One of the themes of these pages is that the most effective abs workouts are those which focus on training the entire body with high intensity exercises, stimulating the metabolic rate and ensuring that your natural fat-burning hormones work at optimal efficiency.

But that’s not to say that there aren’t also some very effective ab-specific exercises which can usefully be added to your overall regime.  Here are two of the best, equally suitable for both men and women, which will give your abs an unbelievable workout in just a few minutes a day.

Click Here to see the exact steps that “ordinary guy” Alex Miller used to lose 36 pounds of body fat and FINALLY get six-pack abs.
Check out Alex’s inspirational pictures and also the Q&A we put together on how he achieved these results (very informative and inspirational!)

First up is the stomach flattener, also known also known as the “Farmer Burns”, after an old time wrestler and strongman, and recently popularised by Matt Furey, of Combat Conditioning fame.   Here’s how to do it.

• You need to stand quite naturally, with feet shoulder-width apart and let your arms hang loose by your sides.

• Breathe in deeply through your nose without letting your stomach expand.

• Now squeeze and contract your abs as hard as you can while exhaling, and focus your mind on the muscles and the hiss of your breath escaping.

• Squeeze and contract the muscles even harder while your lungs are empty; you can clench your fists, grimace, whatever you like, imagine you’re bracing to withstand a huge blow to the gut.

• Now inhale as above and repeat.  Keep going for as long as you can, building up to 5 minutes of training and on up.  Just a word of warning, this is a far more powerful abs workout than you might imagine from this simple description so be sure to take it steady at first.

Once your breathing’s returned to normal after “Farmer Burns” it’s time for “The Vacuum”.  This is an adaptation of a hatha yoga discipline, and it’s notable that the gurus of old placed enormous emphasis on abdominal health and fitness as being at the root of all true bodily health.  So your abs workout is about far more than just your appearance.

• Again, stand with feet shoulder-width apart and bend over with hands on knees.

• Exhale completely and then, holding the breath, lift your body slightly while pulling the entire abdominal area upwards and inwards towards your spine.

• Hold this position, pulling in as hard as you can, for about 5-6 seconds, then release the hold and breathe in through the nose.

• Repeat the process, aiming for 10 reps.

A couple of words of caution:  both “Farmer Burns” and The Vacuum” are much more powerful exercises than these brief descriptions might suggest, so proceed cautiously at first and stop at once if you feel any lightheadedness or undue racing of the heart.  They must also always be done on an empty stomach, but subject to this can be repeated several times a day if you like.

Both of these simple exercises provide far more than just a great abs workout.  The combination of very strong muscular contractions with breath control also works the internal organs very hard, stimulating circulation and the process of elimination, driving the entire system to get lean.  Practise them every day, whilst also maintaining your regular high-intensity workouts, and you’re going to see incredible results.

If you want to get a lean, toned and shapely stomach in the shortest time then click here for access to these great free downloads
Mike Geary’s – Insider Secrets For A Lean Body (e-book)
Tom Venuto’s – Six Pack Abs Revealed (e-book)
David Grisaffi’s – Posture & Core Conditioning (e-book)
Mike Geary and Jeff “Muscle Nerd” Anderson (90 minute MP3 audio)

Steve

© 2011 Effective Ab Workouts