness, nausea, deafness and light-headedness are few of the known effects of this well-reputed leg muscle exercise,

however. Because of variations in genetic makeup in prospective bodybuilders, this leg and butt exercise may also be deemed dangerous for the select. For one, flat feet places additional stress on the joints and lower back.For good measure, you may use such tools as a lifting belt. This equipment supports your back, makes it tight and in line with the rest of your body. Other leg exercise equipment designed for these ends include lifting straps and knee wraps. You further run however the risk of injury since these lifting tools ultimately become weak and vulnerable when excessively used.To perform this leg extension exercise, do so by loading a barbell with weight at approximately chest height on the squat rack. Your shoulders must rest on the bar and your hands must clutch either side. With palms facing forward, take the weight off the rack. The bar must be resting on the muscle on the back of your shoulders and not on your neck. Descend, keeping your back straight until your thighs are close to parallel with the floor. Then push this same weight back up.Remember to distribute the weight on your upper thighs and the heels or balls of your feet, neither your toes nor your knees. Throughout the whole range of motion of this leg exercise, your back should be angled between 90 to 45 degrees. Never lock out at the top in an effort to build continuous tension in your thighs.By and large, back squats are hard to master. Practice is key before attempting to lift heavy weights.

Calf Raise - Leg Exercise

Calves does not so much gain the recognition it deserves as they have been the most neglected body parts in gym training. That does not take away the extensive use of these muscles in walking, jumping, and running.
Calves are nominally the gastrocnemius and soleus, situated at the back of the lower human leg. The calf muscles are linked by the Achilles tendon to the foot. They contract to induce plantar flexion of the foot.By far the calf raise is a good leg exercise of pertinence, which comes in multiple variations. You don’t need a leg exercise machine for this - a barbell or dumbbell would suffice. It is also a good leg exercise at home. VariationsStanding Dumbbell Calf Raise

In this variation of the leg exercise, the main leg exercise equipment of use is the dumbbell. Begin by placing a wooden block or something similar on the ground that is at least 2 - 3 inches tall. Clutching a dumbbell in each hand, plant your toes and balls of feet on the block with arches and heels extending off and resting on the floor. Afterwards, raise your heels by extending ankles as high as possible then subsequently lower heels by bending your ankles until your calves are stretched. Do repetitions, while maintaining straight knees all throughout this leg muscle exercise. Bend the knees slightly only during stretch.
The standing dumbbell calf raise can also be performed with a barbell on your back instead.
Calf Raise On A Dumbbell
In essence, you do one-legged calf raises with this leg muscle exercise. Stand upright on a dumbbell handle, preferably the rolling sort with round plates. This rolling orientation will make you work to stabilize yourself as you're doing the calf raise, increasing the effectiveness of the leg exercise.
Hang onto something solid as you're doing this exercise for support. The rolling dumbbell will allow your foot to move over the top of the handle. In turn, this movement gives you full extension of the calf at the top. As you ascend, roll the dumbbell slightly backward. Slightly roll it forward as you go low to get a better stretch.
You can also execute this leg extension exercise by standing on the actual dumbbell plate, using a large 85-pound dumbbell that is wider.
Seated Barbell Calf Raise
Sitting comfortably, rest the balls of your feet on the edge of a raised platform no less than 4 inches. Position a barbell of your preference on your thighs, just above your knees.
Raise and lower your heels with all your weight on the balls of your feet. For 2 - 3 seconds hold the upward phase of the range of motion, prior to returning your heel back down to the floor.

Goodmornings - Leg Exercise

When it comes to one of the best leg exercises, particularly that which works out the lumbar, glutes, and hamstrings, goodmornings are much recommended. Good movements to do if one has an issue with the arm or shoulder, goodmornings have multiple variations.
Among others, there are variations of this leg exercise, such as wide stance arched back goodmornings, narrow stance rounded back goodmornings, suspended goodmornings, and seated goodmornings.All the same, these leg muscle exercises can intercept wear and tear on thehands.Though goodmornings provide great leg exercise, extreme caution should be exercised when doing them.

A little distraction factored in the workout can spell disastrous results. Circulating a lot of blood into the lumbar and glute area is vital, as extra circulation will greatly reduce the risk of injury. It is always wise not to do a full-range goodmorning to parallel until about the third or forth repetition on each set. Low repetitions like singles, doubles, or triples will probably cause long-term injury.
Bent Legged, Straight Back Goodmorning
Take the suspended barbell from the rack on your shoulders just behind your neck. Stand with a comfy shoulder width stance, and then bend your knees slightly. Fix your sights on a spot on the wall in front of you. That selected spot should be at about belt height.
Instead of leaning or bending forward, focus on pushing your hips backwards. As your hips move backwards on a horizontal plane the barbell’s motion will scale down a vertical plane. Slowly descend in the eccentric portion of the movement. Bend until you are angled 90 degrees then return to an upright position, by concentrating on pulling your hips forward on a horizontal plane. Concentration is key in this leg extension exercise.
Stiff Legged Good Morning
Stiff legged goodmornings should only be done light for stretching and warm-ups. Nevertheless, this variation of the leg exercise is excellent for helping to rehabilitate a pulled hamstring.
Seated Goodmorning
Seated goodmornings are good for isolating the lumbars. They do this by minimizing the use of the glutes and hamstrings. This variation is an ideal leg and thigh exercise, and will result in slim legs.
To execute a seated goodmorning, sit on a bench high enough in a way that your femurs (thigh bones) are parallel with the floor and your tibias (shin bones) are angled 90 degrees to your femurs. Bend forward looking at a spot in front of you at about belt height. Remember not to let your head droop and look down. When your abdominal area comes in contact with the top of your thighs, pause briefly then rise. If you can, lean forward and your abdominals will drop down between your thighs. Seated good mornings can be done in sets of eight to ten repetitions.
This is a good leg exercise for women and that can be practiced at home.