Losing weight before targeting abs?

honeyX0

So I have heard that you need to lose weight before you can spot target [such as abs] Just wondering if this is true. I mostly walk and throw in some dance, aerobics, and jumping jacks but I'm looking to step it up a notch. I do not have a gym membership and I'm a stay home mom so I basically do what I can around the house besides my cooking, cleaning, & laundry routine. My main question is: are there things I could be doing to tighten my stomach now or do I need to focus on the full body activities?

TrishJimenez

I dont know if this will help, or what kind of phone you have, but on my phone (an android) I have two free applications that I try to do every day even if I dont make it to the gym. One is daily yoga for abs, it is a really easy yoga routine for beginers that targets your core and is only 10 mins, and the other is daily yoga for backs also 10 mins and not to tough, sometimes I do them together and sometimes I break them up. They are both free. It has video tutorials to show you how to do the poses and another feature that will time it and tell you when to move on to the next pose. I dont do it to try to build a killer set of abs or such. But mostly to build up my core muscles increase flexibility and re-leave my back pain. And it has really helped! Eventually I expect I will see some definition

pander101

From what I've learned you can work on abs all you want but you won't see anything unless you do cardio to get rid of the fat that is covering them. Planks and ab workouts will tighten the core but it won't get rid of fat.

kunibob

I believe muscle burns more calories than fat (is that correct, everyone?), so I don't see the harm in starting to strengthen your core now. Besides, core strength is good for fitness in general, so I'm of the opinion that it's never too soon to start!

Mad_Dog_Muscle

From what I've learned you can work on abs all you want but you won't see anything unless you do cardio to get rid of the fat that is covering them. Planks and ab workouts will tighten the core but it won't get rid of fat.

I tend to agree with this.... it doesnt hurt to work the abs, but you wont see much result until the flab is removed. That doesnt mean you shouldnt work them now, but dont get discouraged if you dont see results immediately.

BeverageTreats

I believe muscle burns more calories than fat (is that correct, everyone?), so I don't see the harm in starting to strengthen your core now. Besides, core strength is good for fitness in general, so I'm of the opinion that it's never too soon to start!

This! I would definitely work on strengthening the core. Which is easy to do at home for free.

You won't see your ab muscles until the fat covering them has gone, but just having them will benefit you in other ways.

SeanC86

So I'm taking a wild shot in the dark with this, because I read it a long time ago...

I hear all the time the best thing to do to burn fat and lose it is a good full body workout mixed with cardio. Just doing one or the other doesn't help a whole lot. Sure, you'll see differences, but it makes it tough to lose fat if you're just building muscle...

However, I did read somewhere that for every extra pound of muscle, it's approximately 50 more calories burned in a day. I'm not 100% sure if this is accurate, and perhaps someone can correct me on this. Either way, what I've currently been doing has been a full body workout mixed with cardio. When I was desperate to lose weight, I was only doing cardio. Now that I've lost 20lbs from it, I started doing a full body workout. I am now slowly seeing progress, both in my weight loss and my muscle building.

After each workout (weight lifting with my buddy Larson, or cardio for a bit) we do a set of Abs workouts. It takes about 20 minutes to do them all, but I've noticed a huge change. I started only able to do a few crunches here and there, mixed with some of the other routines we did. Now, I'm easily doing over 50 crunches in the first set of 3, and even am able to hold the plank significantly longer than when we first started. I feel much better, and I feel that the cardio is coming along easier because of this.

So if you ask me, work both at the same time... Try to come up with a specific routine that works best for you... then switch it up from time to time. If you're at home, go buy a set of adjustable barbells. I have those at home(back in the states), and they're great for lifting.

Hope this helps a little.

Mad_Dog_Muscle

So I'm taking a wild shot in the dark with this, because I read it a long time ago...

I hear all the time the best thing to do to burn fat and lose it is a good full body workout mixed with cardio. Just doing one or the other doesn't help a whole lot. Sure, you'll see differences, but it makes it tough to lose fat if you're just building muscle...

However, I did read somewhere that for every extra pound of muscle, it's approximately 50 more calories burned in a day. I'm not 100% sure if this is accurate, and perhaps someone can correct me on this. Either way, what I've currently been doing has been a full body workout mixed with cardio. When I was desperate to lose weight, I was only doing cardio. Now that I've lost 20lbs from it, I started doing a full body workout. I am now slowly seeing progress, both in my weight loss and my muscle building.

After each workout (weight lifting with my buddy Larson, or cardio for a bit) we do a set of Abs workouts. It takes about 20 minutes to do them all, but I've noticed a huge change. I started only able to do a few crunches here and there, mixed with some of the other routines we did. Now, I'm easily doing over 50 crunches in the first set of 3, and even am able to hold the plank significantly longer than when we first started. I feel much better, and I feel that the cardio is coming along easier because of this.

So if you ask me, work both at the same time... Try to come up with a specific routine that works best for you... then switch it up from time to time. If you're at home, go buy a set of adjustable barbells. I have those at home(back in the states), and they're great for lifting.

Hope this helps a little.

Good stuff here!