Abdominal Weight Loss - want a flatter stomach?
Are you looking for abdominal weight loss exercise that you
can combine with food nutrition to get that flatter, firmer stomach you want?
In the pursuit of a trimmer and toned abdomen, some women often resort to some dubious measures such as 'starvation
diets', 'fat burning pills' or various 'abs exercise equipment'.
All of which of course will not only fail to deliver the results
you seek but can also expose you to unwanted side effects and risks.
A common feature of these methods is that they are short-term
measures for treating symptoms, rather than addressing the cause and need for lifestyle changes you must make to succeed with your abdominal weight loss goal.
If up want then weight loss exercise, combined with diet and good nutrition is the way to go. The two most common types of tummy exercises are sit-ups and crunches. But, are these abs exercises or workouts really an effective way of losing abdominal weight?
It is a commonly held view that doing abs workout, will lead to abdominal weight loss. However, this is far from being true. While abdominal exercise can add tone and definition to your abdominal region, making your tum appear flatter and leaner, this is by no means a fat burning exercise.
Abdominal exercises are primarily for strengthening the muscles and tendons of your abdomen. If you are intent on achieving weightloss around your tum, then the only effective way of achieving this is by 'fat burning exercises. That is to say, you need to engage in cardiovascular exercise to induce the fat burning process right across the body.
Abdominal weight loss and fat
burning
When you eat, your body draws energy from your food intake, i.e.
(the calories you consume). What the body doesn't need will be converted into body fat, which is stored. For many women, troublesome areas of storage tends to be around the hips, bottom, tummy and thighs.
Any form of exercise that makes
your heart beat faster and causes sweating, is deemed to be
fat burning. When you succeed with weight reduction around your tum for example, it is a direct result of your body burning fat, as a consequence of you having exerted your body in some way.
You cannot simply workout one area of your body by doing repetitive abdominal exercises in the hope of attaining
weight loss in that area only.
As well as eating a healthy balanced diet, you'll also need to ensure a program of regular cardio exercising to burn fat you'd otherwise store as well as whittling down your existing fat reserve. When you burn fat, it tends to come off from the last stored source, so - last on, first off etc.,.
The effectiveness of abdominal weight loss exercise
Your abdominal region consist of four muscle groups. These are your:
Upper Abdominals
Lower Abdominals
Love Handles
Lower Back
When these stomach muscles become weak through lack of fitness, this can cause sagging abdomens, resulting in weak back muscles and the appearance
of being out of shape.
Weak back muscles are a major cause of back pain so strengthening your muscles by way of abdominal exercise will reap dividends for a strong healthy back, as opposed to your abs losing weight.
Types of perceived stomach weight loss exercises
Sit-ups: To be effective, sit-ups must pull the torso upward from a lying position toward the knees, using only the abdominal muscles.
This abdominal weight loss technique involves lying with your back flat and knees bent, while
paying particular attention to keeping your back straight.
The upper torso is then brought up from the floor toward and between your bent knees, before lowering yourself.
This is a repetitive process and requires anything from 10 - 50 or so, depending on your level of fitness.
Crunches: This abdominal workout requires the same position as in the sit-up. However with this abs exercise
you do not raise your upper torso in the same way.
It is achieved by placing your hands behind your head to support it. With elbows pointing forward, you gently curl your upper torso,
allowing your elbows to touch your knee. With this abs workout, your legs can also be raised, with Knees at hip level.
If you're interested in pursuing ab-workout, you'll need to ensure you workout at the correct level that is appropriate
to your fitness - i.e. if you're a beginner, make sure you start with a program that fits your status, before moving on
to more advanced stages.
To really benefit from abdominal exercises, you will need to master the techniques and take great care to prevent injury. It is best to consult a fitness expert who can advise you on the correct alignment of your body etc.,
before attempting any such exercises.
When done correctly, abs workout using the above techniques
can be an effective exercise for toning, strenthening
and flattening your abs. Although these exercises are not by nature abs weight loss exercises, they nevertheless can make you appear much slimmer by pulling in and tightening your
muscles and giving the appearance of a firmer trimmer you.
abdominal weight loss exercise risks
Here are some of the downsides to doing sit-ups and crunches
Doing sit-ups for ab-tone and definition can place a tremendous amount of stress on your lower back, leading to serious injury;
aggrevating an existing injury; or even longer-term damage to
your back, should they be carried out inappropriately.
Doing sit-ups or crunches will not lead to abdominal weight loss
since these techniques are not fat burning exercises
Boredom from the repetitiveness can lead to you losing motivation and even abandoning very early on, your abs exercises. This will impact on your feeling of 'lack of achievement' toward
your goal. It is perhaps best to incorporate sit ups and crunches as part of your overall abdominal workout routine, rather than relying on these methods solely for achieving tone and definition
If you're not using the technique effectively, you're wasting your time and injuring your motivation when you do not see the abdominal weight loss results you want
So, what are the other alternatives open to you?
If the thought of doing hundreds of sit-ups or crunchies make you want to bolt, have no fear. There is an alternative to achieving abdominal weight loss and that flat toned shape you're after, without having to endure the repetitive tedium or resorting to risky diet pills or purchasing expensive exercise equipment.
To succeed at your abdominal weight loss goal, you'll need variety
to keep you interested and engaged, preventing you from getting bored.
You'll also need to challenge your potential, with different levels and degree of exercise difficulty, without feeling overwhelmed or risking yourself in any way.
"The more goals you set, the more goals you get"
(Mark Victor Hansen)
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