Toning the abdominal muscles requires a well-designed strategy, which integrates dietary modification and hydration with aerobic conditioning, postural correction and abdominal strengthening exercise. These components are interrelated and interdependent. While genetics and age may play a key role in the ability to develop the commonly coveted "six-pack," strict adherence to a workout and diet will create noticeable results.
Misconceptions
Organizations such as the American Council on Exercise frequently challenge the validity of the spot reduction concept, but the myth prevails despite their efforts. Manufacturers of some abdominal exercise machines continue to claim that their products can "flatten the belly" without aerobic exercise or diet. In May, 2002, the Federal Trade Commission showed its muscle, and charged three, electronic ab belt manufacturers with making false claims about their products potential. Flat abdominals result form all-over body fat loss, not from abdominal isolation exercise.
Benefits of Aerobic Exercise
The American College of Sports Medicine advises people to perform 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week. Aerobic exercise burns calories, resulting in all over body fat loss, including abdominal fat.
Effects of Diet
Diet effects abdominal muscle tone in three specific ways. Reducing fat intake reduces all over body fat. Experts at the Weight Management Clinic at the University of Iowa advise that a high fiber diet aids in elimination, which will also reduce body fat. Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, increase your energy and endurance, making it easier to perform longer aerobic workouts, and burn more calories.
Function of Hydration
Your body can't survive without water. When you dehydrate, your body stores water in the form of bloat. This bloat often appears in the abdominal area. Water also increases your energy level, enabling you to burn more calories, and aids in elimination, which hastens weight loss.
Posture and Prevention
Posture plays a key role in abdominal muscle tone. A perpetual slouch causes the abdominal muscles to surrender to gravity, making them weak and flaccid. A sway back, or an arched lower back, makes the belly appear rounder. Improper posture also causes muscular imbalances, which make it difficult to perform your abdominal workout in good form. Exercise techniques such as Pilates and the Alexander technique, practiced three times weekly, can improve posture and the appearance of your abdominal muscles.
Types of Workouts
Varying your abdominal workouts keeps your muscles challenged and responsive. Perform traditional floor exercises such as crunches and reverse curls, add bands for resistance, or activate your core by performing abdominal exercises on a stability ball, a bosu, which is a half ball, or an exercise disc. Add resistance by holding a weight or a medicine ball during your workout.
Considerations
Quality trumps quantity in abdominal workouts. Most exercises should require no more than 20 repetitions. Exhaling on the flexion stage of an abdominal exercise will engage the transverse abdominal muscle, which is your deeper core muscle. This will give you a more effective workout. Concentrate on both stages of the movement, and use control, as opposed to momentum. Since voluntary abdominal muscle contraction makes the exercises more effective, avoid workouts after a big meal, when full contraction may be uncomfortable.
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