Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 March 2010 23:22
The abs are the definition of a problem area when it comes to exercise and weight loss. Even on the most stringent diets, the midsection can be the hardest area to target. The keys to getting toned and trim abs are dedication and patience.... And making sure you don’t fall victim to any of the myths about ab training.
Myth 1
Lots of ab work will remove fat from the front of the waist
Muscle and fat are different types of tissue. It’s impossible to remove fat purely by working the muscle directly underneath. Fat reduction in a specific spot through exercise is impossible. The only way to spot reduce fat is through surgical intervention, which has its own issues and is not always a good long term solution.
The best way to reduce fat is to decrease your food intake and increase your activity level so that you are in a caloric deficit, then your body will burn the fat to provide for the balance of its energy requirements.
You could develop great abdominal muscles but whether you can see the lines of your abs depends on how much fat covers your waist.
You could do three hours of ab work daily, but if your food intake and activity levels don’t combine to yield an energy deficit, you’ll never reduce the fat around your waist.
Whether you do ab work is irrelevant to the amount of fat around your waist, but to develop strong toned abs, ab work is essential.
Myth number 2
Twisting movements will remove fat from your waist.
Got to the gym and you’ll find men and women with a light bar across their shoulders, vigorously twisting from side to side. They do this under the mistaken belief that they will whittle away the fat on their waists. Some people have been doing this for years without success.
Myth number 3:
The abs need high reps
To strengthen and develop the abs, keep the reps moderate and the effort levels high. Use sufficient resistance to keep the reps down and keep adding resistance as you develop strength. Treat your abs like you would any other muscle.
A benefit of doing allot of ab work is that it consumes sufficient calories to make a contribution to energy output over the long haul. This is an efficient way of burning calories.
TIP: For the most efficient calorie burning, perform an activity that involves as many muscles as possible and can be sustained for long periods, such as walking.
No matter how many calories you burn through exercise, if you eat excessively you won’t be in caloric deficit and you’ll never reduce your body fat.
Myth number 4
The abs need daily work
Although the abs may tolerate more frequent work than most other body parts, they can be overworked too. Excessive training frequency for these muscles is connected to the mistaken belief that a lot of ab work will reduce waist and stomach fat. Train your abs two or at the most three times per week.
Myth number 5
The abs have two separate muscles, the upper and lower abs
The six-pack or washboard is the rectus abdominis muscle and is the visible frontal part of the ab wall (provided there is minimal fat covering it).
In addition, the ab wall includes the external abdominal oblique and the internal abdominal oblique (the sides of the waists) and the transverses abdominis, beneath the rectus abdominis.
The rectus abdominis is one long flat continuous muscle that runs from the lower ribs to the groin. While it’s not possible to isolate the upper and lower abs, the two sections may respond differently to flexion that requires the shoulders to move towards the hips, compared to flexion that requires the hips to move towards the shoulders.
Myth Number 6
Gadgets are needed to train your abs
Some gadgets properly used do target the abs and do work well. However there is nothing a gadget can do that you can’t do with various abdominal crunches, when they are done correctly. Many of these gadgets are poorly made and some can actually be dangerous. Don’t be mislead by the hype. Stick to crunches and do them well.
Myth number 7
Electronic muscle stimulation is the easy way to work out your abs
There’s some use for electrical muscle stimulation in physical therapy but for healthy men and women it doesn’t compare to resistance training. You have to sweat, move and push yourself progressively if you are going to change the shape of your body. Even if the electronic gadgets stimulated muscles like regular resistance training, you would still need to lose the fat in order to see your abs.
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written by G, February 15, 2010
As you say, "walking reduces fat of the whole body", and the only way to get where you want is to persevere with the exercise and also watching the diet so you're taking in less fat, and burning off what you have stored.
I'm certainly no expert, but I have started attending a diet class as I have a lot of weight to lose. I've not exercised as much as I'd like yet, but since starting the diet class 3 weeks ago, i've lost almost half a stone and can already feel my clothes looser particulaly around my waist. I've still a long long way to go, but to me the difference i've seen already shows that diet really is key.
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The article is good about the myths. I'm myself trying to lose my belly fat since couple of weeks by going on long walks. However, I've realised that walking reduces the fat of whole body, particularly thighs and hips but it works less in the belly area. I'm sure there're many others like me who would like to know more about the tricks to make their abs more smarter. Can you guys post an article along with pictures so that we can follow them and shape our body accordingly.
Thanks for the article anyways. A response to my email will be greatly appreciated.
Naveed.