Lesson #1 Core = Six Pack Abs (eventually)

It has been a few days since I really sat down to write out a few good blogs. One reason is life once again has been busy, but other reason I ordered a new book about fitness with the hopes it will have plenty of goodies to share with you about health and fitness. The book? It comes from Men’s Health and it is called The Big Book of Exercises. (There is also a Women’s version with pretty girl models instead of the dudes with the guns and abs)

From my early readings the book will help provide myself with the additional knowledge I am looking for to keep this health and fitness journey moving forward. Let’s just say there are tons of new ideas for exercise to help keep people moving forward in their health and fitness journey. Plus, I am always looking for more ideas to keep The Fitness Buddy moving forward.

So why am I going to take information from a book to give to you, if you can just go out and get the book yourself? Well it is a BIG BOOK and it could take you a while to get through and take some more time to figure out to use all the information. I hope to provide a condense or a concise version of the messages they are trying to provide to the masses. Remember you can still get the book at anytime, I sure the folks at Men’s Health won’t mind the free publicity I am giving them.

Today we are covering thoughts about the Core. Through my journey there is one thing and one thing that men and women seem to want; SIX PACK ABS! I mean just watch TV. Whether it is a TV show or the million commercials the six pack is everywhere. Are we so vain? YES. So we (the actual people that “exercise”) believe doing crunches and crunches alone will make those six pack abs shine and in turn by doing the crunch we will loose weight and get thinner.

This is a myth!

Don’t me wrong you should work those abs, because a strong core is the starting point of most other exercises, but more on that in a bit.

So if you still think doing crunches will help you loose those unwanted pounds here is a fact that researchers at the University of Virgina found. It will take 250,000 crunches to burn one pound of fat. I will let you take a moment to fathom that… Another way of saying that would be  you must do 100 crunches a day for 7 years… another moment… Yes you are making those abdominal muscles stronger and the six pack is developing, but the crunches are doing nothing to take away the layer/s you have in front of those abdominal muscles. Folks it just doesn’t work that way, sorry. In order to loose the layer/s you must burn away more calories. This can be done a couple of different ways.

1. You can use a magical vibrating belt that will melt away those pounds… (just checking to see if you are paying attention, THE BELTS DO NOT WORK!) Don’t believe me ? Why do they have small print in their commercials? Hmmmmm

OK seriously here are the three choices (actually all three work together)

1. Cardio work, yes this means running, walking, skipping, jumping or doing something that involves you moving.
2. Along with cardio work, strength training. Involving more muscles working out means more calories burned. This also means, while you are trying for those wonderful six pack abs, the other muscles are getting stronger and leaner. The end result is the total package (meaning you) will look and feel better.
3. Nutrition (fancy word for what are you stuffing in your pie hole). I have discussed this in many previous blogs to loose that layer/s or what my wonderful wife Kim calls chubs, it is calories in and calories out. Plus the better the food the better for the body. (Look for a new blog soon about a lunch Kim and I had on Sunday, which will explain that a bit further.)

The substitute for the Crunch? The good old Plank! What is a plank?

1. Start be getting in a push up position, but bend your elbows and rest your weight on your forearms instead of your hands.
2. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. (Get that butt down!)
3. Brace your core by contracting your abs as if you were about to be punched in the gut.
4. Hold this position for 30 seconds and breath deep.
5. Helpful hints, squeezing your butt helps, elbows should be directly under you shoulders.

If you can’t hold this position for 30 seconds don’t get fustrated, hold for 5 to 10 seconds, rest for 5 and go again. It won’t take long for you to build to 30 seconds. Once you accomplish 30 seconds here is the next challenge. At home try to make it through the commercials of your favorite TV show.

There are numerous ways to progress from a plank and I will cover those soon, but stability exercises are very important. They help promote lower back health and will improve your performance in any sport you choose to do. Oh yea they also will develop those six pack abs that all of us vain Americans desire.