Anyone interested in fitness wants to have great looking abs – firm, rippled and well-toned, along with a trim waist. Just beware of all the myths around achieving your well-toned abs and flattening your stomach.
Calories (the measurement of energy) are consumed during exercise. Once the available energy in your body is depleted your body will start using stored energy to function. This energy is mostly fat deposits in adipose tissue.
That process is not selective, unfortunately. There is no way to choose which deposits your body will convert. By this I mean that you cannot choose to only burn fat on your abs. It is possible to get the desired outcome – ie reducing fat around the abs – but the exercises does not spesifically target that fat.
By doing ab-specific exercises, you will build strength in that area, by increasing the muscle mass in those muscles. There are a number of reasons why that is helpful. Your internal organs will be better protected by the new, stronger layer of muscles in that area. You also get a nice trim, flat look.
There are other benefits to ab exercises too. Because of the larger size of the abdominal muscles they also consume a much larger percentage of energy than for example your jaw muscles. That means that as you work them, they have to be supplied with more energy to move through the range of the exercise. This results in buring more calories, which again causes a reduction in fat and weight loss.
There is no gadget, supplement or drug currently on the market that will do that safely and effectively as a substitute. Only moderate to heavy exercise on a regular schedule can achieve this. Currently there is not shortcut if you want a trim waist.
Age and genetics also limit the effect. Some people store more fat around the middle more readily than others. Obviously your gender also makes a difference.
Hormone changes in many women in their 40s casues them to naturally develop a pouch in the lower abdomen. Many men will naturally develop ‘love handles’ at the side, since they store fat in adipose tissue there more readily in their 40s than they did in their 20s.
In order to achieve the desired effect you have to approach muscle fatigue. There’s no need to perform a hundred crunches to accomplish that. Done correctly, 20 reps is enough. Going to the gym does not have to be the only option. You can do pelvic tilts while sitting in a chair in the office.
But for best effect, warm up and try the following:
Lie on your back, with your knees raised and cross your arms across your chest.
Then lift your shoulders off the floor and hold for thirty seconds.
You can feel the effect on your abs already.
Put your hands beside your head to make this more challenging.
Don’t use your hands to lift your head, just keep them still.
Your hands should remain still and must not be used to lift your head.
For maximum effort, put your hands above your head, then perform the same shoulder lift and hold, focusing on the abs.
Feel the burn. Repeat daily for 10 minutes or twenty repititions. In a couple of weeks, you’ll see definite results.
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