5 Myths of Getting the Best Ab Workout
July 29, 2010 by admin
Filed under Abs Workout
We are bombarded daily with images of well toned, healthy bodies from ads claiming that we too can have rock hard abs by buying their secret but proven formula. Beyond the hype, the best ab workout routines are those that include good fat burning foods and exercise designed to melt away the layers of body fat that conceal our muscular physique.
So, as we explore all the various diets and workout routines that promise to quickly transform our bodies into the likeness of statuesque Greek gods and goddesses, it’s a good idea to be aware of the myths that are sometimes put forward to achieve these goals.
Let us start on the right track by exposing the 5 myths that should be avoided.
Myth 1: You can get six-pack abs in just 10 minutes a day.
Truth: Wouldn’t everyone have six-pack abs if that were the case? The fact is your six-pack abs will reveal themselves with a well developed nutritional and cardio exercising plan. Your optimum aerobic heart rate zone must be calculated, monitored and sustained over a longer period of time to achieve best results.
Myth 2: You can eliminate problem fat areas with spot fat exercises.
Truth: Remember the belt machines that were placed over the belly or butt to vibrate the fat away? We now know that spot fat reduction is simply a myth. While it is true you can develop specific muscle groups with spot training, you cannot burn away fat from specific parts of the body. You must reduce total body fat.
Myth 3: The best ab workouts require abdominal focused exercises.
Truth: The best ab workout routines should focus first on discussing which foods you may be eating that are sabotaging your efforts to lose fat, while promoting the foods that will support a fat burning metabolism. Proper food intake and heart-rate elevated cardio exercises are the most efficient means to reducing the layers of body fat that cover the abs.
Myth 4: You need to buy equipment like electric contraction belts, sweat suits, ab rockers and twisters to get six-pack abs.
Truth: We would all love to have a machine melt away our fat, preferably while we sleep, but the reality is that we need to reduce our overall body fat composition to expose those sought after six-pack abs. Fortunately there are natural fat burning diets along with effective cardio exercises that will help reduce body fat composition faster.
Myth 5: Ab exercises are good cardio exercises.
Truth: As stated previously, good cardio exercises require sustaining an elevated heart rate over a given period of time. You would be better off working your body’s larger muscle groups with true cardio exercises like biking, swimming, low impact aerobics, power walking, lunges, squats, sprint runs and resistance or weight training. Focusing on larger muscle groups coupled with a proper diet will burn your fat faster and over a longer period of time.
What about pills you ask? Chances are you may have tried a few of today’s so-called diet pills that provide a temporary energy boost by stimulating the adrenal glands, which can cause problems with prolonged use. While most of today’s diet pills are ineffectual, there are a few respected researchers doing some promising work in this area. We may well see a pill that mimics aerobic exercise in the future, but as of this writing, these are merely experiments in a lab.
Related Reading:
3 Abs Workout Mistakes and How to Fix Them
October 15, 2009 by admin
Filed under Abs Workout
(c) 2008 Ed Scow
I have logged thousands of personal training sessions over my career and everybody wants to know more about abs workouts and abs exercises.
My clients want to know how to lose stomach fat and get a six-pack, or at the very least they just want to lose stomach fat so they have a firm abs that look good in their clothes (and naked).
I can’t blame them. Who doesn’t want a nice looking midsection? Who doesn’t want to get firm abs or get lean enough they can say they have a six-pack.
The problem is that 99% of them all have the same misconceptions about abs workouts and abs exercises and how to really lose stomach fat and get firm abs.
I’ve narrowed down the mistakes, myths and misconceptions surrounding abs workouts and abs exercises to my top 3.
These 3 abs workout mistakes are made by just about everyone I’ve ever trained, designed a program for, or consulted.
Are you making these same mistakes?
1) Spending too much time doing crunches – I’m just going to come right out and say it…you don’t need to do crunches to get six pack abs and you sure as heck don’t need to do crunches to lose stomach fat or even get a firm abs.
Crunches simply don’t work enough muscle and don’t burn enough fat calories to be thought of as a worthwhile exercise in order to lose stomach fat, let alone get firm abs or a six-pack.
Spending 20 minutes a day doing hundreds (or thousands) of crunches is like electing Big Bird or Elmo president.
Sure they may sound good and have all the answers, but it just doesn’t make much sense electing a puppet to such a high office (sorry, that was my attempt at a joke).
Doing hundreds, or even thousands, of crunches will strengthen your abdomen, that’s for sure, but what does it matter if you still have a layer of flabby goo covering up all the hard work?
Instead you need to focus on full body workouts and full body abs exercises in order to lose stomach fat fast and get the firm, toned stomach or six pack abs you’re after.
Take for instance this abs workout, using only full body abs exercises, I designed for a client. Do this mini-circuit before your regular workout, when you’re still fresh, so you can really hit your abs hard.
1A) Dumbbell Overhead Squat – 10 reps
1B) Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds
1C) Reverse Plank – 30 seconds
Do that in a circuit format, resting 20 seconds after the final exercise before repeating it again 2 or 3 times. Do that for a few week and you’ll definitely see a difference in your abs and you will lose stomach fat.
2) Throwing all your hard work out the door by eating poorly – What good does it do to work so hard in your fat loss workouts only to come home, or leave your home gym, and eat junk?
What sense does it make that after all your hard work, you ruin it with poor eating habits on a daily basis? This is quite possibly one of the dumbest things you could do. I don’t mean to be rude, I’m just trying to put it bluntly.
If you want to lose stomach fat and get firm abs, or even six-pack abs, you need to clean up your diet and stop eating so poorly. You need to quit eating processed junk found in boxes and bags like crackers and chips, stop eating things like bagels and processed breads and start eating more fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, legumes and healthy fats.
You also need to start eating multiple times throughout the day, and this especially means eating breakfast. It also means cutting out the late night snacking and cutting down on alcohol.
You know what to cut out, so do it.
Remember what your goals are. You want to lose stomach fat and you want to get firm abs. Eat like it!
3) Not actively flexing, or bracing, your abdominals in every exercise – It’s sad that I have to say this, but all too often, people don’t actively flex their abdominals while doing an abs exercise.
I don’t know why. You’d think that because you’re doing an abs exercise that you’d be flexing your abs hard every repetition, but too many people just go through the motions and to way too fast.
You need to slow down and actively flex your abdominals when you’re doing an abs exercise. And for every exercise that’s not an abs exercise, you need to brace them like somebody is about to punch you in the stomach.
Doing so will ensure that you learn to “control” your abs and make sure that when you do lose stomach fat that you’ll have a defined and toned midsection worthy of praise.
I also want you to think of it this way…every exercise should be an abs exercise. If you brace your abs during every single exercise in your fat loss workout, you’ll essentially turn every single exercise into an abs exercise. Doing a chest press, brace your abs. Doing a lunge, brace your abs. Every single exercise you do, whether you’re working your abs specifically or not, should be turned into an abs exercise.
If you stop making these vital abs workout and abs exercise mistakes, and start doing full body workouts with full body abs exercises, I guarantee that you’ll begin to lose stomach fat and get firm abs (and maybe even that sought after six-pack) in no time.