Fitness

So you guys know I have been obessing over my abs for the past few weeks now, because I seem to be losing fat all over except the tummy. So I found this really cool article along with workouts online. I want you guys to be on the road with me to having a lean tummy so I'm posting it. :)

Getting a lean and defined bikini body doesn?t have to be mission impossible. Did you know that most experts say that a lean physique, the kind with six pack abs, defined arms, and shapely legs is 80% diet and 20% workout? Many of us have no problem pushing ourselves to extremes to build a great body but when it comes to diet most people continually drop the ball or resort to extreme measures to get lean. It doesn?t help that most fitness books and magazine out there make lowering your bodyfat sound like an elusive proposition that requires entirely too much work. Well guess what? You don?t have to deprive yourself of every single food you love, spend hours and hours doing cardio, or go on some crazy diet to lower your bodyfat. The key to getting a lean physique that will show off those ripped abs and tight muscles requires sticking to the following 3 guidelines.

Cutting Calories & Carbs
The first step to lower body fat is eating clean. Start by cutting out all processed foods including white bread, white rice, granola bars, crackers, cookies, muffins, bagels, potato chips, fruit juice drinks, and even low-fat foods (yogurt too) which are packed with sugar. Stick to two servings of starchy carbs and eat them earlier in the day.
1 serving = ½ c brown rice or couscous
½ cup spinach or buckwheat pasta
1 slice whole grain bread
1 small baked potato
1 whole wheat tortilla
½ whole wheat pita
The rest of the day rely on meal replacement shakes with fruit or lean protein like chicken or fish with vegetables. This way you?re still able to eat all your favorite foods but your body is more likely to use the starchy carbs as fuel earlier in the day instead of storing them as fat if eaten later in the day. Your total carb intake should be around 1g per pound of body weight. If you weight 120lb then you should eat no more than 120g of carbs per day. It?s also important to cut your calorie intake by at least 150 calories a day. Monitor what you?ve been eating for a week then slash 150 calories from that to create a deficit that will allow your body to burn off excess fat. These minor changes should make enough of a difference within two weeks. If you don?t see any progress slash another 100 calories (for a total of 250) and see what happens.

High Intensity Interval Training (Cardio)
In one research study participants who engaged in 90 sessions of traditional cardio over a 20 week period lost 1% bodyfat, while participants who engaged in 25 sessions of moderate intensity cardio then 35 sessions of high intensity cardio over a 15 week period lost 3% bodyfat. Additional studies have shown that participants who engaged in short high intensity training lost 9 times more fat than those who performed long low intensity training. Cardio is similar to strength training in that quality counts more than quantity. It?s that simple. Don?t become another casualty of the 45 minutes on the treadmill at a leisurely pace club. People who do this type of cardio, especially women, constantly complain that they?ve been exercising for months and can?t lose weight. Longer low intensity cardio is actually counterproductive for more fit individuals because it burns up hard earned muscle, which is very important for fat burning. If you?ve been doing this type of cardio without result for some time you have nothing to lose by trying HIIT.

Now here is the workout to go along with this.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art6530.a sp

Hope this is of some help to you  guys. :)

Thanx Rahana,
Gave me a couple answers to my plateau problems.  I've been running for about 40-50 minutes at about 5mph- low resistance, maybe I'll speed it up and just go out for a half an hour.  Anythings worth a try and it makes alotta sense.

hey no prob. I've been doing pretty much the same thing. walking for an hour or so. I'll try running for 20mins and see if it works...

the exercises are pretty good to.

Oh and I printed off the ab exersises so I'll give em a try, I'm going to hurt after this!!! **Pre-empted OWWWWWWW!!**

Me to :) I am going to try it now as we speak, I will do two sets of each.

Let me know how it went tommorow k? :)

that is really strange to me.  b/c on all the treadmills and elliptical equipment it says to lose fat to stay in a lower heart rate zone.  and when you do high intensity cardio, you actually burn way more lean muscle....

where did you get that article froM?

right here:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3861.a sp

Thanks

Those ab exercise look awesome and killer all in one. I think Iwill try them tonight. I am a beginner so I might be screaming tomorrow.

"Longer low intensity cardio is actually counterproductive for more fit individuals "

I'd like to point out the "fit" bit.  my trainer at the gym recommends me to do longer low intensity cardio for fat loss.   I weigh 146 and am 5'4.   My mom's personal trainer at another gym also told her to do longer low intensity cardio for fat loss.   However I also believe high intesity cardio offers other benefits.  SO I try and switch between the two.  1 day high, 1 day low.

Ya I'll def get back to you on them tomorrow.  I'll try them out later tonight, hmmm...before...or....after my run??!!

hmmm good question. Do it aftre your run and see how it work out.

I think thats a good idea jawild. I do a lot of cardio and only 3 lbs away from my goal weight. So I am focusing mainly on working out the abs.

definitely a good article.  Thanks rahana I tagged it.

mellissabee -- I'm pretty sure you should do cardio then strength training (abs), not the other way around. I've found I do better in pilates class if I've done ~20 mins on the elliptical (on a high resistance, hill interval setting -- yay me, I was right!) before class.

Feel free to try it yourself and see, though! =)

Thanks for this article.  I go to a trainer and he put me on a workout program that has 2-3 days of endurance/interval training with core & resistance.  I am supposed to run for (only) 30 min 4 times a week.  The idea is that I work out as hard as I can when I am working out.  He changes the workout routine every 6 weeks so that my body has to addapt to something new.  I sent him this article.
I really appreciate the "eating clean" part because I am not loosing much weight but I have even more muscle tone. The only area I do not carry weight is in my stomach so I can see my six pack but I would trade it for thin legs if I could!

Rahana, I did try the exercises after I did some cardio, some of the them were major killer (ball transfer crunch -holy shite), but I'm sure that is the key to success.  thanx, how did you find them??

Great looking ab workout!!  Thanks!!

those workouts are hard. you're right melissa the ball on was the toughest.

I am glad all of you found it effective. :)

Sweet, more info to support my new workout plan ;)  I'm becoming a
big fan of short term HIGH intensity training.  Takes less time
and does more work :)

EDIT: I just did them (except the ball, cause I don't have one).  They're NICE!  You don't really notice it until you try to sit up...and you can't, haha.  I had to roll over and pick myself up.  The descriptions are a little tricky...but very nice.  I'll be doin these for awhile ;)

im confused about the weighing 120 and no more than 120g of carbs....isn't it true if u dont get in atleast 130g a day ull eventually go through ketonisis or whatever its called?

I just wanna pop in here and say I did them yesterday and I'm
definitely sore today.  Nothing horrible and crippling...but if
flex my abs I can feel it.  Good workout...I'm definitely mixing
it in :-D