Why Weight

Do You Want 6-Pack Abs or a Trim Waistline?

By Yuri Elkaim

First, put the crunches on the back burner.

Doing endless amounts of crunches and sit-ups is not going to do anything for shedding fat from your waistline. Sure they will strengthen the rectus abdominis muscles (6-pack muscles, which is really an 8-pack) but they will do little, if anything, to bring those abdominals to the forefront of the layers of fat around your midsection.

Understand that what separates your muscles from your skin (and thus there visibility) is a layer of subcutaneous fat. In some people, this layer of fat is more pronounced than in others. Ultimately, to see any definition in your waist (or any other part of the body for that matter) you must ultimately strive to reduce your body fat.

Men will begin to see their 8-pack abdominal muscle once their percent body fat reaches below 10% or so. In women, body fat percentages in the 17-20% range will be conducive to seeing greater tone and definition.

Second, use more full-body functional movements By training movements, not just muscles, you will engage more musculature. When more muscle is involved in a given movement, you will burn more calories since more working muscles = more demanding work = more oxygen needed = more calories burned!

As such, incorporating full-body (or compound) movements is the most effective way to activate more muscle and thus burn more calories. Performing these types of exercises will also provide greater activation and stimulation of your muscles. Remember, the goal of any fat loss regime is to burn as many calories as possible during your workout (forget about the 'fat zone' and 'cardio zone').

Examples of full-body functional exercises include:
• Squats with Shoulder Press• Lunge Walks with Medicine Ball Choas• Step-ups with Lateral Raises• Push-ups with Knee Roll-ins (on stability ball)• Wall sits with Ball Squeeze and Lateral Raises

Third, interval and circuit train your butt off! Now, using these movements, perform them in a circuit like fashion. By limiting the amount of rest you give yourself between exercises and sets you will not allow your body to fully recover and thus burn more calories throughout your workout.

When doing your cardio workouts, opt for interval training more so than long duration - low intensity training. By repeatedly performing bouts of high intensity with bouts of lower intensity (eg. intervals), such as a sprint - jog combination, you allow your body to work at higher intensities for longer durations of time. End result - you burn more calories!

BURN MORE CALORIES = LOWER BODY FAT = TRIMMER WAISTLINE! Once you've lowered your body fat and lost some weight around your waist, then you can start focusing more on building your abs.

If you want the most efficient and cost effective method of trimming your waistline, then learn more about Fitter U. Now you can have a trainer on your mp3 player taking you through you workouts and making sure you hit your ultimate fitness goals!

Yuri Elkaim is the owner and founder of Total Wellness Consulting, a leading health, fitness, and wellness company offering health-conscious individuals the most innovative information, programs, and technologies to help reach their goals of physical and mental well being. He is a Certified Kinesiologist, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, former Professional Soccer Player, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the University of Toronto men’s soccer program, and regarded by many as Canada’s leading fitness expert.

You can join his wellness community at http://www.totalwellnessconsulting.ca and receive 2 FREE MP3 guided workouts, a 44 – page Willing Your Way to Wellness e-report, and a subscription to the highly acclaimed Liv Well and Weekly Wellness e-newsletters – All for FREE.

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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 9:36 AM