All About Abs - Ab Training
Exercises for Variety and Development Step by Step Abdominal Training Explained
Concept #1: How Many Times Per Week to Train Abs
Do you remember hearing somewhere that in order to get the abdominals you want; you've got to train them everyday? I know I heard that from several sources. None of those sources had super ripped abs.
Fact: Many of the people who DO have ripped abs train them 1-3 times per week.
Train your abs 1-3 times per week. I would recommend training them after a smaller body part workout like chest and biceps and abs, or shoulder, triceps and abs. You can do them on your off days as well. Try to avoid doing them with legs as it's a major body part. Try to avoid doing them first as you'll need your stabilizers to be 100% when they are used in other compound exercises.
You probably already know this... your abs can be trained a bit more frequently then most other muscle groups because of two factors:
1. The muscle density is different allowing for different recovery time
2. 99.9% of programs do not encourage you to train abs to muscular failure
You don't want to train abs to muscular failure for the purpose of this guide.
Concept #2: How Many Exercises Per Session
If you're like me, you don't want another session added to your workout that is going to add another 20 minutes to your gym time. But like any other muscle, the abdominals require a bit of stimulation but just enough to grow and change and become stronger.
Unlike other body parts, you won't be doing countless sessions for abs. In fact...
Use 3-5 exercises per session
That's all you really need. Use the schedule listed in this guide or just pick 3 different exercises and do 3-5 different exercises per session. You can vary your rest up to 90 seconds.
You've got to wonder why people train abs by themselves for 30 or more minutes at a time. That's crazy! And most of the people coming out of those "Ab Blaster" classes don't even have abs. They are doing longer sessions for a single muscle group then you ever need to engage in.
Simply put, 3-5 exercises will do just fine.
Concept #3: Using Cardio as A Metabolism Boosting Tool
For maximum fat loss, you should do cardio 4-7 days per week for 30-60 minutes (the amount is variable depending on your results). You could continue running or mix up the type of cardio you do (stationary cycling, stairclimbing, elliptical machines, and other continuous aerobic activities are all excellent fat burners without the high impact and joint stress of frequent running).
If time efficiency is an issue for you, you could perform high intensity interval cardio training and achieve very efficient results with even briefer workouts (20-30 min per sessions, or less, if the intensity is high enough) Once you are satisfied with your level of body fat and your abdominal definition, you can cut back to 3 days per week for 20-30 minutes for maintenance.
Concept #4: Advanced Techniques
Part of this guide is to ensure that you use all the techniques possible in order to achieve the results you want. There are two techniques you can use so that your routine doesn't become 'routine.'
1. Tempo Variation: Another way to increase the effectiveness of the training program is to focus on the tempo of the exercise. Tempo just means the speed of the exercise. For example, a 3-1-1 tempo means you'll take 3 seconds to lower the weight, then you'll pause for 1 second, and then you'll lift the weight back up in 1 second.
2. Variety: It's been said that your body will adapt to any routine within 5-6 workouts. By including many different exercises, it will be impossible to adapt. Not only will your body be continually challenged but the variety will help to ward of getting bored of doing the same things every week, every workout.
3. Multiple Angles: While the abdominals are classified as a 'single' muscle, that doesn't mean you can't work it from a variety of angles in order to achieve the maximum stimulation. Many times an individual will have their upper abdominals developed but are lacking any real "visual" development in the lower abs. Rather then focus on a section of the abdominals, this guide will encourage you to work the muscle from a variety of angles for the best possible stimulation.
Stay tuned for Part 4 that will flat out give you 6 months worth of ab workouts you can do.
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If you can't wait, the Beginner's Guide to Abdominal Training is just one bonus book in the Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com . Learn how to develop the perfect set of abs, the nutritional secrets that will have you in summer shape and the revolutionary training that eliminates the need for 100+ crunches per day. Proven methods to get your abdominals to show.
Monday, October 23, 2006
6Pack Abs | Ripped Six Pack Abs
Crazy toned and ripped six pack abs. That's the key to showing an awesome body. If you think that all training is about is making sure your chest is big enough to make your shirt hang out past your stomach then you’re missing the boat. Chiseled abs are awesome abs.
How do you get ripped abs?
It's about diet, cardio and hard ab routines. I'll give you the low down on how to burn in some washboard abs with this killer ab routine and save the diet ramble for the main book Fat To Fit.
