More on Abs

This month's issue of Men's Health had an article by Bill Hartman CSCS regarding habits required to build a six-pack. A good read for all washboard ab freaks out there, but there is one particular point I really want to emphasize from it. It is about exercising the right way in order to reveal the six-pack.

Contrary to popular belief, we all already have pre-existing abs. Many gym freaks out there keep on doing crunches and sit-ups, hoping that all that hard workout will come to fruition with abs to kill. The fact is, if you don't lose the fat gut covering it, you'll never ever see the abs you worked so hard for. (In fact as I previously stated in an earlier post, crunches and sit-ups are bad for your back) Don't believe me? Just take any thin guy who never trains, and you'll see the miraculous abs.

The author states that you first need to burn off the bulging gut by performing the right exercise. Many people translate that as performing intense cardio e.g. running the treadmill or jogging. Only a few informed fitness enthusiasts know that performing high intensity strength training, e.g. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), has equal the calorific expenditure compared to intense running. In addition to that, intense strength training is capable of boosting your body's metabolism (e.g. burn more calories) immediately after the workout session. In addition to THAT, strength training builds more muscles, which ALSO increases your body's basal or resting metabolism; therefore increasing the calories burnt during your non-training period to maintain and feed your body.

Utilizing this, you can eventually see your abs by merely training hard without running the treadmill for 1-2 hours, and with the added advantage of having more muscles to boot. Anyway do pick up the latest issue of Men's Health and have a read of the article for the other essential tips.