Just the Facts
Much of the frustration surrounding the abs is due to misinformation and unrealistic expectations. Despite the hard work of
trainers everywhere, people still cling to outdated ideas on the
proper way to work their abs and get the much-desired 'six-pack.'
Examining the myths surrounding your abs is the first step towards setting reasonable goals for yourself.
Ab Myth No. 1: Doing Ab Exercises Gets Rid of Abdominal Fat
Unfortunately,
spot reduction doesn't work, either for the abs or for any other body
part. The fallacy of spot reduction assumes that, if you have fat over
your abs then exercising the ab muscles will make that fat go away.
While exercising the muscle may increase endurance or strength, it
won't burn off the fat in that area.
The only way to burn fat from your belly is to reduce overall body
fat by creating a calorie deficit. The healthiest way to do that is
with consistent exercise (cardio, strength and flexibility workouts)
and a healthy, low-calorie diet.
Ab Myth No. 2: Ab Muscles are Different From Other Muscles of the Body
Do you work your abs
differently from other muscles in your body? If so, you're not alone.
Too often people work their abs every day without rest, hoping to burn
the fat off with more exercise. But, your abdominal muscles are just
like every other muscle in your body, so you should train them the same
way you would train, say, your biceps or your chest. That means
strength training 2-3 times a week, with rest in between and a variety
of exercises to target different areas of the abs.
Try dynamic exercises that focus on core strength
and that involve your stabilizer muscles; the muscles you use all day
long to hold your body in place. One of these is the plank: get into
pushup position and hold it for as long as you can, keeping your belly
tight and your body straight. Don't hold your breath. For a more
advanced version, try it with the stability ball.
If you need more challenge, try this difficult exercise:
Lie
on the floor with your legs up (straight or slightly bent) and aim
soles of your feet at the ceiling. Imagine that you're holding
something fragile on your feet, like a tray of glasses filled with
water. Lift the 'tray' straight up towards the ceiling until your hips
are off the floor.
The trick to your abs is to realize that strength training IS
important to keep your belly strong, but ab exercises aren't magic.
Incorporating ab
exercises into a complete routine is the only way to the wonderful
world of
six-packs. And, even if you don't make it there, don't worry. The
rest of us haven't either.
Do you ever do zillions of
reps to work your abs? Haven't we all? As you've read in the last
few pages, your abs are just like every other
muscle in your body. That means, you should train your abs the same way
as
the rest of your muscle groups.
Ask yourself this question: would you do 100 bicep curls?
Of course
not, right? That makes no sense! Same thing applies to your abdominals.
To make strength
gains with your abs, you have to follow the same principles that apply
everywhere else. That means you have to overload your muscles. The
reason we feel the need to do so many reps is that we're not working
them
hard enough, usually because of improper form. If you have to do 50 or
more crunches before you feel fatigued, slow down and concentrate on
your technique
and having good form.
Do
a variety of exercises to target your rectis abdominis, obliques
and transverse abdominis. Don't just think of your abs as a way to look
great...remember that their purpose is to support your spine and help you have
good posture.
If you need more difficult exercises,
consider getting a stability ball. Try these exercises:
* Reverse Crunch with the ball under the knees
* Plank on the ball with ab roll
When you watch television,
it seems like the models, actors and stars have fabulous bodies with lovely flat
bellies, doesn't it? And many of them do, but what you may not know is
that "...for many people it's not physiologically possible to achieve a
flat-stomach."
Let's face it: the factors that
dictate how our bodies look are too many to keep track of. Age, genetics,
gender...all of these decide what your body and, therefore, your tummy, look
like. Women, in particular, tend to store fat around the lower belly area
causing that annoying lower belly pooch. Men tend to store fat around the
middle, causing that annoying spare tire effect.
Yes,
you
can exercise and reduce your body fat, but you can't choose where you
lose fat. To get six-pack abs, you may have to drop your body fat to a
level that is either a struggle to maintain or downright unhealthy.
Many of us have the goal to get six-pack abs but most of us will find
it difficult to reach that goal.
If this is true for you, trying to reach an impossible goal is only
going to make you crazy. Set reachable goals for yourself and make
friends with your belly. Remember that we all have flaws and perfection
isn't an option unless you head to your nearest surgeon. Instead of
doing that, challenge yourself by taking care of your body and
accepting it--good, bad and ugly.
The infamous infomercial
rears its ugly head. The latest trend is to create bizarre gadgets, call
them ab machines and sell them to you for hundreds of dollars, guaranteeing
weight loss in a very short amount of time. First, don't believe it!
As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Second, you don't need special equipment to work your abs. You can
do a wide variety of ab exercises with just your body weight or with an
exercise ball, which is often much cheaper than the gadgets you see on
infomercials. For ideas, browse through these ab workouts and you'll see that challenging your abs doesn't require much equipment.
Conclusion: you're better off buying equipment that has multiple
uses. Ab machines only work the abs, but things like dumbbells, an
exercise ball, resistance bands, etc. can be used to train your entire
body.
By Paige Waehner for About.com