Abs

Let’s talk about abs.  Its one of the most frustrating body parts to tone, and always high on the wish list for new years resolutions. 

Most people think that they can blast their way to six pack abs by doing lots of crunches. That’s really only part of it.  Actually I consider it to be only one third of the process - the other two thirds is diet and cardio. The ab muscles tend to be covered in body fat and only i) sensible eating will prevent the build up of more fat, and ii) cardio will burn off the present fat.  Our abs tend to be the first place fat tends to build on our bodies over time. If you want to see your abs, first you need to diet and exercise off the fat covering your ab muscles, only then will you be able to see the strong muscle you have been developing underneath.  Invest in a healthy diet and cardio first, then the intense crunches.  Now don't get me wrong, doing crunches will still give you a strong core (which is always a good thing) but no one will see that strong core until the belly fat is dieted away and ran off. 

There is no such thing as upper and lower abs.  We have 2 major abdominal muscle groups: 1) abdominalis rectus, and 2) internal/external obliques.  The traditional sit ups and crunches all work on the abdominalis rectus which is one big stomach muscle (aka the six pack) and is often incorrectly thought of as upper or lower ab muscles, but that’s a myth. Isolating those upper or lower areas do not work on different muscles like most people think. This information doesn’t really change the way we work out, but its just a pet peeve of mine :) 

Happy toning!  And good luck with all your new years resolutions!