fat burning workout

5 Tips for an Effective Abs Work Out Schedule

by

Wanting to start an abs work out scheduleis one thing; actually STRUCTURING a six pack abs routine is another. The best part about this is that it’s not at all that complicated. Anyone can create an effective work out schedule with no trouble.

When I started my own regimen, I knew I needed to do some research about building lean muscle and properly toning my abs. The most valuable information I dug up would have to be this: You can’t expect just ONE exercise to do the trick.

Truth of the matter is, there are no miracle drugs, there is no one absolute best abdominal training equipment, and, most importantly, you cannot get ripped six pack abs by doing only one kind of exercise.

Chair of the Kinesiology Department at the Occidental College in Los Angeles Stuart Rugg, Ph.D. said, “Stop looking for the one best exercise for abs because it doesn’t exist.” The key to a well-rounded and effective abs work out schedule is the integration of a VARIETY of exercises that target the entire abdominal area. Only then will you achieve definition and core strength.

These 5 tips will surely help you jumpstart your abdominal exercise routine:

1. Complete sets in the 10-25 range. Begin at 10 reps and increase them as time goes on.

2. Start small and finish HARD. Gradually increasing reps and difficulty will put your ab muscles in great shape.

3. Perform each rep of every exercise consistently. Doing 3-4 abdominal exercises every other day should be sufficient. Keep in mind that the last rep has to be as spot-on as the first one. Slacking will only keep you further away from realizing your dream physique.

4. The duration of each rep has to be the same. When carrying out your abs work out schedule, you have to consider the timing of each rep performed. When you do a bicycle crunch, for example, it can’t take you 3 seconds to complete the 1st 10 reps and only 1 second for the rest. Again, consistency will get you the best results.

5. Perform ab-specific exercises 3-4 times a week. Don’t be afraid to include other forms of exercise in your routine. Allot 3-4 days for targeted core training and do them every other day so you won’t stress your ab muscles too much. Then, include cardio routines or sports activities during the days in between.

Read further on various abdominal muscle exercises and don’t forget to change up your routine from time to time. In the meantime, keep these 5 essential tips in mind when you create your own abs work out schedule. This will certainly give you the edge you need to get that rock-hard six-pack.

Top 3 Flat Stomach Tips

by

Getting a flat stomach is very doable. All you need are some sure-fire flat stomach tips to get you started. Fortunately for you, you’ve come to the right place.

Doing countless sit ups or eating a low-fat diet is beneficial, but here you will also learn about good exercise practices that will help burn belly fat faster and other flab-eliminating techniques.

Tip #1: Eating less calories than you burn.

Working out constantly can help trim the fat, but if you eat relentless amounts of fat or simply don’t care about how many calories you end up consuming for that day, then you’re pretty much stuck.

Eat fewer calories than you actually burn – this is the first of three flat stomach tips.

Generally, women can burn around 1,500 to 1,600 calories per day. Meanwhile, men are capable of burning around 2,500 calories. Regardless of your sex, you can definitely burn more calories if you perform full body exercises regularly.

Counting the calories you take in or burn is not really necessary, but if you find the time to do so, that’s OK, too. Simply be aware of how much you eat and how much exercise you do. At the end of the day, you’ll feel really good about yourself if you don’t overeat and work up a sweat with ample exercise.

These diet flat stomach tips could work better if you utilize other tools, such as calorie counters. They’re usually available at the supermarket, your local pharmacy, or even at your doctor’s.

Just having a general idea how many calories a particular kind of food has will help you make better diet choices. Once you’re aware how much calories a bag of chips has, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started to snack on healthier options, such as vegetable sticks and nuts.

Tip #2: Keeping it firm and tight with elastic clothing.

Steam baths, slimming massages, and clinical body wraps can help you feel better about yourself, but they’re not the best flat stomach tips around. They’re not the most practical solutions either.

