In your quest for toned abs, it is important that you are able to identify what works and what doesn’t, what is fact and what is myth. There are several common myths that can hinder your progress to achieve toned abs. Let’s take a look at the top five:
1. The “As long as I am exercising I can eat all I want” Myth
There are some great ab exercises and doing them can certainly get you the toned abs that you want. However, there are some people who believe that they can eat everything that they want then do a couple hundred crunches to “work off” the chocolate cake, burgers and beer.
It doesn’t exactly work that way. Toned abs don’t start in the gym, they start at the dinner table. Everyone has flat, defined abs, it is just that some people have more fat covering those flat abs than others. If you want to see your results, change your diet to low fat, healthy and fresh.
2. The “If Less is More, then More is Better” Myth
Quality trumps quantity when it comes to crunches. You can do 25 good quality crunches and they will have more of an impact on your mid section than if you did 250 half done, low quality crunches. If you are just going to lie down and zip off some half hearted quick crunches so that you can “get it over with,” just don’t. Save your time and energy because you are spinning your wheels. When you take your time and do 4 or 5 sets of, say, 25 good quality crunches, allowing yourself 90 seconds to rest between each set, you will see the toned abs that you want.
3. The “I can Spot Tone My Body” Myth
OK, it is true that certain exercises are designed to work certain muscle groups. However, it is not possible to “spot tone” your body. If you are working only one area of your body, two things will happen. One, you will be disproportionate because part of your body will be worked and developed and other parts of your body will be under developed. And two, you won’t raise your metabolism enough to burn the extra fat that is hiding all your hard work. Total body exercises are what you need to lose fat and show off your abs.
4. The “I can be a Gym Rat and get a Cool Six Pack” Myth
Just about everyone wants those six pack toned abs. What many people don’t realize, though, is that spending countless hours in the gym won’t do much good if you aren’t also following a low fat diet to help you lose weight. If your body has a layer of fat over those toned abs, you will never see them. Decrease the fat in your diet and increase the protein. Also get in some good cardio. This is how you get toned abs that you can proudly show off!
5. The “I can Tone my Abs while Running” Myth
While running may burn calories and fat, it doesn’t do squat for toning your abs. Use your running for fat burning and combine it with some toning exercises like crunches and reverse crunches. That is the way to go to get toned abs.
