Abdominal exercise

Why wouldn't you want strong abs? Our simple abdominal exercise program will give you a complete abs workout that will help you with your overall skiing and snowboarding fitness program.
 
Strong abs will help you look better, perform better, and reduce your risk of injuries, yet amazingly, many people just throw a few sit ups in at the end of a workout and consider that to be enough.

Working your abs and doing any abdominal exercise properly should be a key part of your workouts, the one thing you make sure you never skip. It all links in with core training and fitness. If your core is strong, then all the other parts can perform at their maximum efficiency.

Despite popular belief, you don't have to work your abs every day, and you don't need to do thousands of repetitions. A hundred quality reps three times a week will make a big difference.

There's little doubt that some exercises are better than others - the ones below are proven to be the most effective for working the muscles in this area.

Bicycles : They are scientifically proven to be one of the most effective of all abdominal exercises. Lie on an exercise mat, bend your knees and lift them until your shins are perpendicular (90 degrees) to the floor. Bend your arms and touch your hands to the back of your head, then gently bring one elbow forward while bringing the opposite knee to meet it. Pause, then twist to bring the opposite knee and elbow together. Repeat 20 times.
The Plank : To start, put your weight on your feet and forearms with your legs out straight. Then draw in your belly button towards your spine and hold this position for thirty seconds. Relax and repeat five times. If you find this easy, then from the same starting position, lift the right foot off the ground, hold for 20 seconds, then lower. Repeat with the left foot, then the right arm, then the left arm.
Crunches on a ball: Seen in almost all gyms for doing crunches, did you know they are much more effective thanks to the instability of an exercise ball? Perform short and controlled reps, maintaining tension in your abdominals throughout the exercise.

Now you know what's good for your tummy - either check out our fitness programs or see some more exercises that will help you to stay top of your game.