A great way to keep excess fat from jiggling and burning some of it in the process is by wearing breathable elastic clothing or synthetic rubber pants. These affordable reinforcements are available in fitness stores and dance specialty shops, since they are usually worn by dancers.

Wearing them under or over your regular workout clothes will help insulate more heat thus burn more fat. It will also help firm up body parts that are susceptible to sagging.

Tip #3: Good posture goes a long way.

Good posture is the last of the three flat stomach tips. Not only are you promoting correct bone structure and sufficient blood flow, but you’re also allowing your body to LOOK good – that in itself can help take inches off your belly.

Every time you sit or stand, imagine someone hovering above pulling on a string that’s attached to the topmost part of your head. Keep your shoulders back and suck in your gut. Try catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and see how much better you look by simply correcting your posture.

These 3 great flat stomach tips will definitely take you to the next level of your fitness program. Go ahead and try it!

Add to the list. What’s your number 4 tip to a flat stomach? Leave your own tips below.

4 Things to Remember When Eating For a Flat Stomach

by

Constantly exercising your abdominals will never be enough if you do not pay attention to what you eat. Yes, your diet plays an undeniably big role in building and defining muscle. When you’re eating for a flat stomach, you have to be aware of the kinds of food that will aid you in your objective.

1) Eat After You Workout

Including a highly nutritious diet in your abs training program will only reinforce the hard work you put in to burning fat and building abdominal muscles. Eat a full healthy meal when your muscles are in their best absorbing state, and that’s immediately after your workout. In doing so, your muscles will be able to absorb the nutrients you’ve just eaten while they’re still on hyper-drive.

2) Know the Importance of a Protein-rich Diet

Protein is the main macronutrient responsible for building muscle. Remember to add in an ample amount of protein in every meal, especially after your workout.

Eating for a flat stomach does involve all three important macronutrients – carbohydrates, good fats, and, more importantly, protein. Contrary to what other fad diets claim, leaving one out is not the best way to achieve a fit body.

3) Cut Out Excess Fat

Protein isn’t the only thing you need to focus on. Including good fats in your diet is just as important. Differentiating the good kind of fats from the bad ones is the key to a highly nutritious diet.

When you’re eating for a flat stomach, you clearly have to stay away from fatty foods like potato chips, fast food, and variants of deep-fried foods. Believe me when I tell you that you WILL survive without them. By eliminating bad fats in your diet, your ab workout wouldn’t have been done in vain.

Cutting out excessively fat food will need a lot of discipline, especially if you’re so used to eating them. But it is the easiest, most basic thing you can do to improve your diet. Just remember that food items high in fat and bad cholesterol are the biggest hurdles to a flat, sexy stomach.

4) Stick to a Regular Exercise Routine

It is a fact that you won’t get results fast if you do not exercise. When I say “exercise,” I mean the intense, heart-racing kind. Combining cardiovascular exercises with a healthy diet and a healthy mindset will provide a total fitness regimen that can only get you to your goal fast.

Healthy eating for a flat stomach is necessary to achieve the body of your dreams. Follow these simple tips and you can say goodbye to belly fat for GOOD.

Create your 5th tip to eat for a flat stomach. Share your personal views below.

Men’s Abs – The Truth Behind The Hype

by

Perfect men’s abs are everywhere – TV, magazines, billboards. Toned, ripped abs are the hallmark of male physical perfection. Our culture has become obsessed with the abdominal region, and while self-improvement is a good thing, unhealthy fixation is not.

Every day, people all across the world head to the gym for hours of crunches to get stellar abs. Go into the fitness section of any bookstore and you’ll see dozens of books promising to reveal the secret of six pack abs.

Do you know what’s real and what’s just hype?

Before you being an abdominal workout routine, here’s the facts:

  1. The only way to “spot reduce” fat is with surgery.
  2. For your abdominal muscles to be seen, your body fat percentage must be less than 10%.
  3. Reducing fat and building or maintaining muscle requires a long-term regimen of diet, cardio, and toning exercise.

