Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Best Ab Workout Is No Ab Workout

By Robert Casewood

Getting rid of belly fat has been a frustration for models and bodybuilders since the early days of working-out. This is mainly due to the fact that our bodies have a tendency to store most of our body fat around our abdomen and this is the last place it leaves when we try to get lean.

Fitness companies have recognized this and have been quick to cash in on countless people's war against belly fat. "Fat-burning" creams which allegedly melt away belly fat, ab workouts touted to give you a six-pack "in weeks" and countless exercise gadgets that isolate the abdominal muscles have been unleashed on the desperate masses eager to get rid of their soft paunches.

The lucrative business of fighting belly fat has caused a common misconception that belly fat can be spot-reduced. In reality, the only way to get rid of a flabby gut is to work on getting rid of total body fat. There really is no ab workout that can shorten the time it takes to burn fat around the midsection and reveal the muscles underneath.

So body fat burn is the answer. So how do we go about doing that effectively? Legions of leotard-clad women in aerobic classes have long known the answer- cardio exercises. Experts say incorporating total body cardio exercise in our workouts tends to burn the most calories from body fat.

Ab machines and ab workouts aren't totally useless however- they do develop and strengthen muscle tissue around our midsection. The presence of those strong, rippling muscles won't be known to anyone but their owner though unless the belly fat is eliminated.

Eating the right foods during the proper times can also help us get that elusive six pack in a shorter amount of time. The consumption of food high in carbohydrates early in the day can give us the necessary energy for a good workout and eating protein-rich food after exercising can help repair and develop our tired muscles.

Misinformed dieters try to slim down by cutting-back on food intake. Doing so can actually have adverse effects because our metabolism slows down when we go hungry to try to conserve calories. Worse, it may even use muscles as a source of energy thereby reducing muscle tissue and who wants that?

Working-out the other muscles of the body aside from the abdomen can also help in the fight against belly fat by increasing our metabolism. It's been discovered that muscle tissue uses-up calories even while we're lounging-around or asleep! Thus, the more muscles we have, the less calories we have to burn in our workouts. - 15995

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