Abdominal exercise

If you're working towards good overall conditioning, abdominal exercises are essential. Unfortunately, many people relegate abdominal exercises to a few minutes at the end of their workout, meaning that when time is short they often get forgotten.

There are a number of reasons why abdominal exercises should be part of every workout:

• They provide the foundation for all movement
• Strong abs are essential for all sports
• Strong abs can dramatically improve your posture and appearance
• This area is essential for maintaining a healthy lower back

In order to ensure that you include a proper abs workout every time you go to the gym or health club, you should schedule them either for the start of your workout, or else in between other activities, while you are resting and recovering.

Fortunately this is an area that offers a wide range of possible options - there's no need to do the same thing every time you set foot in the gym. Options include:

• Abs machines where you work against resistance
• Mat work (crunches etc)
• Abs cradle, where the apparatus supports your neck
• Activities on a Swiss ball

Whichever you choose, be sure to do sufficient reps to tire your muscles, but don't go crazy - doing 1000 reps per day will not help you lose weight or build a six pack overnight, but might leave you sore or even injured.