Sunday, May 6, 2012

How'd You Get Those Abs!?

I'm at that point in my health & fitness journey in which my focus has shifted from simply losing weight and thus feeling better while reducing my risk for certain health problems to improving my body's composition and training for competitive goals.

Once I met my initial weight loss goal (losing 20 pounds by my birthday) I decided to start focusing on adding more strength and muscle to my body. So, I got a membership to the local YMCA and started hitting the free weights and Nautilus equipment before doing my cardio workout. (Which by the way, after doing much research on the subject I have found that it is best to do strength training before cardio if you are doing both on the same day and have the options available. I'll have more on that in another post.)

I love working out at a gym because you get to see so many different approaches and techniques  to health and fitness in one place as well as varying levels of fitness. I even enjoy overhearing some of the approaches to eating others have taken. Sometimes these conversations lead me to do some research to find out if there is any validity to what I over heard on the nutrition front, but a few weeks ago I noticed someone who had the most impressive abs. She had the ever so sought after "six pack." Yes, you read that correctly. I said SHE.

I was so impressed that when I ran into her the next week in the lady's room I just had to ask her, "How on earth did you get those abs?" And she of course confirmed what most current health and fitness articles have been saying. "It's all about the cardio." She said,"it doesn't matter how much ab work you do if there's too much fast covering the muscle."
Well, she's mostly right. It really doesn't matter how many crunches, sit-ups, planks, burpees, leg lifts, reverse crunches,...etc. That you do. If there's a thick layer of fat over your abdominals you will not be able to see the definition of the muscles that create the six pack look. But, it's not all about the cardio, well, ok, it's not JUST about the cardio.

Most health and fitness experts and novices alike would agree that cardio is the best way to burn calories and fat. So yes, it is it is absolutely necessary if you want to achieve that six pack look, but you still need to eat a proper diet. I can preach about this from experience. I ran cross country and long distance in track in both high school and college and though I was fairly slendor I still did not have a defined mid section. Instead I had the littlest pouch especially on my lower abdominals.

Granted this it's partially a genetic issue as much as it is an issue of calories and nutrition, but just to give you an idea of how much cardio I did on a daily basis when I was running (which was practically year round). I had distance days and speed days. Both started out with an easy 3 mile warm up. Followed by either a long distance run which was usually somewhere between 7-10 miles or speed workouts - sprints totally between 4-6 miles. So, I was putting in the time and effort when it came to cardio, but I still didn't have that definition.

Now, having to take a more serious approach to eating properly to stay healthy, I attribute that to the fact that my diet was made up of mostly carbs (as I "carbo loaded" the night before races) and the occassional Snickers bar... ok...ok... I guess I have to be honest here. Snickers bars were a daily treat for me. Snickers bar got me through the day between classes when I was in college. But I can't blame spaghetti and Snickers for my lack of definition or the cute little bit of chub that lingered over my abominals because there's more to it than that. Genetics.

Are you an Apple or a Pear? I'm definitely an apple. Which means the first place my body tends to store fat is on my stomach not my thighs. Which is problematic when trying to achieve that six-pack look. Combine that with that fact that your body burns fat over your entire body, not just one targeted area (regardless of the focus of your workout) and it makes it very difficult to get those defined abs.

Having had the conversation with "Abs Girl" as I have come to refer to her I've become more motivated to take a more serious approach diet just to see if it is possible for me, through proper nutrition and fitness to achieve those abs, but my goal isn't completely vain. I also have a competitive goal, which in all honesty is more important to me than getting those defined abs. I've started training to get back in good enough shape to run a 10K. So there's my cardio. Now I just need to focus on my diet and see what happens!