Best abs exercises for losing belly fat?

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  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    Not to mention -- this thread started with a woman asking how she can shed the belly fat, not a man. Women and men ARE different, and will lose weight and tone differently. Their needs simply are not the same. There may be some basic principles that apply to both in this area, but it would be so nice if there were as much good information out there for women as there is for men. (Menshealth, notwithstanding, as there's too much conflicting info there.)

    No they are not. Men and women share the same muscle and fat as each other. We deposit fat differently because of hormones telling us where to put it but make NO mistake, we both lose it in the same way. There is no 'mens and womens' way of losing body fat.

    Either that or the fact the women I help compete in NABBA, IBFA and shortly WBFF are all doing it wrongly?!
  • WestCoastPhoenix
    WestCoastPhoenix Posts: 802 Member
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    The easiest ab exercise is walking... out of the kitchen.

    ^ this

    but mostly abs come from diet....get rid of sugar and all breads...

    Not necessary.
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    Yup i'm gonna have to agree here with Matt.

    It's genetics which influences hormones which makes fat get stored in certain areas. These predominantly with women are hips, bum, and stomach (and in certain cases, boobs).

    With men, it's predominantly stomach (though in some cases, can be very similar to women depending on their hormone levels).

    The mechanism for losing fat is exactly the same.

    The hard and fast rule is:

    1g fat = 9 kcals.

    So to burn a kilo of fat off, it's 9000 kcals that needs to be burned - there are no exceptions to this rule and you can't choose where to lose it from.
  • WestCoastPhoenix
    WestCoastPhoenix Posts: 802 Member
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    Yup i'm gonna have to agree here with Matt.

    It's genetics which influences hormones which makes fat get stored in certain areas. These predominantly with women are hips, bum, and stomach (and in certain cases, boobs).

    With men, it's predominantly stomach (though in some cases, can be very similar to women depending on their hormone levels).

    The mechanism for losing fat is exactly the same.

    The hard and fast rule is:

    1g fat = 9 kcals.

    So to burn a kilo of fat off, it's 9000 kcals that needs to be burned - there are no exceptions to this rule and you can't choose where to lose it from.

    Your math is a bit off. It is 1kg of fat = 7700 calories, or 1lb fat = 3500 calories.
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    Yup i'm gonna have to agree here with Matt.

    It's genetics which influences hormones which makes fat get stored in certain areas. These predominantly with women are hips, bum, and stomach (and in certain cases, boobs).

    With men, it's predominantly stomach (though in some cases, can be very similar to women depending on their hormone levels).

    The mechanism for losing fat is exactly the same.

    The hard and fast rule is:

    1g fat = 9 kcals.

    So to burn a kilo of fat off, it's 9000 kcals that needs to be burned - there are no exceptions to this rule and you can't choose where to lose it from.

    Your math is a bit off. It is 1kg of fat = 7700 calories, or 1lb fat = 3500 calories.

    I was under the impression that 1g of fat is 38kJ which is 9kcals...?

    I always wondered where people got the whole 1lb fat is 3500 kcals thing from.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    Either way the point stands, we all lose fat in the same way - and its generally expressed 3500 cals per 1lb of fat.

    Women will take longer to lose fat then men simply because estrogen - Estrogenic fat is a form of adipose tissue (or subcutaneous fat) which develops under the influence of estrogen, and particularly estradiol, in women. Its also the reason why women put on extra body fat when they go on the pill or similar as their estrogen levels are increased making them more carb senstive.

    Estrogen will tell the body layer fat more readily (and is why men when fat, deposit fat more readily due to being more estrogenic than a leaner man). Alcohol will also increase estrogen levels as testosterone levels drop, especially with beer.

    Its all quite simple and is easy to understand if you take 5 mins to investigate :)

    Ps - The reason for 3500 rather than 4086 cals discrepancy is that body fat, or adipose tissue, contains not only fat, but also other substances including protein, connective tissue, and water. The dietary fat referred to in the nutritional analysis of food is pure.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
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    The easiest ab exercise is walking... out of the kitchen.

