Many abdominal exercises that you see at the gym and in the media make you believe that you can lose weight in your stomach and slim down your waistline. However, according to physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance", these types of exercises and products only increase the size of the muscle, which can make your midsection appear bigger. The best way to lose weight is train your entire body, not just abdominal muscles.
Function
Your abdominal muscles are part of the lumbo-pelvic-hip-complex (LPHC)--your back, hips, parts of your upper thighs and obliques. Their job is to stabilize your body while you are moving to prevent injuries and maintain your posture and balance. According to Rodney Corn, your LPHC also functions as a conduit of energy transfer from your lower body to your upper body. For example, when you pitch a baseball, you use your legs and hips to transfer the energy through your LPHC and into your throwing shoulder, arm, and hand. You generate more speed and power than pitching with your shoulder and arm by themselves. Having a strong LPHC enables you to exercise for longer periods of time, maximizing your calorie expenditure during your workouts without causing extreme fatigue in a short time.
Considerations
You don't need to isolate your abdominal muscles when you exercise as a result. Your abdominal muscles are constantly working whenever you exercise, do manual labor or playing recreational sports. Corn recommends that you do one of many full-body exercises that train multiple body parts at the same time. This allows you to have an efficient workout--you burn more calories in less time. Working out this way also quickly elevates your metabolism, allowing you to break down glucose in your muscles and convert them to energy quickly in all your body parts.
Misconceptions
Many infomercials and equipment manufacturing companies try to convince you that doing repetitive sit-ups, crunches and twisting will help you lose weight in your abdominal region and waistline. Dietitian Ellen Coleman, author of "Ultimate Sports Nutrition", calls this spot-reduction, which refers to isolating a certain body part to reduce its size. However, your fat-burning process occurs throughout your body, not just in one particular area. Weight loss occurs only if you burn more calories than you consume.
Interval Training
Although abdominal exercises alone will not help you lose weight, you can blend traditional abdominal exercises with full-body exercises in an interval training manner. Interval training is doing several short bouts of high-intensity exercises--between five to eight--followed by a short period of rest. Robert dos Remedios, director of strength and conditioning at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California, recommends this method to help you lose weight because you burn more calories in less time, gain some muscle mass and improve your stamina and muscular endurance.
Expert Insight
Coleman states that doing a hundred sit-ups or other exercises alone will not help you lose weight. You must combine proper nutrition with your workout to yield the best results. Consume a small meal consisting of lean protein and carbohydrates within 30 minutes after your workout. These sources of food should be high in nutrients. This allows your body to use the protein to repair damaged muscles and replenish your cells with nutrients and energy. Otherwise, your body breaks down protein from your muscles and converts it into glucose for energy, which lowers your metabolism and sets back your weight loss goals.
References
- "Cardio Strength Training"; Robert dos Remedios; 2009
- "IDEA Fitness Journal"; Creative Total Body Exercises; Rodney Corn; February 2010
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
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