Article Hub.net

Feel welcome to publish this article on any place you want
but you may NOT change anything in the box below.

<h3>All About Working The Transverse Abdominals</h3>
 
A group of muscles that often gets neglected in 
stomach exercise routines are the transverse 
abdominals, the core muscles that lie below the 
rectus abdominus. Most abdominal exercises target 
the rectus abdominus and the vertical abdominals, 
ignoring the transverse abdominals. Even crunches, 
 the staple of most abdominal workouts, do 
nothing for the transverse abdominals. These 
muscles are actually the most important to target, 
 however, as they connect to both the lower back 
muscles and the rectus abdominus and for a girdle 
for the entire abdomen. Any routine aimed at 
flattening the stomach should include the 
transverse abdominals as a focus. Using the 
following exercises, you can work out your 
transverse abdominals and really make progress on 
that flat tummy. As with any workout routine, be 
sure to consult a professional before beginning 
and always warm up properly to avoid injury. 
 
Pelvic Tilts 
This stomach exercise requires lying on your back 
on a flat surface, such as the floor or a bench. 
Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Bend 
your knees so that your feet are flat on the 
floor. Raise your pelvis (and only your pelvis) 
off the floor, hold momentarily, and then lower 
it back down. Repeat for an entire set. 
Maintaining a controlled movement is crucial to 
this exercise. This will allow you to use your 
abdominal muscles, rather than your body\'s 
momentum, to do the work on the exercise. Also, 
be sure to keep your upper body on the floor 
throughout. 
 
Crunchless Crunch 
This first exercise is fairly simple but can also 
be fairly difficult. Essentially, it involves 
trying to pull the belly button in towards the 
spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using 
muscles which you may not be used to activating. 
To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. 
You might want to try both ways and see which 
helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your 
body as much as possible, then try to use only 
the lower abdominals to move your belly button 
toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If 
holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a 
longer period. The goal is to hold the 
contraction until you either cannot feel it, or 
you feel other muscles working harder than the 
transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the 
contraction out. 
 
Scissor Kicks 
This stomach exercise also requires lying on the 
floor. Position your hands under your butt, 
keeping your back pressed against the floor. 
Slowly raise one leg to a height of about ten 
inches, then slowly lower it back to the floor. 
As your lower one leg, raise the other. Repeat 
this motion for an entire set. Maintaining 
control throughout is important, not allowing 
momentum to get the better of you. Your upper 
body should remain on the floor through the 
entire move. 
 
There are plenty of other exercises targeting the 
transverse abdominals, but these three ought to 
be enough to get you started. Stomach exercises 
like these are key to any tummy-flattening plan, 
and they are especially good for pregnant and 
post-partum women. 
Author Info
 
Timothy Hill 
Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlehub.net">Article Hub.net</a>

Back to main article

External

Categories

Sponsors

Other stuff