Thursday, April 17, 2008

Developing Beach Worthy Abs

As summer approaches, the desire to get a well developed set of abs or a flat stomach increases. Unfortunately for a lot of us we have absolutely no idea as to where to start. Developing your stomach muscles are really split up into 2 parts, building muscle, and fat reduction. In order to get a well developed stomach that stands out you will need to incorporate both parts into your workout plan.

The reason most of us find it so hard to get a set of abs that stand out is because we leave out the fat reduction part. We go to the gym and spend countless hours doing sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, and many others, and at the end of it all see very little results. The truth is that you are building muscle; no doubt about that but in front of that muscle is a nice layer of fat that is blocking those muscles from showing . This is where the necessity of fat reduction comes into play.


Now before you start even getting the thought into your mind, let me crush it right now. You cannot spot reduce fat. Your body does not burn fat in specific places, when your body burns fat it burns it evenly over your entire body. This is one of the biggest myths floating out there, and if anybody has ever tried to reduce fat in just a certain area on their body, they soon begin to realize that it is completely useless.


So now that you know the basics of what you have to do in order to get that great set of abs for the beaches this summer, you are ahead of a lot of the crowd. If your still wondering how to come up with an effective workout plan that is going to lead you to those abs, I have created an example workout plan. Make note of the importance stressed on Cardio. It is that layer of fat that causes most to fail.

Workout Example

Monday:

-cardio(45 min)
-crunches 3 sets of 15

-cable crunch 3 sets of 15

-exercise ball crunch 3 sets of 15


Tuesday:

Rest

Wednesday:
-cardio(45 min)

-leg raises 3 sets of 15

-decline reverse crunch 3 sets of 15

-leg pull-ins 3 sets of 15


Thursday:

Rest


Friday:

-cardio(45 min)

-oblique crunches 3 sets of 15

-side bends 3 sets of 15

-plate twist 3 sets of 15


Saturday:

Cardio 45 min

Sunday:
Cardio 45 min


*Instructions on all these exercises can be found at:*

http://bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Abdominals

One of the most important parts of getting that well developed set of abs is going to be your diet. Nutrition plays a huge role in getting rid of body fat. When choosing foods make sure that your eating healthy whole grain breads, and other complex carbohydrates, eat vegetables and fruits, stay away from as much saturated fats as you possibly can.


During this time of chiseling out your abs it is important also to lay off the sweets, and foods with excessive amounts of refined sugars. It is also very important to portion your meals so that your not eating more than you burn in a day, this is how your body is going to burn up the fat. Finally make sure that your drinking about a gallon of water a day to replenish what is lost during exercise.

For more information on health and fitness visit my website: Health and Fitness Focus

No comments: