
You could focus on more “lower ab” exercises like hanging leg raises, reverse crunches and hip lifts, but even these won’t help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can’t “spot reduce.” I would suggest cutting back the volume on your ab training and spending the time on more cardio work instead. Try doing about 15-20 minutes of ab work two times per week. (About 8-12 sets of 10-25 reps). Here is a typical ab routine:
1. Hanging leg raises 3 sets, 15-25 reps
2. Hanging knee ups (bent-knee leg raises) 3 sets, 15-25 reps
3. Incline Revere Crunches 3 sets, 15-25 reps
4. Weighted Cable Crunches 3 sets, 10-25 reps
For maximum fat loss, you should do cardio 5-7 days per week for 30-60 minutes. You could continue running or mix up the type of cardio you do (stationary cycling, stairclimbing, elliptical machines, and other continuous aerobic activities are all excellent fat burners). Once you are satisfied with your level of body fat and your abdominal definition, you can cut back to 3-4 days per week for 20-30 minutes for maintenance.
As far as diet goes, here are a few fat-burning nutrition guidelines in a nutshell:
1. Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance level.
2. Spread your calories into 5-6 small meals instead of 2-3 big ones.
3. Eat a source of complete, high quality protein with each meal.
4. Choose natural, complex carbs such as vegetables, oatmeal, yams, potatoes, brown rice and whole grains. Start with at least 50% of your calories from complex carbs and reduce carbs slightly (esp. late in the day) if you are not losing fat.
5. Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white flour or white sugar.
6. Keep total fats low and saturated fats low. Aim for only 15-20% of your total calories from fat. A little bit of “good fat” like flax oil is better than a no fat diet.
7. Drink plenty of water – a gallon is a good goal to shoot for if you are physically active.
January 29, 2010
Categories: Excercise . . Author: 5ivefingaz . Comments: Leave a Comment