Monday, January 5, 2009

Ab Exercises Discussed

By Jose Loni

Ab exercises are not the answer to ripped abs. We are constantly bombarded with ads that promote ab exercises and machines, each claiming to be the answer to getting six pack abs. Achieving six pack abs, we need to look at our overall exercise activity to increase our overall metabolism and monitor our diet.

By monitoring the caloric intake of the food we eat and increasing our energy expenditure so that it's greater than our intake, our body will find other sources of energy. As a result, the body will utilize and burn the excess fat to fuel our activities.

Exercising using large muscle group, multi-joint activities as well as incorporating resistance exercises, we are able to increase our metabolism. The lean body mass, which results from the exercise, will increase the muscle's metabolic activity to burn excess body fat to fuel the body's increased activities.

Interval training has been effective in increasing the body's metabolism. The anaerobic component of the training forces the body to adapt to the increased demands of the activity, which results in increased muscle mass. The increased muscle mass has an increased metabolic activity and continues to burn fat for several hours after the exercise activity.

There are dietary considerations to consider to help increase our body's metabolism. Eating foods that are rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals help our body to burn these foods as energy.

Increasing the number of meals we eat throughout the day helps to maintain our energy levels. Eating smaller portion meals in addition to eating more often, will help us maintain our energy and blood sugar levels, so we are better able to fuel our increased activities.

By decreasing our caloric input and increasing our energy expenditure, we allow our body to use the excess fat in our body as a fuel source.

The truth about ab exercises is that in order to get ripped abs, we need to watch what we eat and increase our overall activity levels. By stimulating our metabolism through interval training, we can help our body to be more efficient at burning excess belly fat and help us achieve ripped abs. - 16463

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