I am probably about 10-15 pounds overwieght. It's all in my middle (back and belly) and I even have a little bit of an underbelly :o(
I get so discouraged doing core exercises knowing that I will never see any results with a layer a fat covering it. Is it worthwhile for me to do ab exercises or are my efforts best spent focusing on cardio until I lose the excess body fat?
There are benefits to having strong abs, aside from the aesthetics of having a six pack. Strong abs are critical to your core and they help ensure that you have balance between your abdominal and back muscles. This can prevent back injury later in your life. Having a strong core also translates into more power and stability in all kinds of daily activities, including sports and weight training.
If you are over-focusing on your abs to the detriment of other muscle groups that might allow you to change your body composition and actually start to reduce abdominal body fat, then I would revisit the amount of ab work you are doing. Most people — especially women — have a tendency to perform way more ab exercises and at higher reps than are necessary. Treat it like any other body part and train it two or three times a week with moderate resistance and reps in the 15-25 range.
Cardio alone won't get your bodyfat levels down. You need to incorporate plenty of weight training as well. Over time you'll see the belly fat start to melt away and more ab definition emerge. When it starts happening, it's very rewarding and has a tendency to motivate you even more.
In terms of your cardio, I would aim to do no more than 20-30 minutes, but take an interval approach, where you alternate between bouts of high intensity cardio (think sprinting for 60 seconds) and low impact cycles. You can torch a lot of calories in a short time this way, and research shows that it does a better job overall of burning fat than lower-intensity, long-bouts of cardio.
For your resistance training, focus on large compound movements like squats, bench presses, shoulder presses, chins/pullups, etc. Also go for a full-body workout three times a week, which can substantially amp up your fat loss — especially when coupled with the interval cardio training.
Stay focused and envision what you want and you'll get there.
Best of luck!
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Good on you for being active. I suggest you do both cardio and ab exercises. Keep up the heavy cardio to lose weight. But also do ab exercises. It'll make things a lot easier. So when the weight starts to go you'll already have a reasonably firm stomach, rather than not having weight but also not being strong. And always keep up the cardio so you don't put the weight back on. In fact, growing muscle will help to keep the weight off! So do both
Good luck!
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Sure do ab exercises..but you can't spot train. You need to look at caloric intake and outflow. Do resistance training to increase metabolism, clean up your diet, do plenty of interval based cardio workouts. Get your body fat percentage checked on a bi weekly basis to moniter progress along with waist size.
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Health Nut
You should focus on what's wrong with your program. Why do you have an underbelly to begin with for example. Ab exercises should not be your focus. Do them if you want, but it will not make any difference until you fix what's wrong the rest of your program. You could never do another ab exercise in your life. Its low energy low intensity exercise. If you have an underbelly it won't make one bit of difference how you train abs people. Or if. Seek out answers to questions that will actually make a difference. You already know the ab work is not working, surprise. Fix what's wrong and forget completely useless variables.
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Your not the only person wondering if those abs will ever shine through. Continue doing your ab exercises. consult a fitness trainer or if you can send me some pics of you doing these exercises to guide you to more effective ones. Your abs will not shine through with just ab work. you will need to incorporate a complete fitness program that works all your muscles. You will also have to do some of that cardio you mentioned to help burn those fat clories. I'm sure you know but i will mention anyway, don't forget to eat healthy and understand how many calories you are taking in versus how many calories you are using on a daily basis. Be consisitent with a total body resistance training program, a cardio regimen & the proper food intake to fuel you daily yet still create a deficit at the end of the day. do this for two weeks and you will notice a change …continue for two more and you will definitely be on the road to a leaner midsection.
Good Luck!
Your Friend In Fitness,
Jorge Vela
References :
There are benefits to having strong abs, aside from the aesthetics of having a six pack. Strong abs are critical to your core and they help ensure that you have balance between your abdominal and back muscles. This can prevent back injury later in your life. Having a strong core also translates into more power and stability in all kinds of daily activities, including sports and weight training.
If you are over-focusing on your abs to the detriment of other muscle groups that might allow you to change your body composition and actually start to reduce abdominal body fat, then I would revisit the amount of ab work you are doing. Most people — especially women — have a tendency to perform way more ab exercises and at higher reps than are necessary. Treat it like any other body part and train it two or three times a week with moderate resistance and reps in the 15-25 range.
Cardio alone won't get your bodyfat levels down. You need to incorporate plenty of weight training as well. Over time you'll see the belly fat start to melt away and more ab definition emerge. When it starts happening, it's very rewarding and has a tendency to motivate you even more.
In terms of your cardio, I would aim to do no more than 20-30 minutes, but take an interval approach, where you alternate between bouts of high intensity cardio (think sprinting for 60 seconds) and low impact cycles. You can torch a lot of calories in a short time this way, and research shows that it does a better job overall of burning fat than lower-intensity, long-bouts of cardio.
For your resistance training, focus on large compound movements like squats, bench presses, shoulder presses, chins/pullups, etc. Also go for a full-body workout three times a week, which can substantially amp up your fat loss — especially when coupled with the interval cardio training.
Stay focused and envision what you want and you'll get there.
Best of luck!
References :