How to Lose Weight and Build Great Abs

You may know how to lose weight, but can you combine that with the exercise needed to build great abs? Think before you answer that, because most people think they do, but really don't. Why is that? That is what we intend to discuss here, and the way to lose weight and to develop your abdominal muscle shall be explained.

Fallacies About Weight Loss

First some fallacies about weight loss and one simple question: "How do you lose weight?"

Can you answer that confidently? You might state that it "all depends" - but all depends on what. You might answer "go on a diet". But what diet, and what exercise should you take?

Each of these answers is relevant, but also displays a distinct lack of understanding of why people are overweight and how they remedy that problem. One of the major fallacies of weight loss is that people are overweight because they eat too much. Here are some other reasons that do not involve eating too much:

• You eat the wrong foods: you may eat fatty pork chops rather than lean steak.
• You eat too many cookies and cakes, even though you are not eating 'too much' in terms of the bulk of the food to make your stomach feel full.
• You do not exercise enough: you take the car to the convenience store 100 yards from your home, and watch TV most summer evenings rather than taking a stroll. Maybe you have a desk job, but fail to compensate by joining a gym or jogging a couple of times a week.
• You have a problem with your thyroid, or some other hormonal problem, so that your metabolism doesn't burn up the calories so fast. That makes it hard to lose weight, or even maintain your 'normal' weight.

We cannot discuss the hormone problems here, but your doctor should be able to help since this is not an uncommon reason for excess weight. It's not your fault, but something can be done to help you.

Fallacies about Great Abs and 6-Packs

Every single one of the above is a reason for people being overweight without eating too much. Now, how about your abs - your abdominal muscle that is arranged in four sets of two, running down the area of your body down towards the pubic region? They should really be referred to as an 8-pack, but the last set is hidden under the lower abdomen so only 6 are visible.

Some think the '6-pack' are sets of different muscles, but it is actually one muscle sheath known as the rectus abdominis. Its function is to enable you to bend forward - or bring the rib cage closer to the pelvis. That's all it does - no twisting or stretching, because that's the responsibility of your back muscles. When you exercise your abs, you exercise the entire muscle sheath that determines its own sculpture.

A well-developed 6-pack possesses no specific strength other than an ability to move the top half of your body down to the bottom half - or vice versa! It also helps to keep your internal organs where they should be, and helps to force the diaphragm up in the case of shortness of breath.

Exercising the Abdominal Muscles

Any exercises that involve pulling your chest down to your pelvis or vice versa are effective in developing your abs, although this must be carried out against a resistance. Crunches by themselves may not be enough, although holding a weight against your chest and repeating sit-ups can help to strengthen your rectus abdominis and also help you to lose weight.

Rotational exercises tend not to be as effective since it is the muscles in your lower back that rotate your spine. However, any exercise that works as many muscle sets as possible is good for you.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the function of the abdominal muscle sheath, and this has affected the way that people misunderstand the exercises that are used to develop it. Part of the problem is the plural: 'abs' as opposed to the 'ab muscle'.

Great Abs is Singular - Just One Muscle

Because 'abs' is in fact one single muscle sheath, the exercises needed to strengthen it are relatively simple. There are arguments regarding crunches and various other forms of exercise, but there seems no reason not use exercises that simulate the prime purpose of this muscle: to enable you to bend your chest towards your pelvis.

One of the preferred ways to build great abs is to carry out sit-ups with a weight on your chest. Carry out as many repetitions as you can first time round, and increase as you improve. Most of your abdominal muscles are hidden beneath the visible '6-pack, and the exercises you undertake will also help develop these.

Lose Weight Sensibly

This is of particular benefit, because people often exercise only those muscles that are visible. That might help them look better, but it will not keep them healthy. It is therefore advisable to follow through a full set of exercises that work on both visible muscle and those you cannot see.

If you want to know how to lose weight and build great abs, then keep in mind that abs are in reality just one muscle, and that a combination of sensible dieting and exercising will enable you to meet your objective: a slim look with a great 6-pack - man or woman.

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