How to Work Out Abs and Pecs
Working out your abdominal muscles (abs) and pectoral muscles (pecs) is fairly simple. The amount of time and effort you put in will determine how effective you are in developing lean and strong muscles You can work on your abs every day, but you should work on your pecs only two to three times a week. With diligence, you can develop the sculpted chest and stomach of your dreams.
Instructions
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How to Work Out Abs
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Any abdominal workout begins with sit-ups and crunches. To maximize your workout, add "bicycle" exercises or twists. This works the upper abs, lower abs and outer obliques.
Use an exercise ball when working out to reduce the stress on your lower back and help you isolate specific areas. By placing your buttocks on the top of the ball, you can arch your back behind the ball and lower yourself, then raise yourself. Break this into isolated movements to fatigue the muscles more effectively. Lower yourself backward, then bring your torso up until it is horizontal with the floor. After this set, go from the horizontal position to an inclined position over the ball.
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Add weight to your abdominal workout. This doesn't change the movements you are doing. You are still doing a sit-up or a crunch. But you are adding more resistance and forcing the muscles to work harder--the same as in any other weight-training routine. Taxing the muscles builds more bulk.
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Do isometric exercises. They don't take you through a motion but, instead, contract the muscles in place. This helps you practice keeping your abs tight even when you aren't working out.
Isometric exercises are easy. Place yourself in a push-up position, keeping your back straight and firm. Raise yourself onto your toes, then balance the rest of your weight on your forearms, positioned below your shoulders and head. Work your way up to five of these at one minute each.
How to Work Out Pecs
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Start with push-ups to build strength and lean muscle in the chest. You can vary your push-ups, too. Instead of keeping your hands and toes on the ground, place your toes on a bench so your body is at an incline. This make the dips bear more weight and intensifies your workout.
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Isolate your muscles through free-weight routines. They force your muscles to work independently, and you are less likely to cheat.
Perform a bench press, inclined press and a reverse inclined press. Begin with weights that you can lift comfortably, then increase the weight. You build muscle when you overload the muscle through fatigue. Use only enough weight so it's challenging to finish the last set.
Do three sets of 12 repetitions each.
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Rest between chest workouts. In the process of recuperating and repair, they become stronger. Consume a lot of protein. Your muscles need the it to rebuild torn fibers from the stress. Rest a day between chest workouts, then get back in there and do it again.
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