Muscle building and weight lifting help

The core (or abs) are one of the most popular muscles worked by a lot of weight lifters and fitness enthusiasts. There is nothing more satisfying than having a rock hard mid section and a six pack to show off!

For some people having a six pack on show is easier than forothers, this is because a visible six pack is determined by body fat. We all have six packs, but only some of us can show them off because our body fat isat a lot enough level to expose them.

For the rest of us we have to drop our body fat for our sixpacks to be on show, this can be easier said than done! To be honest the ideabehind this article is more to talk about having a strong core, I won’t be going into dropping body fat or losing weight.Obviously the best way to build muscle is to eat above your calorie maintenance level and consume higher quantities of protein.

You see, having a strong core is great for many reasons notonly just to have a great looking midsection. The core is used for many different exercises and sports and having a strong one can be very advantageous. It can also prevent injury when lifting things and can help tostabilize the body.

So how do you get a strong core? Well I can tell you straight away you don’t get one from doing countless sets of sit ups! No,instead you should make sure your including the following exercises into your workout routine.

Dragon Flags – you might have seen Bruce Lee doing this at some point, they are very effective at building your core but also extremely difficult! Lie down on your weight bench with your hands behind your neck holding on tight to the bottom of the bench.Next you must lift your entire body up so that it is completely vertical. At this point you need to lower your body down tensing your mid section and making sure your back is completely straight. If this is the first time you’ve done these then don’t expect to do more than a couple!

Planks – These are great because of how versatile they are. They are very simple as well; all you have to do is lie face down and lift yourself up onto your forearms so your arms are at a 90 degree angle with them. Then you keep your back perfectly straight and tense your mid section. To begin with these seem easy but try and hold that position for at least thirty seconds and do several sets of them! As they get harder you can increase the time you hold them for or even add a weight to your back.

Weighted Sit ups – The same as normal sit-ups but this time hold a big weight in your arms, a 25lbplate should do to start with, obviously as you get better at these you can increase the resistance.

Pull ups – Believe it or not these can be very effective at working your core if done properly.When doing the pull ups make sure you keep your mid section perfectly straight,as your pulling up you will feel your core being worked to ensure that yourlegs don’t move. A few sets of these don’t properly can really give your midsection a good workout.