The “Spot Reduce” Fat Myth

Some machines, diets, and gimmicks will tell you that it is possible to use their product to melt the fat right off your belly. Doctors and fitness experts agree that it is simply not possible to reduce fat in one specific area, such as men’s abs, without the aid of surgery. While you can target certain areas of your body with exercise, this will only make them stronger – it will not reduce fat.

Many men are confused, thinking that they can remove belly fat through sit-ups, or increase abdominal definition with diet. Professor Peter Lemon, of Kent State University, has studied the link between food and exercise extensively, and regarding the theory of spot fat reduction he says: “It’ll never work. You might improve abdominal strength, but that alone won’t get you the results you want.”

Body Fat Percentage

No matter how strong your abs are, if they’re covered in fat you won’t be able to see them. In reality, many men’s abs aren’t in too bad shape to begin with – they’re just covered in fat! Click here to calculate your approximate body fat percentage…

Dr. Lentz, another fitness expert, says “In most men, fat around the abdominals is the last thing their bodies burn off. Aerobic exercise is what gets your body to start burning it.”

You should start with about 30 minutes, 3 times a week of something like:

  • Power Walking
  • Bicycling
  • Rowing
  • Martial Arts

Long-term Regimen

To reduce fat and build your abs, you need to change your diet and increase your metabolism. A good way to start is by lowering your fat and sugar intake, increasing the amount of protein you consume, and beginning a cardio workout routine. After you have that down, then you should begin a targeted abdominal training exercise program.

Just stick to your diet, perform regular cardio workouts, and keep training those abs. Soon that potbelly will disappear, and you’ll have rock solid abs, too. Click here for the program that helped me finally get abs after years of struggle…

What other myths have you realized? Share your personal views by adding your comments below.

Top 4 Exercises for Abs

by

When you hear the words “exercises for abs,” you probably have these two words in mind: sit ups. Let’s face it, they’re the most common form of abs exercise out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandmother knew what they were.

You have to understand, however, that sit ups aren’t the only moves you can do to get six pack abs. You need to mix them up, add some variety, and do them regularly for you to get fast results.

Combining these abdominal muscle exercises with a total body workout and a well-balanced diet is practically full-proof. If you work hard at keeping these three elements alive in your daily routine, you simply can’t go wrong.

According to a recent study, bicycles, weighted sit ups, fully body crunches, and ball crunches are the 4 most effective exercises for abs. Here’s why:

1. Bicycles. Not only does it involve your obliques, upper abdominals, and lower abdominals, but it also works your legs, lower back, and arms. For this exercise, you need to lie on the floor and touch your fingers to your ears. Bend your knees and begin alternating cycling movements with your legs. When your left knee comes up, lift your torso off the floor, twist to the left, and touch it with your right elbow. Simply do the same on the other side.

2. Weighted Sit Ups. These exercises for abs add resistance to your workout, giving your abs a little extra to work with. They’re very similar to regular sit ups so they’re not complicated to do at all. You will need some small weights, like a pair of light dumbbells, and you must secure them on your chest with both hands. Now, lift your shoulders off the floor as you would with regular sit ups.

3. Full Body Crunches. Like bicycles, this exercise targets almost the entire abdominal area and works your limbs as well. All you have to do is lie on the floor, bend both knees, and cross your arms over your chest. As you raise your shoulders for that crunch, pull in your knees simultaneously. Go back down and start all over.

4. Ball Crunches. These exercises for abs are responsible for working your entire core while promoting balance. You’ll have a lot of fun with this one, I promise. First, take an exercise ball and sit on it. Roll the ball underneath until your back is resting on it and your thighs are parallel to the floor. Begin doing crunches as you would on a flat surface. The ball’s just there to provide lower back support and make it a little more challenging.

Work these 4 exercises for abs into your fitness program and you can bid farewell to excess belly fat for good.