Life as a teenager can be confusing, overwhelming and frustrating. Coincidentally, the same can be said for abdominal workouts. Ab muscles can be stubborn, and often times it can feel as if weeks of grueling training get you nowhere. Sticking to a healthy diet and knowing when, where, and how to train your ab muscles can yield positive results in strength and tone.
Considerations
According to the 2005 USDA dietary guidelines, active teenagers ages 14 to 18 require more daily calories just to maintain an even energy level than any other age group. This calorie intake ranges anywhere from 2,400 calories up to 3,200 calories, depending on your age and activity level. Thus, in order for you to keep your body fueled throughout a full ab workout, you must eat enough food throughout the day. The Mayo Clinic recommends eating between three and four hours before exercising to allow for digestion and to get the most out of your meal during your workout.
Types
Ab workouts are typically broken into two groups for teens. Either you exercise your abs immediately before and after a workout, or, you dedicate an entire workout solely to your abs. While both are effective, the latter option can certainly yield greater results in tone. The longer the workout, the more calories burned. The more calories burned, the more fat you trim. If your heart rate stays between 50 and 80 percent of its maximum rate, half of the calories you burn will be fat.
Balance
The abdominal muscles are separated into three sections--upper abs, lower abs and obliques. Each section must be worked separately through isolation movements. People will often under-train obliques, leaving them with a strength unbalance in their core. If you participate in sports and are required to torque your body in any particular direction, the imbalance can result in one section becoming over-worked and over-fatigued. This muscular imbalance can lead to muscle strains, or in extreme cases, muscle tears.
Effects
Eating healthfully and following a strict workout regimen can transform a wobbly gut into a firm midsection. This effect doesn't happen overnight, nor will it happen in just a few weeks. Trimming flab and building strength in a specific area can take months to see noticeable results. Small results can be hard to notice firsthand, especially since you look in the mirror every day. To track your results, take a picture of your abs once every two weeks when you first wake up before breakfast. Compare the pictures after some time and see if you notice any changes in size and tone.
Misconceptions
Many teens believe that exercising abdominal muscles alone will take them from having a flabby stomach to a six pack. This is false. While your ab muscles may grow in size and strength over time, the layer of fat that covers your ab muscles will remain. A major part of trimming the fat from your stomach is cardiovascular exercise. A 155 lb teenager who runs three miles in 30 minutes will burn 350 calories. According to the American Vein and Aesthetic Institute, one pound of fat is equal to 10 times that amount.
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