One guy walks into the gym and asks the other guy, “I want to lose my belly fat, it’s been years since I’ve seen my abs!” The other guy follows up with “Easy man, crunches and sit-ups for a flatter stomach!”Sounds familiar, right?Well, before I get into the real-world application of this famous topic, let’s dive into a little research…
THE SCIENCEOne study compared two groups, an abdominal exercise group and a control group. For consistency purposes, both groups had the same calorie count. The abdominal group performed 7 ab exercises for 2 sets of 10, 5 days/week, for 6 weeks! Result? Other than the abdominal group significantly improving their abdominal muscular endurance, there was no significant change in belly fat, or drop in body fat percentages.All together now - *GASP*I know what you’re thinking, so now what?Well, another study compared a non-exercise group to an exercise group, with a slight catch, they were both following a diet that placed them in a calorie deficit (eating less calories than they were putting out via exercise). Results? BOTH groups experienced significant body mass and body fat reductions with the exercise group gaining improvements in exercise performance. And guess what? Not a single sit-up was performed.Shall we pause for another gasp?REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONSo, spot reduction, a myth? Definitely.If you’re a guy and you’re struggling with your “spare tire”, here are a few questions I have for you…
- What are you currently doing to transform your body?
- Are you including weight lifting to your routine? PS – tune in next week on how exercise selection in the gym correlates to a strong core…and no, I’m not talking about sit-ups, or crunches 😉
- How would you rate you habits in and out of the gym? Are you being consistent?
We can go on and on with this list. The key is to keep it simple – have a plan, execute, and be consistent. And no, being in the gym 7 days a week is not the answer.Have a crazy schedule and a family to care for? 3 days per week in the gym is a GREAT start. Click HERE to find out how my clients are doing it.Or check out the results for yourself – this is Brad. I worked with Brad for quite some time. I can tell you for a fact that we did not program an “ab routine” into his lifting plan. We stuck to the basics…lifting, minor cardio, and consistency week in and week out.
-Eddie LariosFounder/Coach for AMP FitnessLariosTraining@Gmail.comwww.AMPTrain.comClick here to learn more about my Men’s 6 Week Alpha Challenge à http://tinyurl.com/y9fbf7pdSources1) “The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/218044272) “Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independent of the method for weight loss.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
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