First of all if your not training abs, start. That would be beginner ab routine phase one! Three sets of crunches for 20 reps a set. If that's not a problem then superset each set of crunches with a set of hip roles, followed by a brief 30 second rest to let the burn fizzle a bit.
For hip roles you lie on the ground pushing down with your hands and raise your pelvis off the floor so the tail bone comes right up and squeeze the abs!
Last step in the beginner ab routine is to add in some bridges or "planks" as some "guru's" of fitness have coined them. This is basically a pushup position but you don't rest on your hands, you rest on your forearms and just hold it for 30-60 seconds. Don't let your lower back sag! Keep a slightly inverted c posture like your trying to pull your hips toward your chin.
So here is the ab routine once you are working all exercises together.
Beginner six pack ab routine phase 1: Crunch x20 Hip roll x20 Bridge for 30-60 seconds Rest and repeat for 3 circuits or just keep rotating through! Alright enough of the easy stuff, we're here for some serious six pack abs, killer abs.
Onto Ab Routine 2: The ab killer! I love pet names. This ab routine will all be done on the decline bench.
The first ab exercise? Decline hip roll/leg raise. Beauty!
Step 1: Put your head where your feet should be
Step 2: grab the bench or the footholds; whichever is more comfortable (not that it will matter in a few minutes)!
Step 3: Stretch out and do a straight-legged leg raises.
Step 4: once at the top of the leg raise turn it into a hip roll so that you point your feet at the ceiling. Hold for a three count and go back down!
Second six pack ab routine exercise: Incline sit-ups:
Step 1: put your feet in the foot holds (you've turned around!)
Step 2: Lower yourself until you're about a foot short of lying fully back
Step 3: Come back up if you’re still with me!
Third ab routine exercise:
Incline Russian twists (even sounds evil doesn't it?)
Step 1: don't move out of the sit up position. Just grab a medicine ball or a 10- pound weight.
Step 2: straighten fully your arms right to your front and lower yourself to the bottom position of the incline sit up and hold it.
Step 3: Rotate to the right 90 degrees with your arms straight and then back to the left at 90 degrees. That's one rep. You don't come out of the bottom at all! Fun huh?
Here it is ab routine layout:
Leg raise/hip roll x20
Incline sit-ups x20
Russian twists x20 or 40 if you count both sides! No rest between ab exercises, and only 30-60 seconds rest after completing the tri-set.
Third Ab Routine:
And the grand daddy hardest ab routine ever? For mortals anyway? Because I remember something about homer Simpson and a cannon ball, but I think you need to have access to the applesauce bar for that ab routine to work!
Well let’s call it the "commando cardio ab annihilation" workout. I have to have a fancy name on it or you wouldn't be interested! It involves a pre-stretch, a contraction and dynamic stabilization (I just made that up, but you get the idea) exercise. Here are the ab routine exercises.
1. Smith machine, Swiss ball hip rolls
2. Partner resisted Swiss ball crunches
3. Swiss ball rollouts
4. Profuse sweating and clutching of the stomach.
Ab routine exercise 1: Smith machine, Swiss ball hip rolls:
1.Set the bar low in the smith machine, just below the top of the Swiss ball.
2. Sit on the ball and roll out so that you have to reach back and grab the bar as you lie on the ball. You should be about 2-3 feet away, stabilizing your self by holding the bar and flexing everything!
3. Using only your abs, stretch your pelvis down as low as it will go and then do a hip roll. Legs straight is the hardest.
Ab routine exercise 2: Partner resisted Swiss ball crunches.
1. It’s a normal Swiss ball ab crunch but your arms are crossed across your chest and your "friend" pushes down on your shoulders to apply resistance. That's it,..ahem.
Ab routine exercise 3: Swiss ball rollouts.
1. Kneel on a pad with legs crossed ball in front of you not on the pad.
2. Your hands are on the ball so it now looks like your praying.
3. Roll the ball out until your straight as a board with your head between your arms and pull it back in.
4. Profuse sweating and clutching of the stomach. This should come naturally.
In a six pack ab routine all together?
Smith machine/Swiss ball hip rolls x20
Partner resisted Swiss ball crunches x20
Swiss ball rolloutsx20
Rest 30-60 seconds after each tri-set circuit or continue right through if you're a freak of nature or slightly "touched". I've never gotten 20 on all ab exercises on all three sets in a continuous circuit; let me know if you do!
I'll have to buckle down!