    ^ this

    but mostly abs come from diet....get rid of sugar and all breads...

    Not necessary.

    yep if you want them faster , but I guess it worked for me, may not work for others
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    Either way the point stands, we all lose fat in the same way - and its generally expressed 3500 cals per 1lb of fat.

    Women will take longer to lose fat then men simply because estrogen - Estrogenic fat is a form of adipose tissue (or subcutaneous fat) which develops under the influence of estrogen, and particularly estradiol, in women. Its also the reason why women put on extra body fat when they go on the pill or similar as their estrogen levels are increased making them more carb senstive.

    Estrogen will tell the body layer fat more readily (and is why men when fat, deposit fat more readily due to being more estrogenic than a leaner man). Alcohol will also increase estrogen levels as testosterone levels drop, especially with beer.

    Its all quite simple and is easy to understand if you take 5 mins to investigate :)

    Ps - The reason for 3500 rather than 4086 cals discrepancy is that body fat, or adipose tissue, contains not only fat, but also other substances including protein, connective tissue, and water. The dietary fat referred to in the nutritional analysis of food is pure.

    Good point re: adipose tissues composition - didn't think of that specifically. D'oh.

    So in summary - Matt is right and I agree. Lol!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    The easiest ab exercise is walking... out of the kitchen.

    ^ this

    but mostly abs come from diet....get rid of sugar and all breads...

    Not necessary.

    yep if you want them faster , but I guess it worked for me, may not work for others

    simply because it works for you is NOT good reason to advise other people to do the same.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    Its not a bad idea to restrict simple food stuffs, simply to prevent snacking. For most not a hard and fast rule mind you.

    Also as a body builder it will create a significant difference, I tell you, on stage.
  • skinny__mama
    skinny__mama Posts: 13 Member
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    You should check out www.bodyrock.tv It's a website that post free and (mostly) daily workout videos. They are usually no more that 12 minutes. They demonstrate how to do things and any modifications that beginners might need. Some videos require an interval timer, but you can google tabata timer and get a free one online. Good luck!
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    A quick calculation suggests if you can do 250,000 crunches a day, you will burn fat around the tummy by Christmas so don't listen to everyone else.
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    Its not a bad idea to restrict simple food stuffs, simply to prevent snacking. For most not a hard and fast rule mind you.

    Also as a body builder it will create a significant difference, I tell you, on stage.

    I actually watched a documentary on flex lewis a while back. Primarily he eats fish and lots of it every couple of hours because of its low fat content vs protein content.

    Obviously this isn't _all_ he eats but proof in itself that visible muscles are built in the kitchen. Training will help create them, but doing the kitchen stuff right will make them more noticeable.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I love when people use a singular case to prove or disprove other people's comments.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    I love when people use a singular case to prove or disprove other people's comments.

    Who you talking about?
  • BetterCrazyThanLazy
    BetterCrazyThanLazy Posts: 336
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    Cardio : )

    Why? How does cardio reduce belly fat?

    Really? :smile:
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    In fact... This was what i'd watched at the time heh.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxuAjwK5Owg

    Now lets not get confused here - there's a high probability that he's taking something extra for help, but even so - his motto rings true.

    "If you're gonna eat crap, you're gonna put on crap"
  • christimw
    christimw Posts: 183 Member
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    i'm still new to all this, especially the working out part. is there a way to strength train WITHOUT building lots of muscle? i want the fat gone, (i'm probably in the minority here) but i don't want to have muscle (you know what i mean).
  • tennisbabe94
    tennisbabe94 Posts: 444 Member
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    Will all be down to diet, you cannot burn fat in a specific area by working muscles in that area.

    The body fat % required to get visible abs is pretty lean, it will take some time but definitely achievable.

    Yes. Cardio+ strength training+ clean diet.
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
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    i'm still new to all this, especially the working out part. is there a way to strength train WITHOUT building lots of muscle? i want the fat gone, (i'm probably in the minority here) but i don't want to have muscle (you know what i mean).

    You won't put on immense amounts of muscle from weight training as a woman. It's a common misconception.

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