Thursday, January 29, 2009

Best Ab Workout Is No Ab Workout

By Robert Casewood

Fat around the midsection has long troubled gym-goers with less than stellar physiques. This can be attributed to our bodies' tendency to pack most of our body fat around our bellies, buttocks and thighs. As such, this area can be the most stubborn to trim down when we're working-out.

Savvy businessmen out for a fast buck have been all too eager to jump on the lucrative market of selling ab machines and products that target belly fat. We all want a sexy physique with the least effort and this is the reason expensive ab gadgets and fat-burning creams that "spot-reduce" belly fat have been selling like proverbial pancakes.

Sad thing is, most of these pricy ab products promoted on those ubiquitous fitness infomercials don't do anything to burn belly fat hiding your rippling ab muscles. In worst cases they only serve to burn a hole in your budget. The truth is, there is no real way to spot-reduce belly fat. We have to work on total body fat first before we can expect a reduction of fat in our midsection.

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.

Consuming the right foods can also help us in our quest for elusive six pack abs. Some citrus fruits actually render fat more soluble and hence easier to burn. Timing our consumption of carbs and proteins throughout the day can also help in muscle repair and development and increase our metabolic rate.

Most people think that skipping breakfast is good for fat-loss but on the contrary, it may even prevent it. Our body tries to conserve energy by slowing down our metabolism when we're starving, so it's not really a good idea to skip meals.

Doing muscle-building workouts aside from giving us a good physique can also help us fight body fat by increasing our metabolism. Surprisingly, our muscles expend calories even while at rest, so the more muscle tissue we have, the more calories we can burn while sleeping or lounging on the couch. - 20897

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