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Learn more about getting http://www.sixpackabdominals.com/ and how to http://www.buildingbodies.ca/get-fit.shtml at http://www.buildingbodies.ca/
Six Pack Abs | Abs and Posture
Copyright © 2006 Personal Fitness Developement
Posture is a very important topic for functional movement in everyday activities as well as in athletic performance. From reading your question, it's apparent that you have several issues that need to be addressed. First and foremost is your posture situation and what you called a "swayback." Sometimes people get swayback confused with a flat back. If your brother has the same condition, then you can probably look at your dad and grandfather and find the same postural circumstances. Swayback is a condition that creates a posteriorly rotated pelvis (tucked under tush), rounded shoulders, bent knees and forward head posture.
Posture is the position from which movement begins and ends. If you do not express good posture, your body is subjects to extra stress to your joints structures. Having ideal posture creates a balanced environment for your supporting structures and helps avoid helps avoid injury and deformation of the body.
Most swaybacked people are on the taller side. They tend to look down on other people, which contributes to this type of posture. To understand it more, we must look at upper cross and lower cross syndromes. Upper cross syndrome is created by an imbalance between trunk extensors and trunk flexors. The trunk flexors tend to be dominating and stronger, thus creating a short tight abdominal region, pulling the rib cage closer to the pelvis. Characteristics of this condition are forward head posture, drooping rounded shoulders and a pigeon chest. The knees and ankles tend to bend because they have to counter balance the hump backed upper body. In swayback posture, we could easily have both upper cross and lower cross syndrome and often do. One leads to the other and vice versa.
To compensate for the sway and to keep the center of gravity over your base of support (feet), your back/pelvis tend to flatten out and gravitate forward. Lower cross syndrome consists of tightening of the hamstrings and abdominals while lengthening the lumbar erectors, thigh muscles and hip flexors.
To correct these postural situations we must stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the long and weak muscles. For example: rounded shoulders - stretch the chest muscles, and perform such exercises by doing exercises such as the prone cobras, dumbbell bent over rows and alternating Supermans. To address the lower cross syndrome, we would we need to stretch the hamstrings and abdominals and tighten the hip flexors with such exercises as like the Prone Jackknife.
The second part of your question was related to your recreational hockey playing. Ask yourself, "What position does a hockey assume?" The answer is, a bent over position (picture the body positioned for a slap shot movement). This position and movement is made up of several different movement patterns. The slap shot is a combination of a side lunge, and upper body twist and a push. So some exercises you would want to do would include multi-directional lunges, woodchoppers and bent over rows.
Hockey is also different from other sports because you get pounded into the boards. This can result in massive structural damage to your body. There are some steps you can take to help compensate for this type of collision. First you must have good stability in your neck and lower back. To obtain this stability, your conditioning program should include but not be limited to Swiss ball neck training, one arm C. R. A. C. dumbbell press, and supine lateral ball roll. Your program should also include shoulder shrugs, dead lifts and high pulls. These exercises strengthen the muscles in your cervical spine area and develop good core strength.
The final part of your question said, "How do I get rid of the love handles and beer belly?" First of all, the love handles and the beer belly come from poor eating habits. Sometimes part of it is your genetic code. We carry fat as a protective mechanism to guard against starvation. However, love handles and the beer belly usually come from your body having stubborn fat deposits. These stubborn fat deposits are fat cells that will not relinquish their energy without a fight.
Stubborn fat cells are estrogen dominant cells and estrogen is a fat producing hormone. Believe it or not, beer contains hops; hops contain estrogenic compounds which help you develop that beer belly. To rid you body of stubborn fat, you should eat more cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Avoid drinking anything from a plastic container, eat organic food as much as possible, increase omega 3 oils (fish) and decrease omega 6 intake. Plus avoid Soy proteins and minimize alcohol consumption. Hope these tips help!
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David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds multiple certifications including three from the prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II Corrective Holisic Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. Plus he is also the author of the popluar selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs," which teaches you how to develop a ripped abdominal region. Lean how to shead bodyfat and eliminate low back pain and recieve his free newsletter by visiting: http://www.flattenyourabs.net
Posture is a very important topic for functional movement in everyday activities as well as in athletic performance. From reading your question, it's apparent that you have several issues that need to be addressed. First and foremost is your posture situation and what you called a "swayback." Sometimes people get swayback confused with a flat back. If your brother has the same condition, then you can probably look at your dad and grandfather and find the same postural circumstances. Swayback is a condition that creates a posteriorly rotated pelvis (tucked under tush), rounded shoulders, bent knees and forward head posture.
