People want a flat stomach, and so they ask me the best ab workout to achieve it. I deal with a lot of fitness misconceptions as a professional in the field, and one of the most common is this idea that ab workouts will cause the loss of belly fat. Getting rid of excess belly fat is an issue for most people, but how to do it seems to be a mystery.
Here’s the problem: people are looking for exercises and routines that target belly fat. They seem to think that there’s some secret set of exercises out that that not only will condition the abs into a perfect six-pack, they’ll also burn off the belly fat that’s hiding those muscles – and all of this pretty much overnight!
Here’s an inconvenient truth for you, though: there’s no exercise for the abs that will specifically burn off belly fat. Ab-specific exercises do what they’re designed to do, and that’s strengthen and tone the abs. Fat loss can’t be targeted – the body turns to stored fat for energy when the metabolism is increased and when a particular hormonal response is triggered. These conditions are most efficiently set in motion by a well-planned full body workout. There’s no way, though, to dictate which fat cells are burned first.
The most effective metabolic rate and hormonal response aren’t going to be produced by a simple cardiovascular routine, though. The best results will be produced by a full-body program of high intensity resistance training and multi-joint exercises.
The other component of this program is a healthy, nutrient-dense diet, which, when combined with the full-body workout, will produce the desired results. The results you’re looking for will be accomplished with this program, and it will produce them far more efficiently than a desperation-induced program of crunches and leg raises.
A disappointing truth, though, is that a majority of the population that wants to get rid of excess belly fat stubbornly clings to the fallacy that ab-specific exercises are the best way to get it done. You can imagine how frustrating it is for me to see this bad advice routinely given on the on-line fitness forums and fitness-oriented television programs. That bad advice won’t serve you well at all, and it may waste a great deal of your time and money.
Now don’t misunderstand – I’m not recommending against ab exercises, I’m recommending against relying on them for belly fat loss. I actually believe that it’s beneficial for your workout routine to include some ab exercises. It goes without saying that any muscle group like the abdominals is going to be strengthened and toned by exercises designed for that purpose. But it’s incontrovertible – no exercise targeting a specific muscle group will also cause the loss of fat in that area. Ab exercises won’t cause the loss of belly fat.
Never underestimate the value of a well-rounded approach! A full body routine of resistance training, combined with a carefully crafted balanced, healthy diet are the most important factors. And remember – even though I’m recommending against ab-specific exercises, the abdominals get an awful lot of indirect work in many full-body routines because of the stabilization required.
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