Muscular-Fitness

Without a doubt the idea of training your abdominal muscles to lose fat around your stomach area or midsection is the biggest myth in fitness training. As a personal trainer I see overweight people in the gym everyday training their abdominals for set after set and they wonder why they never look any leaner around the belly. On too many occasions to count I have told people that they will never lose weight around their middle by performing sets of ab exercises like crunches, sit ups, leg raises and so many others but often they seem to know best and continue in vain with their constant abdominal training.

The abdominal muscles are just like any other muscles. If you train your abs they will get bigger and stronger, just like if you train your chest or biceps, they will also grow. If you train your biceps it won’t cause you to lose weight around the bicep area, it will only cause your biceps to grow just like I mentioned.

So why do so many people continue to train their abdominals religiously when it will never help them to lose weight around their gut. The reason is because training your abs to lose weight around your midsection is just one of those old myths that never seem to go away. I guess it’s like the old Elvis Presley myth that keeps popping up. Someone thought they saw Elvis at a diner on one occasion and for years now there has been a myth that he is still alive.

There is nothing wrong with myths, they keep us entertained and are generally harmless but as far as training your abs to lose weight around your gut, this is the great abdominal training myth. You really could be spending that time more wisely by learning that only by eating the correct type of diet will you ever lose weight anywhere on your body.

It is only through a quality diet containing a reasonable amount of protein, good quality complex carbohydrates in moderation and lower intakes of fat and sugar that will help your body lose weight. Eating smaller yet more frequent meals that are low in fats and sugar keeps your metabolism at a more optimum level conducive to burning fat and this helps you to lose weight around your belly or anywhere else on your body. If you want bigger abdominal muscles, train them. If you want to lose weight around your waist, try doing more aerobic activity like walking or biking as only when you increase your heart rate with cardiovascular exercises will you ever burn away that excess fat.