Posture is the position from which movement begins and ends. If you do not express good posture, your body is subjects to extra stress to your joints structures. Having ideal posture creates a balanced environment for your supporting structures and helps avoid helps avoid injury and deformation of the body.
Most swaybacked people are on the taller side. They tend to look down on other people, which contributes to this type of posture. To understand it more, we must look at upper cross and lower cross syndromes. Upper cross syndrome is created by an imbalance between trunk extensors and trunk flexors. The trunk flexors tend to be dominating and stronger, thus creating a short tight abdominal region, pulling the rib cage closer to the pelvis. Characteristics of this condition are forward head posture, drooping rounded shoulders and a pigeon chest. The knees and ankles tend to bend because they have to counter balance the hump backed upper body. In swayback posture, we could easily have both upper cross and lower cross syndrome and often do. One leads to the other and vice versa.
To compensate for the sway and to keep the center of gravity over your base of support (feet), your back/pelvis tend to flatten out and gravitate forward. Lower cross syndrome consists of tightening of the hamstrings and abdominals while lengthening the lumbar erectors, thigh muscles and hip flexors.
To correct these postural situations we must stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the long and weak muscles. For example: rounded shoulders - stretch the chest muscles, and perform such exercises by doing exercises such as the prone cobras, dumbbell bent over rows and alternating Supermans. To address the lower cross syndrome, we would we need to stretch the hamstrings and abdominals and tighten the hip flexors with such exercises as like the Prone Jackknife.
The second part of your question was related to your recreational hockey playing. Ask yourself, "What position does a hockey assume?" The answer is, a bent over position (picture the body positioned for a slap shot movement). This position and movement is made up of several different movement patterns. The slap shot is a combination of a side lunge, and upper body twist and a push. So some exercises you would want to do would include multi-directional lunges, woodchoppers and bent over rows.
Hockey is also different from other sports because you get pounded into the boards. This can result in massive structural damage to your body. There are some steps you can take to help compensate for this type of collision. First you must have good stability in your neck and lower back. To obtain this stability, your conditioning program should include but not be limited to Swiss ball neck training, one arm C. R. A. C. dumbbell press, and supine lateral ball roll. Your program should also include shoulder shrugs, dead lifts and high pulls. These exercises strengthen the muscles in your cervical spine area and develop good core strength.
The final part of your question said, "How do I get rid of the love handles and beer belly?" First of all, the love handles and the beer belly come from poor eating habits. Sometimes part of it is your genetic code. We carry fat as a protective mechanism to guard against starvation. However, love handles and the beer belly usually come from your body having stubborn fat deposits. These stubborn fat deposits are fat cells that will not relinquish their energy without a fight.
Stubborn fat cells are estrogen dominant cells and estrogen is a fat producing hormone. Believe it or not, beer contains hops; hops contain estrogenic compounds which help you develop that beer belly. To rid you body of stubborn fat, you should eat more cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Avoid drinking anything from a plastic container, eat organic food as much as possible, increase omega 3 oils (fish) and decrease omega 6 intake. Plus avoid Soy proteins and minimize alcohol consumption. Hope these tips help!
------------------------
David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds multiple certifications including three from the prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II Corrective Holisic Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. Plus he is also the author of the popluar selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs," which teaches you how to develop a ripped abdominal region. Lean how to shead bodyfat and eliminate low back pain and recieve his free newsletter by visiting: http://www.flattenyourabs.net
6 Pack Abs | 5 Tips for a Flat Stomach
As a personal trainer I routinely field questions about flat stomachs and six pack abs. Men and women want the secret formula to a rock solid mid-section. There are 5 tips that can help anyone increase their chances of a slimmer, fat-free waistline.Flat Stomach Tip 1)
Eat plenty of fibrous foods. This helps aid digestion and elimination. All too often the protruding lower abdominals are caused by enlarged intestines. Aiding the body's digestion and elimination processes will help give a flatter appearance to the lower stomach area.
Flat Stomach Tip 2)
Create a strength training routine that addresses all of the major muscle groups. A nice trick I learned along the way is to increase the musce in your shoulders. This gives the appearance of a smaller waist. Working your whole body is more advantageous for many reasons. A few reasons are:
- Working the entire body creates balance. Working just the abs will result in an imbalance and may lead to over-use, under-use or injury of certain muscles.
- Working the entire body will add more lean muscle. Women need to add lean, toned muscle to their body. They should not be afraid of bulking up or looking like men. The more muscle we have, the more calories we burn. Each pound of muscle burns 35-50 calories per day.
