Toning Abs – A Closer Look
Abdominal muscles are very responsive to training, and in normal conditions the shaping of these muscles so as to create the famous six pack should not be that difficult. Unfortunately, weight loss is usually the main objective of abdominal exercises because people don’t know that spot reduction is not possible. The storing of fat in the mid section of the body is very common at all ages, although people in their forties are the most exposed to it. Many overweight people who start doing sit ups and crunches believe that they will reduce this fat around the waistline, but they are wrong. The effect of such exercises is toning abs alone without burning calories in that precise spot.
Toning abs may work despite the extra weight but the results of your workout will not be visible. In order to actually see your muscles grow, they need to get out from beneath the layer of fat. The most logical explanation to understand how weight loss works is that calories are burned evenly on the entire body. There is no way to program weight loss in one precise body area. You can achieve a more slender look by aerobic or cardio exercises. They stimulate the heart at a very high rate, lots of blood and oxygen get pumped in the muscles, and the body takes the energy to support the effort from the fat deposits.
Lots of other toning abs myths revolve around special machines and equipments meant to sculpture your body in a wonderful way. Well, once you have eliminated fat, the toned abdomen comes with hard work, with the crunches and sit ups that you thought to be inefficient when trying to spot reduce. The truth is that there is no magic pill or equipment that can inflate your muscles overnight. Don’t believe commercials and don’t waste hundreds of dollars on gimmicks.
Further on, stop taking a firm abdomen for a slim waistline. Toning your abs is different from reducing the amount of body fat, as we have already pointed out. As we have already explained, the reduction of the body fat does not equal abs strength. For toning abs, you ought to push the limits of the muscle fibers by joining a resistance program. When abs grow, you may even notice a change in the waistline because muscles make a size increase possible. Yet, such cases are way beyond the six pack level in terms of program difficulty. Except for this situation, the waistline only increases when you put on weight.
Tags: ab toning exercise, toning ab, toning abs, toning abs myths, toning your abs
to Build Muscle Fast | MuscleBuilder | 20 November 2009 |
