4 Secrets to A Flat StomachWritten by Jesse Cannone
Do you want a flat stomach? I don't know a person who doesn't! People spend millions, if not billions of dollars, each year in quest for a flat stomach. Right now there are about 200 or more ab exercise devices out there. There's ab do-it, ab rock-it, ab roller, ab dolly, and so many more. You would think that with all of these amazing new products that most people would be walking around with that nice, lean mid-section they've always wanted. Unfortunately, that's not case. Most, if not all of these products, will do little or nothing to flatten your stomach. And that's because these exercise contraptions cannot eliminate layer of fat that lies on top of your abs. In order to be successful at thinning your waistline you must have a basic under standing of how ab muscles function and how your body burns fat. The first thing that needs to be understood is difference between fat and muscle. Fat is excess calories and is primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue. Muscle is made up of fibers that contract or shorten to produce movement. Fat cannot turn into muscle and muscle cannot turn into fat! However, you can lose muscle and you can gain fat. That's what happens to most people. So if your goal is to thin your waist line and have a nice flat stomach, first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate layers of fat that are on top of your abs. We all have a flat stomach; it's just some of oar’s are covered by excess fat. The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for body to use body fat for fuel). 1. You must do some form of progressive strength training The primary function of ab muscle is to flex your torso forward. However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to side and muscles that rotate your torso. Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups. If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to incorporate following types of exercises: • 1-2 forward flexion exercises (crunch, sit-up, etc.) • 1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.) • 1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.) The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked at most 3 times per week. You also want to make sure you are training them progressively, working them harder each time. 2. Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism Cardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.
| | Success with Strength TrainingWritten by Jesse Cannone
Strength training is most effective way to turn your body into a fat burning machine and stay in great shape! It is most productive form of exercise there is! In order to be successful with strength training there are some basic principles that must be followed if you want to receive many benefits which strength training has to offer! The three most critical factors are progressive overload, intensity, and recovery.Progressive overload simply means that you must force your muscles to work harder each time. That means you can't use same weight every workout, regardless of how many sets or reps you do. The best way to do this is by attempting to increase resistance / weight used and, or increase number of repetitions performed at each workout. Intensity is also very important. You must force your body to increase its strength. For example, if you typically do 3 sets of 10 reps on leg press at 115 pounds, and your legs are capable of doing 16 reps, why is your body going to make any improvements? Your body will only add muscle if you force it to work at a higher level than it is used to. The most effective way to overload your muscles is to perform one or two sets per exercise, and continue each set to muscular failure. That means continuing each set until no more repetitions are possible. Challenge yourself! Once you have overloaded target muscle group you must then allow for proper recovery and over compensation. This means you must rest long enough to allow for recovery of targeted muscle group, nervous system, refill glycogen stores (Energy stored within your muscles), and also allow enough time for muscles to make improvements or increases. This process takes time. Generally, it takes between 2-7 days to recover from a strength workout! The harder you work longer it takes your body to repair. Don't short-circuit your progress by strength training too often! Basic Guidelines for Successful Strength Training · Strength train no more than three times per week! · Perform 1-2 sets per exercise! · Choose 1-2 exercises for small muscle groups and 2-3 for large muscle groups. (ex. 2-3 exercises for legs, back, chest, and 1-2 for arms, shoulders, etc.) · Choose no more than 8-10 exercises and work hard on them! . Always keep a record of all workouts! . Take each set to failure or fatigue! · Perform each exercise SLOWL V! Force muscle to do work -- NOT momentum! · As soon as you see a slow down in progress it's time to make a change to your program! Below are some sample workouts and frequently asked questions regarding strength training.
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