The article is about the importance of stretching and proper abdominal exercises.
Everyone has different desires and goals. Some may desire to lose excess weight, others want to gain weight or size. Others may be interested in improving the quality of their life. Too many of us think that they can "skate by" on life without the worries of weight gain or letting our bodies go to waste. FOREVER YOUNG is only a phrase and not true reality!!!!
Over the last several years in my business, I have been fortunate to meet people of all walks of life. Men and women are becoming more concerned with the inevitable process of aging. I have seen my clientele change from people in their 20’s and 30’s to people in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.
The days of trying to look like Mr. America, are in the past. People want to look better and feel good about themselves and improve the quality of their life. Just walk in any health club you meet up with quite a diversity of people. For many the routine itself can be enjoyable, yielding noticeable results over time. For others, it is a place to go and socialize with their friends.
Begin your workout by stretching, a light cardio warm-up and then abdominal exercises. Start out nice and slow. There are several safety features that I want to address. Keep yourself from injuring your lower back, you should be sure that you are doing the exercises correctly.
A good exercise to begin with is an exercise called "crunches". Commence the exercise by lying either flat on your back keeping your heels as close as to your butt as possible or with your legs draped over a bench. Cross your arms over your chest. Exhale and slowly lift your head toward your knees and then bend at the waist, raising your body up only a few inches. Inhale and return to the original starting position. Repeat for 10-15 repetitions. As a beginner, do 2-3 sets. For advanced training, use the same number of sets and increase the repetitions until exhaustion.
IT IS NOT ADVISED TO BRING YOURSELF ALL THE WAY UP. This may cause injury to your lower back. You will actually be using your internal oblique muscles to pull with. We all know about the outer oblique muscles ("love handles"). The internal oblique muscles are attached to your lower back in an area called the "lumbar". The lumbar are actually part of the skeletal system that enables you to bend forward and from side to side laterally.
The internal oblique muscles are the muscles connecting the upper body to the lower body thru the skeletal system. While one side of you body bends laterally the external oblique contract and the inner oblique muscles expand (similar to the biceps and triceps).
If you feel ANY pain or discomfort in your lower back, STOP the exercise immediately as you may be causing damage to that area.