Hot 'n Healthy: Trim belly flab with hanging abdominal exercises

Posted: June 1, 2010 - 3:18am  |  Updated: June 1, 2010 - 8:01am
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(Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)  Steve Bisson
(Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)

When someone talks about the core, they are talking about the muscles deep within the abdominals and back. Your abdominals work as one unit and despite what you may have heard, you can't isolate one section from the other.

When it comes to developing your flat-belly, or six pack; it's all about the angles. By simply changing the angle of the move, crunching from side to side, lifting legs first, extending your arms overhead, and so on, you can effectively train your entire abdominal "unit".

You can actually change just a few things in your everyday workout to strengthen your abdominals as you work other muscles. For example: When performing a lunge, instead of holding a weight at your side, try holding it overhead. Your abdominals and back work harder to stabilize when weight is further from your center of mass.

I am going to show you two hanging exercises. I think you will love them and definitely feel the work as you perform the moves.

Get more video exercises here.

Hanging Hurdle

Place a bench underneath the bar of the Smith machine. Make sure no weight is on the bar.

Step 1. Sit on the bench with both legs hanging on one side. Grab hold of the bar attached to the Smith machine and slightly lean back balancing on your tailbone.

Step 2. Swing both legs together back and forth over the bench. Do as many as possible for 60 seconds. Rest 60 seconds before moving to the Hanging Oblique Knee Raises.


Hanging Oblique Knee Raises

Step 1. Hang from the bar with your legs and feet together and your knees slightly bent.

Step 2. Slowly lift your knees up to one side as high as you can. Squeeze your lower abs and obliques at the top of the movement, then slowly lower and repeat on the opposite side. Do as many as possible for 60 seconds.


How Long: Perform 2 sets of this circuit.



Nutrition: Choose foods that have monosaturated fat. Foods like unsalted nuts, soybeans, peanut butter and even dark chocolate all make you feel full longer. Studies show that just 1 week of a high saturated fat diet, shows a decrease of 30-50% in your endurance when working out.

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