Breathing Helps You Get The Best Ab Workout Possible

by john b
(Fort Wayne, IN, USA)

I was a physical training instructor in the US Army for 2 1/2 years, some 34 years ago, and I used to do 50 sit-ups on an inclined padded plane five days a week. Breathing out as I go up while doing sit-ups gave me "wash-board" abs. After I got out of the Army, I used to tell folks, go ahead a hit me in the tummy, I can take it, but no one did. I prefer sit-ups as opposed to crunches, even though the latter works great.

I'm a 56 year old man, 6 foot, 153 lbs., 40 inch chest, 30 inch waist, 34 inch waist line, and the wash-board abs are gone, oops! Yeah, I forgot about the breathing part, OK. But, I still have a waist line to put my pants and belt on, and do 25 sit-ups every other day. My percentage on body fat is yes, relatively low.

One other tip to remember-- I do not eat anything four hours prior to sleeping. Food eaten too close to sleeping time, turns into fat, normally in the tummy area. Food is for energy. A sleeping body cannot turn food into energy very well, so it turns recently eaten food into fat for a later use. About 560 calories are burned while a 160 pound person sleeps for eight hours. A snack before bedtime may make a person go to sleep faster, just don't do it. Because if you do, a lot of your time working out on those abs, are wasted.

PS- I appreciate the best ab workout tips that are already listed. Thanks.