Are you Cardio-ing for Those Abs

I think the question I get the most on social media is about how to get abs or how to flatten the tummy. It is a very complex question, and you can tell people usually don't get the answer they want. People generally want to do crunches and be over with it, but get very anxious when it is not working.

So here is what I tell people: Crunches alone will get you nowhere. It is a hard message to take because it has been somehow spread across different societies. To flatten your abdominal area, you need a combination of three things:

• Good nutrition: You cannot eat everything, do crunches, and expect abs. Abs are difficult to get; otherwise, everyone would have them. You have to lose the fat on the abdominal area to see any progress, and to do this, you need to be burning more than you are eating. This means you probably should be eating better (fewer calories, more whole grains, less salty food).
• Cardio, Cardio, Cardio: To me, cardio is more important than crunches. This is where a lot of the fat loss happens to burn off the excess. If you are not doing cardio, you should be starting.
• Strength training: This is where crunches come in. But I actually prefer to do non-traditional crunches because they are very repetitive, and most people do not do them right. Focus on building core strength with planks, kick-outs, russian twists, etc.

But remember that it is a slow process usually. Weight did not happen overnight and so getting fit does not happen overnight as well. Take your time.

Cheers Eights & Weights!