Abdominal & Obligue fat

Please help because I need an answer as well!!!!!!!!!



Hi guys I'm wondering what type of workouts would help my back/stomach/obliques melt fat and tone up. I know "target area exercising" does NOT work, and more cardio will help rid the fat. However I was wondering if they will look better quicker with muscle building in those areas, and what workouts would help make it look better?
I'm 5'4 and 174 lbs.
[/quote]

There are no exercises that melt fat away from specific locations. Reduce your calories and your fat will come off throughout your body. If you want to experience spot reduction your need to go to a plastic surgeon and get liposuction.

Cardio, cardio, cardio.

And... while targeted area exercises might not work to burn fat they can help to improve areas of weakness for yourself. To get down to the real answer though...

Yes, yes IMHO they do look better quicker if you build muscle, that is, mostly because you'll start to actually see muscle where it should be, just under all the fat. That can be a focus for motivation. The real benefit is that more muscle helps burn fat quicker, so it's a win win.

You want to do core exercises pretty much it sounds like.

My recommendations are:

Bent over dumbbell rows (they engage your Upper & Mid Back, Biceps and Forearms)
Bicycle from a C-Sit position or on a Bench (Obliques & Stomach)
Barbell Dead-lift (Lower back)
Hyper-extensions (Lower back)
Squats & Lunges (Glutes, Hamstrings, Quadriceps.)


bodybuilding.com should have videos of all these exercises, or youtube.

Step 1: Lower your body fat percentage. Find a good goal weight based on pics of someone of the same height and frame size as you. This can be done through mostly cardio with a bit of strength training thrown in.

Step 2: Once you reach your goal weight, do strength exercises to build muscle and burn the rest of the extra fat.

Reduce your body fat. You can do core exercises to help hold your guts up, but you won't see the fruits of your labor until you lose fat. The easiest way to lose fat is weight lifting. You won't necessarily lose WEIGHT, but you'll see a huge improvement in your body and your body will burn more calories even when you aren't exercising.

You body will look slimmer when you lose fat. If you add lots of exercise and strength training in particular, then yes, you can build muscles in specific areas, assuming you also plan to eat the calories to build this muscle. But until the fat is gone, you can have killer abs, and not see them until you lower your weight. Absolutely add some sort of strenght training in your weekly routine, so you will get strongther, healthier and not lose muscle as you slim down, but regarding a more toned look, expect to see first results only where your body already has less fat.

1. Cardio burns calories. First from glycogen, then from fat when glycogen stores are depleted (which take A LOT of work to do). When people inform you that cardio burns fat, the information is misdirected. It helps to create a calorie deficit, but if cardio only burned fat, then lean muscle reduction shouldn't happen with endurance athletes.

2. Building muscle while in calorie deficit is improbable. There are exceptions, but it doesn't sound like you're one of them.

3. Genetics determines where fat will come off last and for many it will be the ab area (regardless of sex). Losing fat weight comes down to consistency with calorie deficit. Physical activity helps with calorie deficit and retaining and strengthening muscle while doing the process.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition