best exercise for abs to show

Re:best exercise for abs to show (Big Fat Chris)

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:00:38 GMT

To get back on point, as everyone has pretty much agreed losing fat is all about calorie deficit. Your weight training signals to your body to retain muscle, your 3 hourly protein intake protects muscle too, your controlled calorie diet/cardio combo get you into calorie deficit and hey presto!

As far as cardio machine choice is concerned then the potential for eneregy usage is down to the amount of muscle mass being used at once and through the biggest range of motion. That means steppers, rowing machines, ellipticals and treadmills are all good choices.

Interval training works well because it's essentially inefficient therefore 'wastes' energy which is what we're after.

be aware of how you are using (strictly converting) energy on different machines. When you use a treadmill or stepper you are doing so by moving a weight, you, through a given distance. When you use an elliptical you turn a dynamo and therefore generate electrical and heat energy. As a result, as you lose weight you use less energy running the same distance because the weight you are moving through the same distance reduces, so you need toi increase the distance you run (the speed over the time you run for on a treadmill) yet on an elliptical if you generate the same average watts over the time you will pretty much convert the same energy whatever you weigh.

In reality, it could be whatever you can actually bring yourself to do that us the best choice. HIIT may be the 'best' but if you hate it but don't mind continuous cardio then using continuous and keeping your diet tight is likely to be the best choice FOR YOU.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (buzzer)

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:19:54 GMT

rdotztb

Is one cardio better/more effective than another in terms of cutting the fat on your stomach for the abs too show? Time wise?

not really it depends on the time you have,and the calories burned during,as drew said hiit is better time wise,but a mixture of both is best IMO,its also a case of what you enjoy doing,some people enjoy running others hate it or cant do it ie knee/back/calf problems some people enjoy cycling,kettlebells etc.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (buzzer)

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:10:44 GMT

Mesaboogie

I terms of burning fat most effectively try and do it first thing in the morning. Set a goal whether it be a time/distance/calorie goal and stick to it. I try and do 5k runs which burn 420 calories for me and if you do it before your first meal it'll be 300% more effective then later in the day.

sorry dont agree with this.

if your daily total cal intake is the same,it doesnt matter what time of day you do your cardio,infact if you are fed you can work harder and therfore burn more cals.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (Drew Price)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:06:57 GMT

I'll expand, tell me what you think:

Yes the question is about effective and efficient forms of cardio for fat loss.

'More effective for burning fat',...
this idea you have to disconnect from calories burned whilst doing the specific activity. Longer steady state may burn calories whilst you're doing it but it soon returns to baseline after cessation. Obviously the longer your are running for the lower the number of cals/per minute consumed as well. Moreover;

'Most effective time wise',...
i.e. the most fat burning effect in total from a specific energy systems session. Again this you have to disconnect from the calories burned doing the activity.

I was being a little facetious with the jogger comment but only about 50%. Millions of people do steady state cardio everyday with poor results, if it is so effective then BF% would be low and it regardless of other training (so it wouldn't matter if they were BB'ers or not)

So, again:

The most effective at lowering fat off a range of trainees and athletes in my professional experience: Metcon and/or HIIT
Most efficient time wise at stripping fat off people: metcon and HIIT.. by a mile.

Sorry Ryan, we're getting a little off topic here!

I would advise you strictly on the cardio side of things to look at interval type training, this can be cycling, rowing or say 400m runs, certainly if time is tight. Obviously as far as general fitness goes a mixture of cardio is always best.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (Mesaboogie)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:28:45 GMT

Drew Price

Effective at burning fat was the question. Effective at using calories was your answer Mesa!

See the difference? They are not the same.

Running is very effective for cardio training but if it were that effective there would be a lot less fat joggers in the world!

I say again, interval and met con in the most effective, time wise especially - but, much like running in order to get the most out of it you have to be fit enough to use it.

He was asking which form of cardio is most effective. It goes without saying that the reason for him doing cardio is in order to burn fat. He is not going to do a form or cardio one would assume that burns very little calories as he asked what was more effective time-wise??
Also joggers aren't bodybuilders and don't quite have the same goals hence the reason they don't all look lean Drew. This is also why I mention the timing of cardio in my answer and eating cleanly as he asked about his abs.

Also we must remember his question was specifically about a form of cardio most effective for his limited time, we can of course go one better and mention diet/timing of meals/training routines specific to his goals/interval training/supplements and be here all day. I however just wanted to answer his question.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (Drew Price)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:22:04 GMT

Effective at burning fat was the question. Effective at using calories was your answer Mesa!

See the difference? They are not the same.

Running is very effective for cardio training but if it were that effective there would be a lot less fat joggers in the world!

I say again, interval and met con in the most effective, time wise especially - but, much like running in order to get the most out of it you have to be fit enough to use it.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (Mesaboogie)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:40:29 GMT

rdotztb

Is one cardio better/more effective than another in terms of cutting the fat on your stomach for the abs too show? Time wise?

Running is the 2nd most effective at buring calories. Second to cross country skiing I believe.
I would recommend a good pair of running shoes as they will take a lot of the shock off your knees and lower back so Asics or New Balance would be a good choice.
I terms of burning fat most effectively try and do it first thing in the morning. Set a goal whether it be a time/distance/calorie goal and stick to it. I try and do 5k runs which burn 420 calories for me and if you do it before your first meal it'll be 300% more effective then later in the day. Then maybe train abs after for a few mins and for the rest of the day eat cleanly and regularly.
You'll look A1 in no time. Good luck with eat and post some picture to let us see your progress.
Consistency is key though mate!
So in answer to your question: Running.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (adam_5kids)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:18:15 GMT

how long is a piece of string??!!!

Re:best exercise for abs to show (Drew Price)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:29:03 GMT

Clearly for time efficiency interval training and metcon is the way to go. Steady state cardio is a long and comparatively ineffective slog.

Just to parrot the above though, having a 6 pack involves two factors, low overall body fat levels and then some level of development of abdominal development.

Re:best exercise for abs to show (naththebeast)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:05:49 GMT

As above, cant specifically target fat in one area, but imo just stick with running, but then running isnt great for some people so just make sure youre burning the calories and the fat will come off (providing youre not over eating obviously)

Re:best exercise for abs to show (ItsNOTlikeTHAT)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:57:05 GMT

Some exercises burn more cals than others. But none can target belly fat.

best exercise for abs to show (rdotztb)

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:42:25 GMT

Is one cardio better/more effective than another in terms of cutting the fat on your stomach for the abs too show? Time wise?