Exercise Over 40 -Training Your ABS!
While a large portion of trimming down in the mid section is your diet, you will also want to engage in resistance exercises for the abdominal area to get strong lean muscles. Excess fat in your mid section create health risks, with major organs being surrounded by fat. You can do a thousand crunches a day, but unless you are watching your diet and burning extra calories with regular cardiovascular work you may never see the fruits of your labor.
For anyone working out over 40, there are several points that can assist you when you are doing any basic abdominal workout.
1/ Keep your back slightly rounded. Unlike almost all other exercises you need to avoid the straight back. With a rigid form you will emphasis the arch in the lower back leading to pain. Remember to listen to your body, and if you feel pressure on the lower back, you need to modify your form. This arching seems to be more obvious when doing exercises for the lower abdominals ( rectus abdominis). Back pain in general can be partially due to having weak muscles in your core area. Exercise may help this long term but must be done correctly and you should consult your doctor if you are prone to back pain before hand.
2/ Do not clasp your hands behind your head and lift your head. If you want to lengthen your levers for a more challenging abdominal work then put your hands up by your head but have just your fingertips touching each side just behind the ears. If you find that you tend to ‘cheat’ and lift your head, then move your hand even farther away and put your fingers on your shoulder – this will slightly shorten the lever and make the exercise a little easier and you may have better success keeping proper form this way unti you build up some strength.
3/ Static positions such as the plank are effective to strengthen the core, however in that there is no movement of the muscles it has been documented that dynamic movements like a crunch, bicycle or torso raises be done before the static poses in your routine.
4/ All abdominal exercises are just like any other resistance exercises – you need to allow the muscles a recovery time inbetween workouts!
For those working out over 40, it is important now; as with any age group, to insure you are performing exercises correctly. There are several ways to vary most all exercises to make it easier or to take stress of areas that could cause you pain. Lower back is a problem area for many people and you can exercise the abdominals you simply need to find a routine that takes the pressure completely off your back until your muscles gain some strength and you feel comfortable.
