Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Lower Ab Exercises May Not Be The Answer

By Robert Casewood

In the never-ending fight against fat, quite a few people turn to exercises designed to isolate the abdominal muscles thinking they're spot-reducing belly fat. Well, they can't really be blamed. Isolation exercises are effective in developing and toning-up the arms, chest or any other part of the body. Sadly, this doesn't hold true for getting six-pack abs.

Actually, infomercials pushing the latest gadget, fat-burning product or gimmick are partly to blame. People desperate for a lean, sexy midsection can be easily misled by authoritative, professional-sounding voice-overs combined with attractive, superfit models on the latest ab machine or gulping down the latest fat-burning wonderpill.

A large number of folks eager for sexy six pack abs fall prey to the infomercial machine thinking the upper and lower abs are different muscles. Isolating the abdominal muscles and developing them is of course, possible but to get lean, contour abs, the stubborn layer of belly fat has to be dealt with first.

Sure, we can do exercises that isolate our biceps, pectorals, even our lower ab muscles, but this only serves to strengthen and develop the muscle tissue. Doing exercises that target the muscles in a specific part of our body doesn't necessarily mean the fat tissue in that area is also being isolated.

Our bodies are designed to store excess fat mostly around our gut and thighs. Naturally then, this is the last place it'll leave. By losing as much excess body fat as possible can we trim enough belly fat and bring out the washboard abs hiding all these years.

The key to that ever so elusive six-pack is simply to eliminate belly fat by lowering our body fat percentage to the optimum level. How low depends on how lean and how defined you want your abs (and body) to look.

The proper exercises for taking care of that trouble spot then are not just hundreds of crunches or lower ab-isolating leg lifts and raises, but exercises that induce the most body fat burn fast. These, complimented with muscle-building programs help us shed and keep body fat off.

Adopting healthy eating habits and way of life can also aid us in our fight against belly fat. Choosing the right foods to eat and while doing the right fat-burning exercises can greatly shorten the time it takes for you to bust those six pack abs out in the open. - 15683

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