- Just working the abs usually results in over training. With a full body routine each muscle receives attention and proper rest.
Flat Stomach Tip 3)
Drink plenty of fluids. Water and unsweetened teas are best. Keeping the body properly hydrated will aid in digestion and elimination.
Flat Stomach Tip 4)
Participate in a cardio activity most days of the week. I recommend doing a mix of session lengths and intensity levels. The total workout time should typically be kept under an hour (including strength training). A few days should be medium intensity and medium length cardio sessions. A few days should be reserved for long sessions with low intensity. One day each for a higher intensity, shorter program and a rest day.
Flat Stomach Tip 5)
Incorporate the Plank Pose into your ab routine. The Plank Pose works the transverse abdominis muscle. This muscle is responsible for holding the stomach in and supporting posture. This is one of the best ab workouts in my opinion. It really works the muscle responsible for a flat stomach. More info can be found on the Plank Pose at http://strength-training-woman.com/ab-exercise.html.
Combine these 5 tips for a flat stomach and get ready for results. Genetics play a role in the over all appearance of your stomach, but just about everyone can benefit from a reduction in body fat. The simplest way to a tight mid-section is to make a lifestyle change. Dieting is a quick fix that usually results in frustration and weight gain. Learn to achieve optimal health by applying positive habits.
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Lynn VanDyke is the head trainer at http://www.strength-training-woman.com/ . Her wildly popular ebook, Melt the Fat, comes complete with over 100 exercises, 160 daily menus, 63 ways to stick with it, 100 strength training routines, 800 healthy meal suggestions and loads more. Learn more by visiting: http://www.melt-the-fat.com/
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Six Pack Abs | Burn The Fats And Keep Them Off Permanently!
How many times have you heard a friend say, "I am on a diet"? Then what happens is your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again.
I'll bet you have also seen someone say that "Cardio is the best for losing weight". This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos!
Ah, so you thought you've finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. Yes, you dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit.
Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn't as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, your kilograms actually started piling on! You get disillusioned with the unrewarding program and soon you succumbed, gave up and blame it on your bad genes. Sounds familiar? Why???
Here's why. Firstly, the heading of the article said "Burn The Fats" and not "Lose Weight". My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism for burning calories will slow down correspondingly. Therefore, you have got to maintain or even build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats. See the paradox?
To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You'll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You'll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fats as easily?
Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That's not what we want isn't it?
As you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism plummets. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and 'eat' your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet and is now in the "famine" mode. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about.
Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy'. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier and sexier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot!
Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fats just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period.
Lift weights with compound exercises. Forget those puny biceps and triceps curls. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body muscles are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercise).
Here's an example. Lift only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Lift more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. But remember to warm up thoroughly and cool down with some light movements and stretching.
After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a lifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day's rest in between lifting days.
After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow.
For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week.
Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.
Oh, by the way, all work and no play make Jack a dull tired boy and an exhausted Jill. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too.
As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury.
Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? It's your call folks! SFO
Article By Chris Chew, Singapore based AMFPT Certified Master Trainer
www.sgfitnessonline.com
I'll bet you have also seen someone say that "Cardio is the best for losing weight". This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos!
Ah, so you thought you've finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. Yes, you dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit.
Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn't as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, your kilograms actually started piling on! You get disillusioned with the unrewarding program and soon you succumbed, gave up and blame it on your bad genes. Sounds familiar? Why???
Here's why. Firstly, the heading of the article said "Burn The Fats" and not "Lose Weight". My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism for burning calories will slow down correspondingly. Therefore, you have got to maintain or even build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats. See the paradox?
To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You'll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You'll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fats as easily?
Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That's not what we want isn't it?
As you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism plummets. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and 'eat' your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet and is now in the "famine" mode. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about.
Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy'. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier and sexier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot!
Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fats just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period.
Lift weights with compound exercises. Forget those puny biceps and triceps curls. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body muscles are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercise).
Here's an example. Lift only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Lift more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. But remember to warm up thoroughly and cool down with some light movements and stretching.
After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a lifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day's rest in between lifting days.
After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow.
For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week.
Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.
Oh, by the way, all work and no play make Jack a dull tired boy and an exhausted Jill. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too.
As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury.
Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? It's your call folks! SFO
Article By Chris Chew, Singapore based AMFPT Certified Master Trainer
www.sgfitnessonline.com
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